11 Best Baits for Big Yellow Perch
Yellow perch are on the most prized gamefish in North American and European waters. Selecting the best baits can make the difference between marginal success and a boatload of eater perch day after day. All baits are not created equal and determining the best yellow perch baits will bring your perch fishing success to a different level.
Fathead minnows, small shiners, and worms are the best natural yellow perch bait. Gulp! Minnows, roostertails, and small Rapala Shad Raps in natural baitfish colors are the best yellow perch lures.
According to a poll I posted on 2 separate fishing forums, 43% of yellow perch anglers catch the most perch using shiners and fathead minnows. 18% prefer using Gulp! Minnows. 107 anglers cast their votes in these 2 polls.
Yellow perch can be one of the best fish to catch anywhere in North American and European waters. As long as you locate schooling fish along weed edges or over breaks, catching them is relatively easy.
Click here to learn the best water temperature for perch fishing. This comprehensive guide will break down the best water temperatures for yellow perch in every season.
Best Natural Perch Baits
1. Shiners
A two-inch shiner is filet mignon to a hungry perch. How that shiner is presented makes all the difference in attracting and catching them. Many anglers claim shiners are the best bait for perch.
Take a number 2 or 4 hook, pierce the lower lip of the shiner, and fish with a bobber as you would with a worm. The shiner does all the work. When the bobber dips, set the hook.
2. Gulp! Minnow
A silver and black Gulp minnow on a lead head jig is one of the best lures you can throw at many species of fish in a lake or large river. Perch are as attracted to Gulp minnows as walleye and trout are. Any rod/reel combo works, but when using braided line, tie a fluorocarbon leader on the end.
Three feet should be enough. Hook the plastic minnow so the hook is up, with the black stripe up also. Cast near underwater structure, wait for a five-count after it hits the water then jerk, crank twice, jerk… on your retrieve. Perch can’t resist the natural minnow action.
3. Fathead Minnows
Many perch anglers prefer minnows over any other bait. While shiners are popular with mainstream perch fishermen, anglers that are looking for large, trophy-sized perch swear by the fathead. The fathead minnow is a larger minnow, with most in the three-inch range. With their larger size and greater viability, you can fish them in other styles besides the hook and bobber.
Take a number 2 hook, put it through the minnow’s lower lip. You can bottom fish, bobber fish with a split shot sinker, or use a drop shot rig for mossy areas. The drop shot technique allows you to cover more area than the traditional bottom or bobber fishing style.
Click here to learn what the best bait colors for perch are. Click here to learn how to ice fish for nighttime perch.
4. Marabou jig
There is a place where flies and lures cross boundaries, that place is owned by the Marabou jig. It looks like a lead head jig that caught too much cotton in your tackle box, but it is effective in perch fishing. One of the original lures used by anglers for perch and crappie was just a bit of red yarn on a hook.
The marabou jig takes that one step further with an incorporated lead head on the hook. Fish as you would a lead head Gulp minnow.
5. Waxworms
Perch are great to catch any time of the year, but they’re one of the best fish caught through the ice. Ice fishing is a perfect place to use waxworms. These hardy little worms move slowly in the cold water when hooked onto a smaller number 8 or 10 hook.
Their slow movement matches the more sluggish strikes of perch in cold winter water. Hook the waxworm, crimp-on weight and drop your line through the hole in the ice. Set the depth to your liking and set the tip up in place. Sit back, try to stay warm, and wait for the flag to trip.
6. Worms & Nightcrawlers
Worms are some of the best bait you can use for perch. Perch can’t resist a good worm on a hook. Perch look for structure, they’ll spawn in submerged trees, and hunt in those same locations.
You can crimp on a sinker and a number 6 hook with a bit of worm and toss it to the bottom, but that’s not the most effective way to catch perch with worms. Perch are not line shy, they’ll hit a suspended worm under a bobber almost any time of the day or night.
Pinch just enough worm to cover the hook. Crimp-on a sinker about 18 inches above the hook and two to four feet below the bobber.
Toss your rig out near the edge of the underwater structure and wait. Perch don’t hit hard, but they hit firm. Once they’ve grabbed the bait, they’ll swim away at an angle to the suspended line. When the bobber sinks, set your line in the opposite direction the bobber went under.
7. Rapala Shad Rap
Rapala is one of the best-known brands in the lure market. A shad rap takes it one step further. They look like small shad that perch will feed on naturally, and they make a unique sonic vibration in the water that attracts fish. Fish the shad rap just like you would a lead head jib, jerk followed by a couple of rhythmic cranks.
8. Eyes, Gills, & Fish Parts
Perch will hit anything aquatically organic. Crayfish meat is a popular bait, as are fish eyes, gills, and bits of sucker meat. You should always check local regulations with this style of bait since legalities vary.
Hook the bait to a number 6 hook, and set up your rod similar to bobber or bottom fishing with worms or shiners. Perch are attracted to the smell and will find this type of bait even in turbid water.
9. Roostertail
It was probably one of the first lures in your tackle box and it’s still effective in bringing in open water perch today. Hook a swivel on the end of four to six-pound monofilament on a spincasting or spinning rod. Cast as far out into the lake as you can.
After it hits the water, count to five and start a medium retrieve. Perch are little sharks, they’ll close in quick. Try to focus on natural colors (greys, clear, light blue) when the water is clear and golds, chartreuses, and firetiger in murkier water.
10. Small spoons
Who doesn’t like spoons? Fishermen do, and so do fish. Spoons give you variety no matter the weather. On a bright sunny day a silver or gold spoon, cast and retrieved with a steady flip of the rod will attack perch.
In murky water, or limited light, a green, yellow, or even red spoon, such as a “Five of Diamonds” will catch their attention. Small spoons work best for perch.
11. Blue Fox Inline Spinners
The sonic vibrations emitted by Blue Fox lures attract fish. The blades are designed to create a vortex in the water that can send sound a long way, attracting game fish with the idea that a wounded baitfish is in the water nearby.
Use a spincasting or spinning rod, throw a number 3 or 4 Blue Fox as far as you can, and reel steadily back towards shore, the lure will do all the work.
Best Perch Baits for Each Season
Winter
Through the ice, you’ll want to use live bait. Shiner and fathead minnows work well through the ice, nightcrawlers, earthworms, and waxworms are all good bait as well with tip-ups.
If you choose to jig through the ice, a short rod with a lead head, Gulp minnow can bring good results on sunny winter days on the ice.
Spring
Perch spawn in the same beds as walleye, just a couple of weeks later. Spring fishing can be the best for perch using lead head jigs with plastic minnows, shiners, fatheads, and a variety of worm rigging. Lures work well later in the spring once the spawn is over.
Summer
Perch fishing is the epitome of a warm summer afternoon on the water. Just about everything in the tackle box works during the summer months.
Worms and minnows with a bobber, a drop shot rig, or off the bottom are a relaxing way to bring in perch. Spinners, spoons, and jigs all bring good results on sunny mornings and late afternoons.
Fall
Fishing the cooling waters of autumn is similar to spring fishing but without the spawn. Live bait works well since these fish realize their world is about to slow down with the approaching winter and often go into late-season feeding frenzies. Live bait and lead head jigs work best during the autumn.
Best Fly Patterns for Yellow Perch
When you think of fly fishing, most people think of trout. That’s a good thing when it comes to perch since both species have similar feeding habits.
Similar, but not identical, the flies that work with trout won’t always attract perch. You might catch a few perch with a tiny mosquito tied on a #22 hook, or maybe one that matches the latest hatch. Perch prefer flies a little larger, flies that mimic baitfish rather than insect larvae.
A large fly tied on a number 4 hook, with long streamers in green and yellow with a flash of red usually does the trick. Perch are notorious cannibals, and flies that match their color combination work well.
Perch flies should be built “hook up” similar to jigs to minimize snagging on underwater weeds and other structure. A slow retrieve in shallow water works well for perch since that’s where baitfish will often congregate trying to escape predators.
If you’re fishing deeper water, you’ll want a fly that isn’t as buoyant. Sinking to depth is a key to catching perch. Perch won’t chase a bait like other game fish, if it’s close by they’ll hit, if they have to move too much they will often pass.
Fly fishing for perch is one of the lesser-used methods for catching fish, but it can produce great results, especially if you tie your own flies and pay attention to color patterns.
A weighted fly, fishing like a jig can be a lot of fun. Hook sizes from number one to number four hooks are larger, to begin with, and mimic immature perch, small walleye, and minnows. Streamers will work for perch clustered in heavy structure up to 10 feet from the surface.
Working these streamers through the structure will attract fish. As a schooling species, once you find the range, you can catch a perch on every cast once you find them.
Recommended Hooks for Yellow Perch
If you want to catch and release, barbless hooks are the best. If you’re after a perch dinner, these hard fighting fish require a barbed hook. Treble hooks aren’t necessary for perch, but hooks larger than you would use for walleye or trout are in order.
A size 2 or larger hook holds minnows well, while the good ol’ number 6 is often best for worms and nightcrawlers. Long shanked hooks, designed specifically for worms, hold bait well and have a special curved feature that allows easier hooking of perch.
Best Perch Baits for Streams & Rivers
You can’t beat a lead head jig for stream and river fishing. The added heft of the lead jig, combined with the natural motion of an artificial Gulp minnow lets you work with and against the current.
Perch aren’t as particular as other fish. They don’t react to where the bait is coming from, they just hit whatever comes closest to them.
If you’ve found a school of perch hugging some underwater structure, you can work the area much more efficiently with a heavy jig than any other lure or live bait.
Best Deepwater & Shallow Water Perch Baits
Live bait works best in deep water. Perch are finicky as mature fish. Immature perch will swarm your bait, ripping apart worms and minnows with equal abandon, larger perch will gulp the bait, then swim away. Deepwater requires either bottom fishing or drop shot technique to reach the bigger perch you’re after.
Shallow water is a good place to try your hand at fly fishing for perch. The shallows, in standing cattails or weed beds, can get you strikes just inches below the surface.
Spinners and spoons worked through the shallows will bring out perch hiding in shallow structure as well.
Best Nighttime Perch Baits
On a dark night, live bait is the best option for catching perch. If you’re lucky enough to have a full moon, on a clear night, you can have a lot of success with silver and gold spinners and spoons.
Perch will hit what they can see, or if they can’t see, what they can smell. Night fishing, especially night ice fishing can produce huge hauls of fish when the conditions are right.
