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Winter Time Perching by Don Dziedzina
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Many of us are spending some time in the field hunting. And there are others getting ready for the holidays. But a few anglers will find some of the biggest perch of the year inside the breakwalls off 95^th Street in Lake Michigan.

If weather permits, boaters can head to the 95^th Street ramps at Calumet Park and spend one of those warm days on the water catching real nice perch. If there is no snow, use of the ramps is very possible. We have to watch the air temperatures though. Freezing temps will obviously make the ramps slick. Last week I launched out of the old Riverside Marina at 13600 S. Torrance. I was quite surprised to see a quarter inch of ice for about fifty yards out. It’s things like this that we need to keep an eye on.

Often the ramps will be slick during the first few hours after sun up. Getting to the lake at 9 o’clock is plenty early and if the fish are turned on, you and a couple of fishing partners could be off the water by noon with your limits.

I really have two favorite spots to fish off 95^th Street. The first is the opening of the walls that is north and a bit east from the ramps. Anglers will fish both walls amongst the rock as well as the opening. The second spot is the far end of the wall which is to the east. This location is probably the most popular simply because of the rock structure there.

Many times when the perch are really taking over the Calumet Harbor area all one has to do is travel up into the wind and then drift along with rigs that bounced off the bottom. I’ve done this using an Aqua-Vu underwater camera and found this whole area quite interesting. There was virtually nothing but sand out there with an occasional little golf ball sized rock that in most cases is covered with zebra mussels. I would drift along and see nothing but sand then all of a sudden dozens or maybe hundreds of perch. Then as the drift went on, the fish were gone and I saw nothing but desert like sand once again.

In December the perch come into the harbor looking for more comfortable conditions. The water can be a bit warmer than the air temperatures and surprisingly make for some great fishing. Presentation in these cooler but not very cold waters is the trick to getting a limit of perch in no time at all.

Live minnows work best. Perchers will put one small minnow on a Cubby Mini Mite and drop it to the bottom. If the winds are up, you may have to add on a one quarter or three eights split shot to your line to get the bait down. You want to be able to maintain some bottom contact. Put the split shot eighteen inches up from the Mini Mite, drop it all the way to the bottom and then give the reel one or two cranks to just get the bait off the bottom by inches. Let the bait drag or give it a very light pumping action. Light four or six pound test line on a light or ultra light action rod and reel will let you detect soft pick ups by a perch. The light line will also help you fish vertically because of less drag in the water.

Another presentation is the typical crappie rig that has a half-ounce to one ounce bell weight at the bottom and a couple of off set snelled hooks running to the sides. Same deal here, bait them up with some small minnows and you’re all set. But with this rig, let the bell weight touch bottom. This may be the better rig when there is a lot of wave action and your drift is kind of fast.

If you can find some time at this busy time of year to head out to the big lake, give perching a try. Dress warmly and keep an eye on the weather. With the ramps at 95^th Street being only about a half hour from the Lincoln-Way area, you’ll see that great fishing is not that far away.

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