Perch are the most common species of fish in Ontario and there are hoards of them in Wabigoon Lake and Dinorwic Lake. Even though Perch are not considered a game fish they are highly prized by our guests because not only do they taste fantastic, you can bring 50 home with you with a sport license for the big fish fry. Perch are everywhere and can reach the size of what people refer to as Jumbo Perch. You just need to anchor off a weed bed and drop your line straight down with a small hook and a tiny piece of worm and you can fill a bucket with them in an afternoon. While Perch fishing; you will also catch Walleye, Crappie and Smallmouth Bass.
Most of the Perch you will catch will be 9 to 11 inches. Usually when a Perch reach 12 inches it the fish gets thicker rather than longer. Some of the Perch caught in our lakes have been over 1-1/2 pounds. Terry has caught, photographed and released an 18.5" perch! They do get to be a surprising size.
Fishing in the weeds with a piece of night crawler or small minnow is the preferred method on our body of water.
Trolling a light line and sinker with a long worm harness is also very popular. In this case, you want your line back a long way from the boat as you will be trolling over a weed bed and the perch will be feeding along the top of it. Our Perch population is plentiful and they do get to be 10" - 14" range frequently. Periodically guests have caught 16" - 18" perch and that certainly puts a huge smile on their face!
You will catch some of your largest perch while fishing for Walleye and Smallmouth Bass.