Perch Jerkin... mmmmmmm good!!!

[ScottPugh]

My buddy and I made the day trip up to Rocky Reef to get in on some of the perch jerkin... We were hesitant at first because (like my entire winter) I was on the back side of the front yet again, but we decided to give it a shot anyway...

Stopped in at Rockman's to pay the road fee and get some clues... We got the word to go north (out of Rockman's) and so that is what we did... Just about a mile out a group of folks started to gather, so we got away from them and drilled our holes. Dropped the LX-3 down and they were there... Cloudy water and could not see anything on the camera...

9:15 AM - First line in, bobber down... Small one but promising. 3 hours and 7 in the bucket, including a few 12'ers. The fish were still there but it had slowed down with the little city around us. We tried everything but the best thing to work is a lively minnow on a small green glow jig (with two little eye dots).

12:30 - We decided to go hunting... By now there were about 10 trucks around us and the fish had shut down for the most part. There was another group of trucks 100 yards away, so we decided to fish in the middle of the two... We remembered seeing Rockman searching early on in the day over there and we found where he was.

Much clearer water and yet again first line down, bam... 12"... Second, Third bam, bam... For about 10 minutes it was fast as you could get your bobber down, and it would keep going... Added another 7 to the bucket with the biggest being 12"... Picked up a few stragglers including my buddies 13" (on a Swedish pimple and minnow head) does in the next few hours and off the lake by 4:00... The fish were still there but would come and stare at the minnow or bite just the very end. They would take down the bobber with just the tail in their mouth... If you would hook the minnow through the tail, they would eat the head...? We ended up with 17 and tosses ~10 back that were boarderline keepers...? ?

Lesson of the day... If you see Rockman out there follow him he knows where to find them and plus you have a nice plowed area to set up the house!!!