Perch And ‘Eyes on Ice

By Ted Takasaki and Scott Richardson

Let other anglers spend the winter sitting at home suffering from a bad case of cabin fever. Dave Genz found the cure long ago. 

While others watch movies, the father of modern ice fishing watches his GPS and electronic sonar maps as he heads over hard water deciding where to cut holes.

By the time mid-winter has arrived, Genz has moved off smaller lakes, where perch and walleye were main targets earlier in the season. Oxygen depletion eventually takes a toll on the mood of the fish. They become lazy and harder to convince to bite. At the same time, walleye have moved away from shore to offshore structures. Point of fact: bigger lakes simply offer more of those fish-producing targets than smaller lakes do.

The Great Lakes are good bets to produce trophy walleye and perch through the ice. Genz targets structures in big bays like Bay de Noc on Lake Michigan, Lake Ontario’s Bay of Quinte, the Bass Islands of Lake Erie, Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron and Chequamegon Bay on Lake Superior.

In large inland lakes, he looks for mid-lake structures, humps and rock piles. But whether a Great Lake or large inland lake, the kinds of features he likes, often went untouched just a few years ago. That was before anglers got help from above from GPS satellites and sophisticated detailed computer-driven lake maps.

“Now we can drive our pickups or our snowmobiles and ATVs right to them,” said Genz. Tools that increase access for one angler increase access for many, and that translates to fishing pressure that can affect how perch and walleye behave, he said.

Still, Genz has figured out how to ice limits of fish, even in daytime. Knowing the key to catching walleye when the sun is high will open the door to hot action all day long, though like all of us, he loves that golden hour before sunset, which makes everyone look like a hard-water expert.

If you’re making a long trip and can pick your time, choose the new moon or full moon period when Genz thinks fish are the most active. For more impromptu trips, he consults his Casio fishing watch that uses pre-entered moon phases and sunrise and sunset times to calculate what days are best to fish and what times of each day action should peak. Numerous fish calendars do the same.

Finding fish on big water can take more time than you have. Cut the learning curve by checking out local internet sites for information. Make the usual stops at several bait shops on your way to the ice.

Once on a large point or hump, gravitate toward the edge and seek out irregularities that will bring fish to a stop, such as turns and points. Genz and friends will divide up the area and use their Strike Master augers in a process he calls hard-water trolling. They zigzag looking for additional details that can pinpoint where fish will be. The presence of features like weeds, boulders and the like are pluses.

A tool like an Aqua-Vu fish cam can help identify the right combination of structure, cover and baitfish that will almost insure perch and walleye are there. We say “almost” because nothing is absolutely certain in fishing.

Genz targets deep water during daylight. For example, say water around the hump or rock pile is 30 feet deep. He’ll target the 27- to 29-foot depth first. “That’s where the burrowing insects are, so that’s where the baitfish and the perch will be. The walleye will be there, too,” Genz said.

Odds are they won’t chase a bait far. When precision counts, he uses a jig like his namesake Genz Worm. Even though your world is basking in sunlight, walleye roaming that deep inhabit a dark place. As a result, he loves Techni-Glo colors. Red glow is brightest. His next favorites are green and yellow. Blue lasts the longest. He uses several maggots to build up volume on the hook and to add scent.

The new Lindy Slick Jig offers another great choice, he said. Its curved design and nose-first presentation resembles a panfish rooting around the bottom to unearth worms when he bounces it. If in the mud, make sure to drop to the bottom so silt “poofs up” and looks like a perch on the hunt for insects. Shake the jig to bring life to it. He’ll sometimes add a minnow to the jig for scent, taste and a live feel. Put the hook in the mouth and up through the head. He’s not worried about the minnow staying lively – his working his rod will make it appear alive. Make sure the minnow is straight so it follows the jig and doesn’t affect the action. But Genz finds it hard to beat maggots.

“I can use 10, 12 like a fan on the back. The action and scent trigger bites when sometimes minnows just won’t,” he said. A 1/4-ounce should get down to the 30-foot level quickly.

You probably already know that bait, perch, and walleye will migrate to the top of the structure as the hour before sunset approaches. Anticipate the migration and have holes drilled to you: 1) don’t waste time, and 2) don’t cause commotion as fish move to shallower water.

But did you know that fish can be found shallower during daylight? When fishing pressure is intense, experience has taught Genz that walleye hassled by too many anglers will move off the structure and hold at the same depth as the top of the structure. Instead of feeding on insects near the bottom of the structure during the day, they’ll move away, suspend and play a waiting game or feed on suspended baitfish, such as shad or shiners.

Finding suspended walleye can be a trick. Drill off the structure and switch from jigs to spoons, like the new Viking Spoon that may help by creating flash and vibration to draw walleye to the hole.

  Lindy’s Rattlin’ Flyer Spoon is another good choice. Don’t use a minnow head at first. They may limit the action of the lure and you want as much of that ingredient as you can get at first. But, watch the sonar. If fish move close, look at the spoon, but don’t bite, the scent a minnow head will add to the cold water might be the factor that makes them strike.

As winter moves closer to spring, perch and walleye will begin responding to the urge to spawn, and prime locations will change again. Look for them near the places you know they’ll spawn soon after ice-out. Caution: that means current areas in places like the inlets of rivers or neck-downs with hard rocky bottoms and fast breaks often on the north side of the lake, which warms first. Current and warm water mean the potential of thin ice. Never, ever go ice fishing alone.

You don’t have to be at home loading new line on spinning reels dreaming of opening day. Take the cure for cabin fever and spend the day on the ice catching the walleye of your dreams.