In-line spinners for perch

I've been on a kick lately looking into using in-line spinners for freshwater trout fishing. From my kayak, I do a lot of fishing for perch with r-bend jig spinners like the woody spinner and some generously provided by bignose. So, blending the two, I was wondering if anyone on here uses in line spinners for perch /pickerel and can share how that works.

[Cowpokey]

I've caught a lot of perch on 1/8oz Rooster Tail spinners. Usually black and silver.
Screen Shot 2015-02-28 at 2.48.53 PM.jpg

[Memory Maker]

I used to use mepps spinners for them

[mytmouse]

I've caught Perch and Pickerel on rooster tails with great success. I like the 3/8th weights, but they would probably all work. Beware that Pickerel bend them pretty quickly so bring a few spares.

[Cowpokey]

I've caught Perch and Pickerel on rooster tails with great success. I like the 3/8th weights, but they would probably all work. Beware that Pickerel bend them pretty quickly so bring a few spares.

That's the only thing I don't like about them; the wire getting bent. I think Mepps uses a heavier wire, but they also cost a little more.

[Skidsteer]

My super-secret perch lure is an inline spinner on a jig spinner so you get two blades. I use blue fox foxtail spinners in 1/8 oz. and white color (chartreuse at times, but mostly white). Best thing for perch I've found so far. I've been meaning to draw a similar design and send it to Bignose so he could make some "Skidsteer Spinners"

[Excalibur]

That sounds like an interesting combo. So you attach the in-line spinner where the jig head clips on?

[bignose]

You most certainly can catch Perch with the same inline spinners that you use for trout, or slightly larger.
I use a #1 Mepps for trout, for Perch I figure a #3 Gold blade will do just fine. They will ride higher in the water on retrieve than a spinner jig will.
The big caveat is that because of the open treble hook, you'll catch a lot of grass in the weedy areas, and they don't come thru timber very well.
An inline spinner will also eventually cause some line twist, not a problem if your main line is braid.

I could just tie some Chartreuse Baitfish Flash Emulator to a Blue Fox or Mepps Spinner, but I like to fish in some pretty gnarly places so I think the R bend spinner jig is a better choice.

[Skidsteer]

That sounds like an interesting combo. So you attach the in-line spinner where the jig head clips on?

Yes, see picture with a few of the spinners I add to the jig spinner. Top one has been the best producer.Skidsteer Spinner.jpg

[sparky1423]

Definitely thinking outside the box, great creativity on that first spinner!

[toadfinger]

I fished for white perch with Mepps for years because of how aggressively this scrappy species would go for spinner lures and there's hardly any small spinner that rotates at low line tension better than the Mepps, IMO. One thing I noticed with the Mepps was the remarkable consistency that perch would violently slam these lures but inexplicably fail to hook up. This was partially overcome by pointing the rod tip directly toward the lure and tightening the drag down, which increased bringing the hook tight in the fishes' mouths. However, for fishing in tidal currents, it was difficult to work these relatively light weight lures to depths below 3-5 feet. I didn't like putting split shot or other weight above the lures because they tended to hinge on the drop, causing the lures to foul with the line. I then tried some small spinner bait blades with 1/4 oz shad darts and my hookup rate went up significantly.

I've also used small horsehead style jigs outfitted with round or oval blades typically used for crappie and added the small Bass Assassin curly tail grubs to the jig(I like the the silver grey). Use a dab of LokTite glue to attach the softbait, which will save you $$ and lots of time on the water otherwise replacing the grubs that get pulled down the hook shank by the perch. Just like the shad darts (to which I also the BA's), the hookup rate on these single hooked baits is consistently high. My take on this is that the perch are either not fully engulfing the treble hooks or are quickly rejecting the treble hooks when they clamp down on these wider profile hooks. When I'm fishing hard structure (e.g., rip-rap or bridge pilings) the spinner assembly on horsehead style jigs get beaten up pretty fast by bouncing off the rock/concrete surfaces and the spinner action degrades, which in turn attracts less fish bites. Also, the crappie jig hooks tend to be pretty light weight and don't hold up that long under heavy pressure. I've also incidentally caught plenty of schoolie stripers to the mid-20" while fishing for perch so a slightly stouter hook is useful here.

These days I buy small packs of small spinner blades similar to those figured at the top of Skidsteer's photo above, add a shad dart and glue on the soft bait and I'm off to the races. If you need additional weight you can wrap some lead wire around the lower wire where the jig is attached.

Of course, if you want to dispense with the finesse approach, just bait up with a grass shrimp on any of these rigs, drop it to the bottom and quickly get it moving and you'll have a perch on in no time if they're at all in a feeding mode.

On another note. One word of caution about the perch. Their dorsal spines are narrow and sharp and are natural syringes for injecting microbes into anything unlucky enough to be impaled. And that would be me- I got poked deeply in my index finger last August 30, I developed a low level infection that persisted for a couple months and in October my finger dramatically ballooned to the size of a short kielbasa, was an angry purple color and the knuckle joint completely inflexible. After an incorrect diagnosis at an ER and prescribed an inappropriate antibiotic, over a month later I finally received a proper diagnosis (Mycobacterium sp.) and treatment at the Annapolis Hand Center (the doctor there had personal experience by once acquiring an infection by this bacterium). I've been eating 2 x 500 mg of erythromycin per day since. Happily, the finger is slowly getting better (swelling pretty much gone but two joints remain noticeably stiff) and I will likely have to stay on the antibiotics for at least a couple more months. Although I can't wait to fish for perch again, I need to come up with a safer way to handle them to avoid another "myco injection".

[Mark]

The very first fish I caught with an artificial lure was a white perch on a Mepps spinner. That was 35 or 36 years ago. I would buy the spinners from Cabela’s by mail order. They were less than a dollar a piece then for sizes 0 and 1 which were my favorites. I would get the spring fishing catalog in the mail and plan my purchase for days trying to get the best mix of colors and the best count of Mepps for the minimum shipping cost. Then I would fill out a paper order form with great care and snail mail the form and a check to Cabela’s. Mail order is much more efficient on-line today, that’s for sure.

Mepps spinners weaned me from live bait and/or cut bait and I’ve never really returned. But I’ve tried lots of other lures since then and eventually I learned to fly fish also.

The Mepps worked like a charm for white perch and I’m sure they still do today. However, I remember how difficult it was to get a Mepps spinner from the mouth of a small perch when it managed to get its lips around each of the treble hooks. I hadn’t learned or thought of de-barbing the hooks in those days.

Today for white perch I prefer a 1/8 oz. jig head on a safety pin spinner trailing a Mr. Twister. When the perch are present and hungry color doesn’t matter. But I like yellow or white trailers. The above combo works great and the single hook offers a quick release.

I do believe a spinning blade can be very important to white perch. One day last year John Veil took me to school on white perch in the Severn. I was fly fishing and not doing well. He followed my path in the water with a spinner jig combo dressed with bucktail and flashabou and picked off the same fish that ignored my fly.

Some days are like that with a fly rod. But spinners rarely disappoint when you're targeting white perch.

[Skidsteer]

Definitely thinking outside the box, great creativity on that first spinner!

The first one is how I fish them all - just showing some optional colors. Usually slow roll with occasional jigging - great hookup rate.

[bignose]

Mark
I've found that Perch like to hit anything shiny.
Try a small Clouser tied with chartreuse Krystal Flash, Baitfish Flash Emulator, or metallic olive Flashabou.

[dsiekman]

I've always had great luck with the Worden's Sonic Vibric. I prefer 1/4 oz in red or white. I've never really had an issue missing fish. The pretty much hook themselves.

Sorry to hear about your infection! Yes, they can be nasty to deal with. I usually try to grab the hook with forceps to control the lure and fish and then grab from the belly or smooth down the dorsal before grabbing. You Gould also use a fish glove. If it's cool out, sometimes I'll wear the "dipped" cotton gloves.