Perch Bait Other Than Live Minnows

[Donscs]

Been fishing for perch many years and always use live minnows on open water. Just wondering if you have found anything as effective, or even more, than live minnows for perch. Bait shops in our area haven’t had Emerald Shiners for a long time, just Goldens, sometimes Sand Shiners, and even Mud Minnows. Also I want to fish some waters that don’t allow you to bring live minnows into Canada from the US.
Thanks,
Donscs

[Bobby Winds]

I have about 3 lb of salted Emerald Shiners in the freezer, but Golden Shiners are fairly good too. Right now walleyes fishing is to good on Erie to even think about perch fishing.

[7 Mag]

Originally Posted by Donscs

Been fishing for perch many years and always use live minnows on open water. Just wondering if you have found anything as effective, or even more, than live minnows for perch. Bait shops in our area haven’t had Emerald Shiners for a long time, just Goldens, sometimes Sand Shiners, and even Mud Minnows. Also I want to fish some waters that don’t allow you to bring live minnows into Canada from the US.
Thanks,
Donscs

I like to use crappie minnows; I've had good luck using a jig with a piece of crawler.

[REW]

Certainly crawlers catch a lot of perch.

Also, dead minnows catch a lot of perch.

[Custom Eyes]

I've always preferred crawler chunks over any other bait for soft water perching.

[thump55]

Hellgrammites are very popular on Bago.

[grindstone]

I have a place in South Haven Mi. and love the perching on Lake Michigan. Over the last month they've been hot in between the bigger winds events. If you are fishing scattered one fish here two fish there kind of bite, I too, have most confidence w minnows. Try a bag of cheap small cocktail shrimp and cut them smallish the size of your little fingers nail. I fish either bait on a pre made 2 hook perch mono rig over a 1 oz pencil sinker . I especially like shrimp when the perch are schooling. I get so exited with the minnows flipping and slippery my hands shaking during the hot bite I'll out fish buddies w minnows most times. Try some shrimp easy neat and seems to fills the cooler just as fast.

[Bobby Winds]

Originally Posted by grindstone

I have a place in South Haven Mi. and love the perching on Lake Michigan. Over the last month they've been hot in between the bigger winds events. If you are fishing scattered one fish here two fish there kind of bite, I too, have most confidence w minnows. Try a bag of cheap small cocktail shrimp and cut them smallish the size of your little fingers nail. I fish either bait on a pre made 2 hook perch mono rig over a 1 oz pencil sinker . I especially like shrimp when the perch are schooling. I get so exited with the minnows flipping and slippery my hands shaking during the hot bite I'll out fish buddies w minnows most times. Try some shrimp easy neat and seems to fills the cooler just as fast.

I like your shrimp idea......and you can always eat them yourself.

[mjayn]

I've caught them on leeches, but minnows produced better.

I've caught them on crawlers(or reds) but minnows produced better.

When I was working an a salmon charter boat in Lake Michigan whenever we went perch fishing we always used popcorn/cocktail/bag of small shrimp. They worked better enticing the perch to swim a little to pick up the bait. Once into a school shrimp and minnows were about the same.

[ColumbiaR]

Can’t use live minnows here is Washington. But have always done as well as I needed to with crawlers. More depends on the lake than the bait in my experience.