Four Days of Perch Fishing with Bob and Bruce Brenton...10/6-10/2025

Day one would be our best day. There was a 5-10mph wind out of the south, so it wasn't a rough day. It was the last of the warm mornings, due to a cold front moving in.

The sky was partly cloudy and the high temp in the afternoon would be near 80 degrees.

After stopping to get Emerald Shiners from Hi-Way Bait, we drove to the ramp and launched at Mazurik's at 7:30. We headed to the area just east of Lucy's point. I hadn't been out chasing perch lately, so I got the info from Matt, at Hi-Way.  We tried a couple of spots up there, and were marking what looked like Perch, but we didn't get bit in an hour (1/2 hour each spot), so I decided to go try the red can on the north side of North Bass. 

I wanted to check it out over there, because that area can be really good in October...and, because it was a little wishful thinking on my part.

Bob and Bruce are two of my favorites, and I really wanted to put them on some Perch. They are both very adept at catching them, so I wanted to find some that would bite.  Thankfully, that spot didn't disappoint.  The bite started right away, and they were jumbos! The guys were happy and giggly. Yay!

We caught 9 pretty fast, and then it went slow....then, another wave of fish would go through, and we would catch a handful, and it would go slow again. We would move around the area the rest of the trip, and pick up a few more, then it would die again. We kept moving around, and picking off fish, but we weren't close to limiting. We only had 45 of our 90 by the time their time was up.  The perch we did catch, though, were all jumbos.  Those 45 fish went 17 pounds at the cleaners.

Day 2:

October 7th

The forecast was calling for rain in the morning, so I told the guys the day before to have their rain gear with them.  It did rain on and off all morning, but it was never a heavy downpour. It was only annoying when I was driving, and making it hard to see. Rain drops hitting the eyeballs....hurts! lol

We launched at Mazurik's at 7:30, and headed to the lighthouse, first, to check that area. The wind was out of the south. We caught a couple of perch and three catfish.

I asked them if they wanted to go back up to North Bass again, and they both said, "Yes".

So, we went back up where we were the day before. Bob and Bruce really liked the size of the fish up there, so we gave it another shot.  We didn't see any other boats on the lake all morning, which I thought was strange, and kind of creepy.  I thought to myself, "what does everyone else know that I don't know?", but the weather was fine... other than being a little wet. 

It wasn't too cold yet...that was coming the next day.  I couldn't figure out why no one else was on the lake all day.  Once we got towards the mainland again...I did see two or three boats in front of Lakeside and the Lighthouse....but, that was it.

We ended that trip with only 37 jumbos, but the guys were still happy.

Day 3:

October 8th

Blow day....gusty NE wind.

Day 3 (cont'd):

October 9th

We launched at Catawba at 7:30.

The cold front moved in. It was only in the high 40s in the early morning. The wind was out of the NNE at 10-15mph, so we were staying on the protected side of the islands, where it wasn't as rough.

We started out on the SW corner of South Bass, but the first spot only produced a couple of perch and a catfish. So we moved further north along the west side of the island and tried one more spot on that side of the island. We didn't stay long though. 

Next, we tried a spot with decent marks by Sugar Island....nada.

Bob had asked about the spot at North Bass, but looking to the north, and trying to determine the wave heights on the north side of North Bass was hard.  I told them, it looks pretty rough on that side of the island, but it might be an optical illusion, so if they were game...we could go back up there, and if it was too rough, we would find another spot on the protected side of the islands. They were game.

Well, it was in-between reality and an optical illusion. It was rough, but it wan't rough enough to keep us from going out to the buoy. I'd say it was solid 2.3s with a few 4s from time to time. But, mostly 2-3s.

We would end up catching 33 Perch on their 3rd day. The bite was a lot tougher, and less aggressive, but the brothers were still happy.

Day 4:

October 10

Hit Hi-Way bait at 6:45, but they only had itty-bitty shiners, and that wouldn't do.

So, we drove over to Herb's Drive Thru and checked their stock. They only had the itty-bitties, too....and, the Party Mart only had Goldies.  So, I called "Wozniak's Sunoco" back on the other side of town, and asked if they had Emeralds...they did. They have their own boat for catching them, so they don't get what everyone else gets when they get delivered around town.

Their Emeralds were the perfect size, too. It took an extra 1/2 hour to 45 minutes to do all that unexpected running around, but we were able to get launched by 8am. We launched at Mazurik's again. 

The morning was a little cooler than the previous day, but the wind was out of the south at around 13mph.  I decided to go try some areas that we hit last year, and did well, because I didn't think they would want to go back to North Bass again, with the count going down each day.

The first spot we tried was just east of Middle Island, and just south of the Canadian line, over 34' of water.  We caught some big perch there, and kept busy with other species like, Sheephead, White Bass, White Perch, and Catfish.  When we did catch a perch it was 10-12 inches, so that had my guys focusing.  When the bite died, they wanted to move....so, we moved.

In my mind, I wanted to stay, thinking that the fish are moving a lot and we just needed to wait for the next wave to go through. If so many species are there in that area, there must be a reason. :)

We left that spot and headed down towards Kelly Island Shoal, and found a spot that was marking good fish on the Garmin, and set up. Nada....and we were running out of time.  I decided to run down and try the SE corner of Kelly's, on the west side of the Ferries, but didn't pick up anything there either.  Then, I said, "Pick A or B" (A being the lighthouse and B being the area out in front of Lakeside Pier)...they chose A.  So, we went there. Marked some fish east of the lighthouse, but no biters.  We only had 40 minutes left, and Bob said, "Brother, if you want to get going now, we can go. I'm tired and we could get back home a little earlier."  Bob was tired, and so were Bruce and I, so Bruce said, "Let's do it"....and we were done.  We only had 11 in the cooler on the last day, but they were probably the biggest we caught in the 4 days. 

Day one had big fish but went 2.6 fish per pound. The 11 on day 4 were 1.5 fish per pound. :)

I could tell Bob was a little disappointed in the results this season, because they've always had good success on their previous trips. But, that's Mother Nature for you...it's not always going to be perfect. You can find them, but you can't make them bite all the time.

The guys said they had a great time anyway...and, so did I. And, that makes me happy!

My next trip was scheduled for Wednesday, but he had to reschedule, so my next trip will be a 3-day walleye trip starting Thursday. Bryon Haro fished with me years ago, and has tried to get here in the spring, but due to winds, wasn't able to get out. So, he thought he would try the fall this time. Fingers crossed!

Stay tuned....

Capt Juls