Perch Jigging Question.

[spoonminnow]

Maybe the lakes I fish locally are different than yours, but fish once found regardless the hour can usually be caught because:
1.they don't have fear in the human sense (IE sensing something or someone is stalking them),
2. they don't know time, 10 am - 4 pm is prime anywhere I fish locally
3. may be at many depths in the same canal or lake (though the ones I usually catch are in 4-6'),
4. aren't picky when it comes to the many designs of soft plastic lures I catch all species on,
5. usually do well with a slow uneven retrieve
6. all fish have the same eyesight; catfish have a superior sense of smell
7. easiest to catch in a school or light grouping in one area of a pond or lake (IE the honey hole)
8. sometimes all species become less aggressive at times (IE onset of cold weather or after a heavy rain )
9. not sure about better eyesight under low light conditions - like bass, but species like perch also bite less.

There are more myths that can be disproven with more time on the water, using different lures and presentations on light line / light action rods, fished slowly top to bottom/ shallow or deeper. The above is a place to start. Take digital pictures and store them on a pc or use a notebook to keep record and knowledge to build on. After 65 years I'm still learning.

 

[stillwater blue]

6. all fish have the same eyesight; catfish have a superior sense of smell
9. not sure about better eyesight under low light conditions - like bass, but species like perch also bite less.

.

I'm going to disagree with you.

Zander have a large eye that is specially adapted with a light reflective lining that gives them incredible vision in low light conditions. As this suggests they do appear to feed better in deep murky water or at dawn and dusk as they have a massive advantage over their prey. It's doesn't mean you can't catch them during the day in full sun but I do catch 90% of my zander within the first 2 hours of dawn or last hour of day light.

I have no idea about perch but the large eye relative to their prey species suggests they'd have better vision than their prey in low light conditions. In clear water conditions I do catch more perch at dawn and dusk than in full sun, it's less noticeable in the winter than in the summer but then in winter the days are often overcast.

One particularly section of river I fish has little above water cover, so no shade. It does have several deep trenches that hold a lot of zander and perch. Early autumn the feeding spells are so predictable you can set a watch to them and they do relate to dawn to dusk.

 

[Another Dave]

Clearly not all species have the exact same eyesight.

 

[spoonminnow]

Clearly not all species have the exact same eyesight.

You got me there though I doubt you've fished any Mexican caves in awhile.

The zander is similar biologically to our to walleye which are night feeders and are not yellow perch. Though very similar in appearance to yellow perch, totally different where, when and how caught. American yellow perch are day feeders in the lakes I've fished for decades and I have hundreds of dated photos to prove it true as well as fishing logs showing the variety of lures perch were caught on. Much of the time they hover in the same areas other panfish species are located and when a daytime school is located, it's one fish after another.

The perch you fish for are a different species than those in my hemisphere. This is what I found causing some confusion:

North American yellow perch (Perca flavescens) and European perch (Perca fluviatilis) are members of the same circumpolar family. And they’re similar in appearance and habits but they are not the same fish. It is somewhat like comparing our North American walleye with the European zander. (In both cases, the European versions have the ability to grow considerably larger.)

 

[spoonminnow]

I’ve been fortunate to have caught five perch over 3lb in my short time fishing, all five were caught in the middle of the day, some in strong sunlight. Three of the five were caught in open water far from some very perchy looking features.

(One comment from your side of the Atlantic.)

If European perch are located in waters shallower than 7' and in ponds or canals, I'll bet using finesse action smaller lures could entice them to bite. The challenge would be using a light action rod and small diameter line (8lb test braid) as well as a very slow unsteady retrieve.

 

[spoonminnow]

Thanks.
I have found that an incredible number of soft plastic designs 2" or smaller catch many species of fish when rigged on light, unpainted ball-head jigs used with a light leader. You can cover a huge amount of area and depths with long casts and uneven slow retrieves. Granted there are large lures that catch larger fish, but for schear numbers these work most often and even children get the knack- sometimes faster than adults.