Perch rig technique

Soup

Soup

Well-Known Member
Just wondering what technique most people use with their perch (pickerel) rigs. I've been told by someone who is a very seasoned fisherman that the best way is to lay the rig flat on the bottom, wait a bit and then just slowly lift and if you feel weight, then you've got a fish on. Lose alot of minnows that way because you don't feel the bites, it's all timing. I've had lots of luck doing it that way. Never had much luck keeping it vertical, but lately had some luck keeping it vertical. I let the weight get to the bottom, reel in any slack, get the rod just about a foot above the water with the weight still on bottom and then lift just enough to load the rod up (weight is maybe 1/2" off bottom). Feel everything that way and minnows last way longer. I'm sure you guys have tried it all and figured out what works best. I'll be interested to see the responses.
 
Slack line while perch fishing often results in gut/deeply hooked fish when they're feeding aggressively which in turn costs you time trying to dig hooks out. A lot of dinks get tossed overboard half dead and bleeding when people fish this way, especially with a pickerel rig as the fish can swallow the hook without any sign of a hit.

I gave up on pickerel rigs a couple years ago for both ice fishing and summer months. Now I only dropshot with a spinshot hook and I no longer get gut hooked fish, no more tangled pickerel rigs in the box, less snags, and I lose less minnows.

My rig consists of an ultralight rod, 8 lb power pro, 12" of 6 lb fluorocarbon, spin shot hook, 10-20" (depending on bottom structure) of 6 lb fluorocarbon, 1/2-1 oz bell sinker.
 
I use nothing but pickerel rigs. As you stated I weight them so I can load the rod a bit. In deep water you are better off with braided line and a medium action short rod. The braid gives you better feel and the medium rod will allow for a better hook set and increased sensitivity. I also use a 1.5 oz weight.

It works. we catch a few,:)

BD
 
very interesting comments. I was at pt bruce last week end and started with a pickerel Rig. the bite was very light and we lost a lot of minnows. I changed the weight from lighter to heavier but still could not get enough "feel" for the bite. I ended up changing to a 1/4 oz marabou jig with a minnow and we had a much better run... I don't think you want to leave the minnow loose on any type of setup. I t leads to too many gut hooked fish and more lost minnows.. I am not IZUMI but this setup worked well for me. keep up the comments and updates, its great to hear about what works.. and doesn't! Cheers!
 
Go for a double drop shot rig, tied on a length of 10lb flouro attached to braided mainline. This eliminates the slop and play of a typical perch rig, allowing for much more sensitivity. On days when they are on fire, it doesn't make a lot of difference, but when the bite is light I outfish the perch rig with it. If you want to get really fancy, tie a jig on the bottom in lieu of a dropshot weight. You'll have to learn to tie something like a Sabiki rig, or the standard palomar knots on the dropshot hooks will break after you get a few fish on the bottom jig. I find it easier just to use the weight, and tie one of the two hooks very low if they are biting on bottom.
With so little gear between you and the weight, you can often feel the pickups when you let the hooks drift toward the bottom on a slack line. This preserves the smaller population of fish that often go back, but often get gut hooked.
Tie up a few lengths of flouro with hooks before hand, when you catch a lot of doubles you will eventually shear of the rig on a sharp gill plate at some point. Wrap them onto empty spools of line and tape them for easy storage.
 
You will always get some unintended gut hooked fish no matter how you fish, that's life when fishing. Just like hunting you will eventually wound an animal no matter how ethically you pursue them or how well you place your shot. I also fish perch rigs using the exact same method as BD and it has worked for me flawlessly for over 40 years. If the fish are biting I almost always limit out so I'm a believer, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. :p
 
I use the pickeral rigs with the biggest hooks and get very few deep hooked fish compared to the smaller perch rigs.Don't get the big numbers of dinks either but that may be coincidence. The technique I use is a heavier weight ( 3/4 - 1 oz) on 6 lb flouro to get the bait down quickly. The most important part though is the UL action rod to feel the bite. I have a 7' berkley enforcer el cheapo cantire special that has been a game changer for me. Nice limber in the tip so the fish don't feel any resistance and I can usually get them with patience as they will continue to nibble even if I miss them on my first try. Lots of hooksets too which will hook some that you may not even realize are around - the sinker hitting the bottom can feel a lot like a bite so it helps me stay focused to keep swinging at pitches. I have never limited out but usually get enough for a good meal or two even sometimes when the 'rest of the boat' are not catching as many. I usually enforce a strict 10"+ rule so I am not spending hours cleaning fish at home.
 
pickeral rigs
1 oz or more to get it to the bottom
braided line , med to light poles
we find the bigs ones don't bite , they just hold on ... so set the hooks !!
 
I agree with Big Dave & misty river, it's worked the best for me this year (out 4 times, limited out 3, short by 10 on the other trip because we ran out of minnows).
 
drop shot for me all the way - as someone else mentioned I use a double drop shot - with one hook 6 inches to a foot from the bottom and another a foot above that. Floro leader and braided line - nothings's more sensitive if you ask me. But like most anything it depends on what you're comfortable with.
 
Just hooks for me...I stay stationary and as vertical as possible so the spinner would not really do much. I do put 6mm beads on my line for a little colour ( plastic transparent pink ones have outfished the chartreuse in my one trip this year)......
 
I personally use a 3/8 weight at the bottom, and 2 red hooks about 10 inches to 12 inches apart. put the weight on the bottom and keep line tight. I find the red hooks work better than the pickerel rigs. but each to his own i suppose. good luck

fishemhard
 
All good setups. Go with what you have both confidence and what works for you. I generally change the tag line to 6 lb flourocarbon and hooks (red) if the rig comes strait off the shelf. Tieing a crappie jig on for colour and something different works for me at times.

The only thing I might add is many complain that fish die because the swim bladder is full after pulling them up from 30 feet or deeper. Take your time. Keep the line tight and reel 5 feet and stop for 10 seconds(which feels like 10 minutes when you think you might lose a beauty). I see so many folks reel so fast and hard it can be funny, and lose fish because of it. Very few fish with full bladders and dinks recover in the live well for release latter. Good to hone your angling skills as well.
 
Personally, I like the double drop shot method for both ice and open water. What I usually do is tie up a couple double shot rigs with chartreuse beads and a couple with pink and find out which works best when you are out there. Make sure you use flourocarbon and spend the money on good hooks. Just a preference, but I prefer red colour hooks too.
 
Soup said:
Just wondering what technique most people use with their perch (pickerel) rigs. I've been told by someone who is a very seasoned fisherman that the best way is to lay the rig flat on the bottom, wait a bit and then just slowly lift and if you feel weight, then you've got a fish on. Lose alot of minnows that way because you don't feel the bites, it's all timing. I've had lots of luck doing it that way. Never had much luck keeping it vertical, but lately had some luck keeping it vertical. I let the weight get to the bottom, reel in any slack, get the rod just about a foot above the water with the weight still on bottom and then lift just enough to load the rod up (weight is maybe 1/2" off bottom). Feel everything that way and minnows last way longer. I'm sure you guys have tried it all and figured out what works best. I'll be interested to see the responses.
Click to expand...

Hi Soup....My new perch rigs do just that, Less Minnows...Less tangles....More perch....2018-01-04 003.JPG2018-01-04 003.JPG
 
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I use a Set line
Not wanting to spend a lot of money, take a few snelled # 6 hooks and bell sinker.
I tie my own snells with flora & use # 6 or 4 egg hooks
Tie a couple snelled hooks above the bell about 10 inches apart, case a few Whities around put a snell hook on your bell sinker on bottom all baited with minnows.
Pickerel rigs are ok but with all that hardware I like a little more stealth.
Can make a few of these rigs, put each one in a snadwich bag so won't tangle.
On erie I use a rod with braid because your fishing much deeper so you can feel the bite better
Add a snap swivel at the end of your braid, make a loop on your set rig, just clip it on plus the snap swivel helps on the line twist.

OIcb0iW.jpg
 
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Great thread you started,
I normally used pic rigs also with med hooks, I have tried a few home made rigs in the past but end up back to the pic rig.
All in all some times you just have to keep changing up let the fish tell you what they prefer,
Nice to read all the posts on this topic.
Tight lines
 
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