Anyone have consistent success with perch colored crankbaits?

[casts_by_fly]

Hi all,

 

like the title, does anyone have consistent success with perch patterned cranks (or even blade baits)?  We have a bunch of perch in most all of our lakes here from 2” up to jumbos. I’ve never had faith in perch patterns but with how many we have here it is hard to ignore that they are getting eaten by something. If you’ve had repeatable success on them, what the type of lake you’re on and what pattern/lure do you prefer?  I was thinking something like a rapala shad rap profile (longer than it is tall or wide) but open to suggestions. 
 

thanks

rick

[A-Jay]

I fish some places that have a very healthy yellow perch population.

Not sure if they are part of your deal or not

but I've been know to catch a few decent fish on perch patterned Jerkbaits now & again.

This 6 plus brown bass ate one two days ago.

In warmer water I also do well with  perch colored Lipples & squarebill cranks.

I'd say give them another shot. 

A-Jay

 

 

[Bankbeater]

I have caught a couple on perch patterns over the years, but I have better luck fishing with craw and shad patterns.

[gim]

Perch and bluegill colors are probably my best natural colors here. Perch seems to do better in smallmouth territory and bluegill more so for largies. I don’t specifically use a lot of crank baits, but jerk baits and chatterbaits get a fair amount of use in those patterns.

[MN Fisher]

What my 'pal' Gim said - bluegill patterned cranks are very productive for LMBs (and Pike) around here.

[LrgmouthShad]

22 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

 I was thinking something like a rapala shad rap profile

Rapala shad rap 05 in yellow perch is awesome

[Deleted account]

Yes.

[cyclops2]

Yes

[Columbia Craw]

6th Sense yellow perch pattern is awesome.  Cloud 9 and Curve 55 series.

[Columbia Craw]

[scaleface]

I'm fond of the perch Fat Rap .

[casts_by_fly]

1 hour ago, gimruis said:

Perch and bluegill colors are probably my best natural colors here. Perch seems to do better in smallmouth territory and bluegill more so for largies. I don’t specifically use a lot of crank baits, but jerk baits and chatterbaits get a fair amount of use in those patterns.

 

1 hour ago, MN Fisher said:

What my 'pal' Gim said - bluegill patterned cranks are very productive for LMBs (and Pike) around here.

bluegill is no problem here. Definitely my most productive last year (spring craw so far this year).  Chatterbait original or custom with bluegill skirt and bluegill rage menace (baby early, regular later in the year) was my best by far last year. A dt-6 bluegill was my best crankbait last year. 

but this is what got me thinking about perch. We don’t have a ton of shad here. We have golden shiners in a few places but limited. Alewifes are the most common forage (pic of one that froze in the ice) but sexy shad does a pretty good job there. Bluegills are everywhere, especially in the shallow weedy areas I tend to fish, so made the most sense to focus on as my main color choice.  The fact that our water is weedy and normally 6’+ visibility in most lakes pushes you to naturals anyway. However we have a TON of perch around. Bass eat whatever swims by, so if they see a lot of perch they must eat a lot of perch. And yet I’ve never thrown perch patterns in anger. I picked up a Siebert tremor in tiger craw which is basically black with orange, yellow, and green bars, but I haven’t tried it yet. 
 

What jerkbaits are you guys throwing in perch patterns?  I don’t fish jerkbaits much and I don’t throw perch much, so maybe this is the combo I need to get me over the hump. 
 

rick

[gim]

9 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

What jerkbaits are you guys throwing in perch patterns?

I almost exclusively use perch colored jerk baits too.  I have also used white and a variation of shad (silverish) and purple with limited success.  Some people do pretty good with the neon colors like clown and orange, I'm not one of them.

[Bankc]

They're the most consistent colored crankbait for me.  And the weird thing is, we don't even have perch down here!  Instead, we have lots of sunfish like redear and bluegill.  We also have lots of shad and minnows around here, but shad patterns don't seem to work as well.  I think it has more to do with the stained water I fish in.  Bright yellows and greens like chartreuse, firetiger, and perch always seem to outproduce more muted colors for me.  

 

I can't say as though the perch pattern jerkbaits work well for me.  But then again, none of the jerkbaits work well for me.  Again, probably the stained water.  

[A-Jay]

10 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

 

What jerkbaits are you guys throwing in perch patterns?  I don’t fish jerkbaits much and I don’t throw perch much, so maybe this is the combo I need to get me over the hump. 
 

rick

 

 

Nice assortment. 

I use Megabass & Strike King jerkbaits in a variety of patterns including perch.

And while the jury is still out for me,

the new Berkley Stunna looks promising, especially the perch.

A-Jay

[PhishLI]

If you're going to try out a variety of perch cranks then definitely add this one to your list. Balsa. Silent. Easy to control running depth over submerged weeds. Killer when this is what they looking for. Everything in the lake will attack it. I like the 07 size.

https://www.fishusa.com/Rapala-Shallow-Shad-Rap-SSR05-Lures?quantity=1&L-Size1=94&L-Color1=15135&gclid=Cj0KCQjwyMiTBhDKARIsAAJ-9VvGTukAJW7RRG1WlJvcxnZHJBURBidNWPWTd6dMaR8GQHDxyoDtSFEaApWqEALw_wcB

[walleyecrazy]

Not so much on cranks as I don't fish them much, but I catch the majority of my jerkbait fish every year on perch pattern jerkbaits.

[Sphynx]

This is one of the colors I want to add to my arsenal this year, we got a bunch of yellow perch and I'm willing to bet it works as well as anything else I have used over the years. 

[Basser2021]

18 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

Hi all,

 

like the title, does anyone have consistent success with perch patterned cranks (or even blade baits)?  We have a bunch of perch in most all of our lakes here from 2” up to jumbos. I’ve never had faith in perch patterns but with how many we have here it is hard to ignore that they are getting eaten by something. If you’ve had repeatable success on them, what the type of lake you’re on and what pattern/lure do you prefer?  I was thinking something like a rapala shad rap profile (longer than it is tall or wide) but open to suggestions. 
 

thanks

rick

I do well in the winter with them and we don't have perch anywhere near me.

[WRB]

Fire Tiger color lures replicate perch.

Tom

[casts_by_fly]

28 minutes ago, WRB said:

Fire Tiger color lures replicate perch.

Tom

 

Even for super clear water?  I've always thought firetiger as gawdy and when we have 10' visibility at times (mostly its 6-8') I just thought it would be a bit much.  Stained water sure.

 

thanks

rick

[WRB]

Works in our clear water.

[DinkDreams]

I’ve had a lot of success on the Perch Magdraft and the Perch Stunna jerkbait, and the closest place to catch perch is 4 hours away. 
 

 

[ATA]

Back then I tried in SoCal and no luck, Here bluegill color will catches them. So I think it will work if you have perch in your lake, Unlike trout color pattern that will work everywhere even lakes that dont have trout.