Finding post-spawn white perch

[Dimo]

With Striped Bass season on lockdown, I've been searching out post-spawn, pre-summer white perch locations and coming up almost empty each time. No amount of research from salinity and temps to covering multitudes of ground up and down has helped. Previous years had spent more time targeting rockfish since season opens around now I guess.

Starting to reach the limits of wifey's patience before I start going to the fish department at the neighborhood H-Mart for the goods Any solid pointers where I can find them (feel free to PM if uncomfortable posting more broadly).

[J.A. Veil]

White perch do not show up in the Severn River shallow shoreline areas until mid-May. At that point a few perch are there. During the rest of May and early June, large numbers show up making for easy summer perch fishing.

I tried several Severn spots this afternoon and last Tues just out of curiosity. As I expected, I got no bites in the places where perch will be in a few weeks.

While that does not tell you where they are now, it may give some insight to when to look for them.

[Dimo]

Yup, waiting is the toughest part. :-) Thanks John!

White perch do not show up in the Severn River shallow shoreline areas until mid-May. At that point a few perch are there. During the rest of May and early June, large numbers show up making for easy summer perch fishing.

I tried several Severn spots this afternoon and last Tues just out of curiosity. As I expected, I got no bites in the places where perch will be in a few weeks.

While that does not tell you where they are now, it may give some insight to when to look for them.

[moc]

Good seeing you online Dimo.

[ronaultmtd]

Teddy, Gary and I tried fishing yesterday in one of our most productive White Perch "honey holes" in St. Mary's County...the slower lower...no luck...figure it is two to three weeks early..water temp was 63.7 degrees..

[Mark]

We go through this anticipation every year. I imagine they arrive a little sooner in SMOG territory but here in the Mid-Bay tributaries a few will tease us in May but I rarely find them in big numbers where I routinely catch double digits and many on consecutive casts until mid-June. Then they'll be thick on shorelines, especially shady areas, all summer through September with their numbers starting to decrease through the fall until late October or early November where you may catch a straggler or two in shallow water. And then they'll be gone to deeper waters in the Chesapeake where they winter.

My question to white perch anglers -- Have you ever caught them on topwater? I've caught only one that way. It hit a fly rod surface slider that I was casting to stripers in Goodhands Creek on Kent Island. They're cousins in the fish family with stripers. They often swim together. But I've never seen them in schools breaking the surface in a feeding frenzy like stripers. So, I was just wondering if anyone targets them on top and if so what do they use?

I catch mine on 1/8 oz. jig spinners, jigs with Mr. Twisters and Clousers and Bendbacks on the fly.

Great fun on summer days.

[Red_Beard]

I've heard of folks occasionally catching them on top, but never done it myself. White perch seem to feed more on invertebrates like grass shrimp than fish which probably explains why its so rare to see them busting on top.

[Dimo]

Good seeing you online Dimo.

You too moc! Been keepin up with your adventures on YT, got my first set up ready for crabbin this year! [emoji1690]


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