Northwest Fishing Reports

Any winter lake wa perch fisherman out there?

So, I went with a friend this past weekend, and found some in deep water over 80+ feet deep along the Seattle shoreline.

Are they always that deep this time of year? Looking at the nautical topographic map, there are sections under and south of the East Channel Bridge area in the 40-60 feet range. Would this region be devoid of perch this time of year (e.g. will the perch be likely to be located elsewhere in the lake, where the depths are 80-120 feet, as opposed to hanging out in the areas that are not as deep?)?

Most of the perch in the lake will be follow the same depth pattern as the water temps change throughout the year. The fish all end up in the 80 to 100 foot range as this is where the last remnants of warmer water were found before the lake turned over. This depth is also where the fresh water shrimp reside and provide the perch with a good source of food during the winter months.

You may find some schools of perch in the shallower east channel section of the lake, but the majority will have made their way to deeper section of the main lake body. Once the waters start to warm and the weeds begin to grow again, they will move up into the shallows to spawn and feed.

The hardest part of fishing for them this time of year is finding a school that is in the lee of the wind. Drift socks help as does a spotlock enabled electric trolling motor. I use drift socks and put my kicker into reverse to stay in place, good practice for when you want to fish LaPush for rockfish.

Thanks G-man. That's exactly the info I needed.

I would have liked to find some perch in the shallower east channel area, but it looks from your post that the numbers will not be there. Good thing that I found the other (deeper) location where they seem to be hanging out right now--it's just a little further for me to drive to get there.

I was out scouting for perch with a buddy Saturday. We found one school in the east channel near the Seahawks facility, but we had trouble staying on them due to the wind. I had a couple of 5-gallon buckets, but forgot some rope to make drift buckets. Good to know where I might find more next time, and how to stay on top of them.

Curiosity speaking here... Why not just anchor up when you find a school and when they move pull up relocate and anchor again??

With the depths you will be fishing, it is much easier to keep on top of them by monitoring your sonar and using your motor. When the wind blows you need two anchors, or your kicker to pull against the anchor, to stay in place. This ends up being more of a pain than it's worth.

I fished Lk WA a couple weeks ago for perch. We focused on the east channel and found plenty in 60-70 feet of water. More information at http://gonefishingnw.com/winter-2016-la ... ing-report