finding perch under the ice

[icing_perch]

Well I have found that if you have a fish finder and keep moving when you aren't seeing fish helps. If you find fish with sonar but can't get them to bite just keep trying different baits and lure combos. When I was a kid I remember fishing a lake for perch on a deep flat in 30+ feet of water. We drilled a bunch of holes and started catching perch. When we started catching them we drilled more holes around the one we were catching them out of and contiued to do this and kept on the fish. At the end of the day we were fishing the same area we started in the morning. The fish made a huge circle that covered almost a half mile in diameter. The last 2 winters I have had great success with a 1/100 ounce hair jig and maggots as well as small jigs tipped with wax worms or perch eyes. I have also had good success with shrimpos and ratsos on lakes where any bait was not allowed. If you have fish coming in and looking at your bait but not hitting keep trying different colors and presentations until you find something that works. 2 winters ago I was using a shrimpo 6-12 inches off the bottom and I would place my rod across the top of a bucket and hit it where it crossed the bucket in the middle to get it just quivering and the perch would slam it like it was the last meal they would ever get. I think the new buzz stix would have been great for this tactic. Good luck on the ice.
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