CJ Strike or Brownlee

[StacyR]

I think the scads of dinky perch at Strike are from year before last's spawn. A 6" perch is 2-3 years old. That was the year with the long, rainy spring with cold, muddy water and back-to-back cold fronts for weeks on end. I'm sure the bass, bluegill and crappie spawn for 2012 was minimal at best, since I was still catching females stuffed with eggs in late June. Perch spawn earlier and at lower temperature, so they had less competition. A lot of them survived and now we are seeing the effects.

The larger gamefish are having a smorgasbord though. I've caught lots of trout and smallmouth with baby perch in their stomachs. I just hope the large number of small perch doesn't depress the upcoming year classes of bass and crappie.
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