Rockport Perch Jerkin' 8-4-21

[TubeDude]

Hit Rockport this morning on a perch search. Rumblings in the fambly about it being too long since I made some pig out perch chowder. So I thought I’d try launching in the current abysmal launch ramp conditions. They have scooped out a lot of mud off the ramp and piled it high on the sides but it is still sticky muck on either side of the wedge dock. In fact it is less than a foot of water over the mud on the north side…and less than 2 feet on the south side. I almost lost my fins in the sucking goo while trying to launch.
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Air temp at 7 am was a chilly 46. Almost needed gloves. Water temp was 70 at the ramp…warming to about 72 by noon. But it dropped to only 67 up near the Weber River inlet where I exchanged pleasantries with Cookie and the Pirate.
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**As they reported already, fishing was not stellar in the area we had chosen to meet up. They had caught some dinksters and I only got a couple of feeble bites…and did not see too much on TV. So I moved back north and went toward the dam a bit. **
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I was getting a few hits and bringing in some micro perch. But they were not what I wanted for chowder. I still had nothing in my basket at 9:30. Then I found “Da Zone”. First a few on the screen. Then a lot. Then so many they changed the depth reading on sonar from 16 feet to 8 feet. That’s a lotta perch.
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The good news is they would bite. Not too aggressively, but by fishing with ice fishing tactics I was able to get in some serious perch jerkin’ for a couple of hours. They would hit the larger stuff, but merely stripped the worm off the hooks. So I downsized to a couple of ice fishing trinkets and just tipped them with a tiny bit of worm. That was it. Game on. Threw back a grundle but still got enough in the 9-10 inch bracket to get some filletable fish. Even got a couple of doubles…and a footlong smallie…and a CHUB???
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**No power squadron today. There was about a 16 foot Crestliner and then a bass boat that braved the muddy ramp after I launched. But no other boats. There were a couple of jet skis launching as I was coming in. And they had more problem than the boats. They launched with a 2 wheel drive pickup and it almost couldn’t make it back up out of the mud after launching. Wondering how it went when they tried to haul the craft out under those conditions later. **

[Cowboypirate]

Glad you finally found em. We high-tailed it out pretty early when our chosen spot was only yielding dinks - so much for the “intel” i got from a “friend”. We might wander up to LC tonight for a drive since we did not get our full fishy fix this morn

[cworsley62]

That is some solid meat fishing. So sad to see the water so low, and shrinking. I wonder what winter will look like on the hard deck. The fish will be very concentrated (as your sonar shows.) I wonder how all those fellas are finding enough food to eat. Will the thermocline allows them to stay cool until the lake freezes, and then will there be enough O2 for them? Curious minds want to know! They must be sitting targets for the bigger predators if any are left.

Thanks for the report.

[ELM_71]

Good job as usual Pat. How far out before you dropped the motor and sit down?

[2knots]

Nice job Pat on the making for some good chow….der.

[TubeDude]

@Cowboypirate

Glad you finally found em. We high-tailed it out pretty early when our chosen spot was only yielding dinks - so much for the “intel” i got from a “friend”. We might wander up to LC tonight for a drive since we did not get our full fishy fix this morn

I had the same intel you did on that spot. But the lake is dropping fast and the water level is below the rocks now. Without structure the fish don’t hang around…especially in those lower water levels.

If you wanna, I will send you a pic of “DA ZONE”. Easy cast from shore along a 50 or so yard stretch of shoreline.

[wiperhunter2]

Nice going Pat, maybe there is some hope for me giving RP a try before ice up.

[TubeDude]

@cworsley62

That is some solid meat fishing. So sad to see the water so low, and shrinking. I wonder what winter will look like on the hard deck. The fish will be very concentrated (as your sonar shows.) I wonder how all those fellas are finding enough food to eat. Will the thermocline allows them to stay cool until the lake freezes, and then will there be enough O2 for them? Curious minds want to know! They must be sitting targets for the bigger predators if any are left.

Thanks for the report.

We have had other winters of extreme low water. Yes, it does impact the fish, but they always bounce back. There is a conservation pool at Rockport so it won’t go dry. And it’s deep enough there should not be winterkill. But it will concentrate the fish…hopefully in a good way.

There is a lot of food for them. I saw several big balls of baby perch on sonar. That is usually their primary forage for a good part of the year. But they also eat crawdads and other aquatic goodies.

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@lee!

Good job as usual Pat. How far out before you dropped the motor and sit down?

I need at least 18" to do that. I found it deep enough about 2/3 of the way out on the dock. But once the motor was down it kept running into mud humps and was tough to get fully underway. That’s why I got out on a point of gravel a short distance north.
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@wiperhunter2

Nice going Pat, maybe there is some hope for me giving RP a try before ice up.

**The boats launching today had a tough time. I doubt it will get any better in the near future. **

Are you ready for a float tube yet?
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@2knots

Nice job Pat on the making for some good chow….der.

Tanks. I’ll PM you a bowl.

[Freakyfisherman]

@TubeDude

Hit Rockport this morning on a perch search. Rumblings in the fambly about it being too long since I made some pig out perch chowder. So I thought I’d try launching in the current abysmal launch ramp conditions. They have scooped out a lot of mud off the ramp and piled it high on the sides but it is still sticky muck on either side of the wedge dock. In fact it is less than a foot of water over the mud on the north side…and less than 2 feet on the south side. I almost lost my fins in the sucking goo while trying to launch.

Air temp at 7 am was a chilly 46. Almost needed gloves. Water temp was 70 at the ramp…warming to about 72 by noon. But it dropped to only 67 up near the Weber River inlet where I exchanged pleasantries with Cookie and the Pirate.

**As they reported already, fishing was not stellar in the area we had chosen to meet up. They had caught some dinksters and I only got a couple of feeble bites…and did not see too much on TV. So I moved back north and went toward the dam a bit. **

I was getting a few hits and bringing in some micro perch. But they were not what I wanted for chowder. I still had nothing in my basket at 9:30. Then I found “Da Zone”. First a few on the screen. Then a lot. Then so many they changed the depth reading on sonar from 16 feet to 8 feet. That’s a lotta perch.

The good news is they would bite. Not too aggressively, but by fishing with ice fishing tactics I was able to get in some serious perch jerkin’ for a couple of hours. They would hit the larger stuff, but merely stripped the worm off the hooks. So I downsized to a couple of ice fishing trinkets and just tipped them with a tiny bit of worm. That was it. Game on. Threw back a grundle but still got enough in the 9-10 inch bracket to get some filletable fish. Even got a couple of doubles…and a footlong smallie…and a CHUB???

**No power squadron today. There was about a 16 foot Crestliner and then a bass boat that braved the muddy ramp after I launched. But no other boats. There were a couple of jet skis launching as I was coming in. And they had more problem than the boats. They launched with a 2 wheel drive pickup and it almost couldn’t make it back up out of the mud after launching. Wondering how it went when they tried to haul the craft out under those conditions later. **

Nice job Pat. I got out DC this past Monday morning. Launching from the pullout before the island ramp. A 16 inch eye jigging a powerbait minnow. Also a couple of cigar eyes, a few smallies, and one lone perch slow dragging a worm on a jig. Rainy a bit so Ill blame the weather for a lack luster day despite marking lots of fish. It was amazing just to be out.
Gabe

[SkunkedAgain]

Way to get on the perch, sounds like a fun day… Congrats… J

[TubeDude]

@Freakyfisherman

Nice job Pat. I got out DC this past Monday morning. Launching from the pullout before the island ramp. A 16 inch eye jigging a powerbait minnow. Also a couple of cigar eyes, a few smallies, and one lone perch slow dragging a worm on a jig. Rainy a bit so Ill blame the weather for a lack luster day despite marking lots of fish. It was amazing just to be out.
Gabe

I almost went to DC instead of Rockport. I’ve had a few reports that the walleyes are still biting…if you can find them. But when I weighed the option of fishing a quiet lake (Rockport) with trying to survive in a wave-washed bathtub (Deer Creek) my choice was on the side of more peace and quiet. But I still plan to get in some more shots at DC before winter.

Also codgertatin’ about a run or two on Starvy after Labor Day. Maybe we can meet up somewhere.

[Springbuck1]

“I found it deep enough about 2/3 of the way out on the dock.”

That sounds like kayak-weather to me.

[TubeDude]

@Springbuck1

“I found it deep enough about 2/3 of the way out on the dock.”

That sounds like kayak-weather to me.

It’s only gonna get worse (for boats) as the water continues to drop. This is where we of the floatation fishing set (tubes, toons, yaks & such) are finally able to enjoy our sport in relative peace and quiet. Might as well take advantage while we can.

[PACKFAN]

@TubeDude

@cworsley62

That is some solid meat fishing. So sad to see the water so low, and shrinking. I wonder what winter will look like on the hard deck. The fish will be very concentrated (as your sonar shows.) I wonder how all those fellas are finding enough food to eat. Will the thermocline allows them to stay cool until the lake freezes, and then will there be enough O2 for them? Curious minds want to know! They must be sitting targets for the bigger predators if any are left.

Thanks for the report.

We have had other winters of extreme low water. Yes, it does impact the fish, but they always bounce back. There is a conservation pool at Rockport so it won’t go dry. And it’s deep enough there should not be winterkill. But it will concentrate the fish…hopefully in a good way.

There is a lot of food for them. I saw several big balls of baby perch on sonar. That is usually their primary forage for a good part of the year. But they also eat crawdads and other aquatic goodies.

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@lee!

Good job as usual Pat. How far out before you dropped the motor and sit down?

I need at least 18" to do that. I found it deep enough about 2/3 of the way out on the dock. But once the motor was down it kept running into mud humps and was tough to get fully underway. That’s why I got out on a point of gravel a short distance north.

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@wiperhunter2

Nice going Pat, maybe there is some hope for me giving RP a try before ice up.

**The boats launching today had a tough time. I doubt it will get any better in the near future. **

Are you ready for a float tube yet?

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@2knots

Nice job Pat on the making for some good chow….der.

Tanks. I’ll PM you a bowl.

My Crestliner is in storage until next spring, Archery hunts take off in a couple weeks so my attention has turned toward the mountains. had a pretty darn good fishing season this summer for walleye,big bluegill, and perch.

[lovetofish]

I was going to ask you where you parked until I saw your picture of the ramp. Did anyone say anything to you for parking there. When I was up there 3 weeks ago I just pulled off to the side on the dirt and parked there. When I was leaving a park worker gave me a warning that the rangers will give ticket for where I parked. But after looking up the STEEP ramp and the distance to walk I decided to park where I did.

[TubeDude]

@lovetofish

I was going to ask you where you parked until I saw your picture of the ramp. Did anyone say anything to you for parking there. When I was up there 3 weeks ago I just pulled off to the side on the dirt and parked there. When I was leaving a park worker gave me a warning that the rangers will give ticket for where I parked. But after looking up the STEEP ramp and the distance to walk I decided to park where I did.

I was hoping I would be okay…since they are being lax at Echo and other lakes (not Deer Creek) where low water makes for a long hike back to the car if you park in the parking spaces up top. But I displayed my senior park pass and my disability sticker on my dashboard and the ranger that drove down in the golf cart just took a look and drove back up. No hassle. And since I am not likely to go back this year I got away with one.

On the flip side, at Deer Creek about 3 weeks ago, I parked in a “boat trailer parking” spot right at the top of the ramp at the island launch. I’ve been parking there for years with no problems. But my last trip I had a note on my window to check in at the gate on the way out. The very hostile lady in the booth wanted me to pay a $20 fine for parking where I did. I explained my advanced age and infirmities…and that I paid the same amount that boats do to launch. But I couldn’t confuse her with logic…her mind was made up. So I just left…without paying.

They have been a lot less demanding at Echo. In fact, since the ramp has been rendered useless by low water, the shoreline looks like a parking lot most days. That might change when they complete the new ramp and other amenities for the day use areas next year.

[Therapist]

The folks at DC can be a real pain at times. I had the same problem a few years ago parking on the beach to the side of the ramp. It wasn’t the ranger but one of seasonal folk that got all exercised. Something about oil and grease contaminating the beach and getting into the water. I pointed out that most of the boats on the water were 2 stroke engines and that their exhaust was putting all kinds of emissions into the water !! She was left speechless and left !! At the main ramp, there are a couple of handicapped spots just off the side of the ramp, on the right going up. Not sure why they get so excited when you park on the beach !! It can be a VERY long walk up and down those ramps when the water is this low.

By the way TD, those are some nice perch !! Rick and I scored some nice crappie at Echo the other day, before they shut the ramp area down. Have to put everything on hold for the next 10days, my son is getting married in San Diego next week and we are heading there for the nuptials. Will be back in business on Aug 16 !!

[TubeDude]

@Therapist

The folks at DC can be a real pain at times. I had the same problem a few years ago parking on the beach to the side of the ramp. It wasn’t the ranger but one of seasonal folk that got all exercised. Something about oil and grease contaminating the beach and getting into the water. I pointed out that most of the boats on the water were 2 stroke engines and that their exhaust was putting all kinds of emissions into the water !! She was left speechless and left !! At the main ramp, there are a couple of handicapped spots just off the side of the ramp, on the right going up. Not sure why they get so excited when you park on the beach !! It can be a VERY long walk up and down those ramps when the water is this low.

By the way TD, those are some nice perch !! Rick and I scored some nice crappie at Echo the other day, before they shut the ramp area down. Have to put everything on hold for the next 10days, my son is getting married in San Diego next week and we are heading there for the nuptials. Will be back in business on Aug 16 !!

Rick sent me some pics of a couple of the crappies. Some nice ones. Not a lot of them in Echo but if you can find them and serve them the right stuff…the right way…they will cooperate.

Didn’t catch any perch over about 10.5 inches at Rockport but last year saw some that were pushing 13. Just gotta search them out…and be good and lucky.