Monster Yellow Perch

[ttabaleulb]

Have you guys ever caught any Perch on Musky gear? I had a shot at a HUGE one that chased a perch pattern fly which is about 8-9" long!! The thing followed about 4-5 times on a figure-8 and then hit the fly. I was so surprised that it hit that I completely missed the damn thing. LOL But this was one of the biggest Perch I've ever seen. Unfortunately that was the highlight of my day on the water chasin Musky. I'm half tempted to go back after that Perch just to get some measurements on it.

[cband]

I have perch follow muskie baits all the time. Usually several perch follow at the same time, like a small school. I don't think they are trying to eat it but are more curious or need a companion. I have accidentally snagged several while casting big baits.

[ttabaleulb]

LOL Thats a great pic!! I've had quite a few smaller perch follow baits too. But this was the first time a perch followed that was actually big enough to attack a Musky size bait that I've seen. I'm guessin that this thing had to be in the 16-18" (maybe a bit more) range and had some weight to it.

[cband]

I would definitely try to catch it if it is a 16"-18" perch.

[catchandrelease]

I had a couple follow at the same time like you said over the summer at Chautauqua. It was kinda cool at first, but it got annoying later in the day. I thought I was having follows on a couple times, only to realize they were 8" perch when they got closer to the boat.

[ttabaleulb]

LOL I know what you mean about those smaller ones being a pain. Sometimes I see one and think its a fin of a Musky following only to realize its small Perch. The Perch I'm talkin about shocked me because when I saw it come out of the brush, I thought it was a small Musky until it got close enough and I could see the bands on its side. After lookin at some of the sizes of some of the "big" perch caught on the PA Fish and Boat site, this thing would have easily been right up there with them. Guess I'm just not used to seeing them that damn big. LOL