New Jersey’s wintertime white perch action runs hot out back in February.
Old Man Winter and Jack Frost continue to team up, blowing frostbitten chills that keep most anglers indoors by the fireside. But that doesn’t stop die hard, cabin-fever stricken anglers from facing the freeze to run and gun for white perch.
By mid-winter, I’m looking to get a tug on the line no matter the cost to my sanity or comfort, thus I’ve become somewhat of a reluctant, yet spirited white perch connoisseur over the decades. Both the quantity and quality of winter white perch are at the maximum, making a day targeting whiteys a prolific endeavor not only for action, but to fill the cooler as well.
Last winter I dialed up piney legend Dave Showell of the Absecon Bay Sportsman to pull on some perch and to learn more about strategies as we filmed an episode of Saltwater Underground.
Grounds To Pound
Generally speaking, the New Jersey white perch fishery revolves in brackish waters around central to southern waters, from Toms River down through Cape May, with a major concentration in the areas of the Absecon Bay, Great Egg River, Mullica River, Maurice River, Cohansey River and Tuckahoe River systems. There are white perch to be found along the Raritan Bay tributaries as well, on up into the Hackensack River. One point to note is that it’s not just boat anglers that can get in on the fun, but shorebound anglers as well at such public access spots like Hay Road on the Mullica River or Graveling Point in Mystic Island.
Water temps for white perch at this time of year generally span around 40 degrees to 48 degrees. Plan trips around bright sunny days as the sun’s rays can be a huge influence in getting fish to feed as the radiation warms the water, meaning it’s not necessary to get up at the crack of dawn to fish. Tidal flow is also a major factor when predicting the best bite as general theory suggests that outgoing waters will have the perch biting better as the back bays as the sun’s rays have had time to warm up the waters in the shallow dark black bay mud flats to get the perch feeding.
Back flats that run into channels that go from around 3 to 12 feet are preferred, ledges that perch lay in and come up upon as shrimp, crabs and other forage spills over into the decline spark the feed.
Chum Heavy
Perch feed in congregated schools and the more perch you can attract to the hooks, the more electricity is created to get others in the area to chomp baits. Chumming is key to success when white perch fishing. A flat of grass or sand shrimp makes for the perfect throw chum baits, dishing a handful over the side every minute or so to get the slick flowing. Capt. Dave Showell knows the Mullica River like the back of his hand and starts by anchoring up on a ledge that descends into a channel or ascends up onto a flat, then grabs a flat or two of grass shrimp to start the chum slick, dishing a handful out at a time into the waters to get a bite going. The key is to keep the slick going as if there is a break in the slick of over 2 minutes or so, the perch may fall out of line and follow another path. If you can find it, try dousing a few drops of FinEssence shrimp oil to spread the scent and call in the perch.
For rigs, hi-lo pill float rigs fixed with size #4 to #6 hooks and a 1-ounce bank sinker are standard perch rigs, though light 1/16- to 1/8-ounce Spro mini bucktails can be fun to drop down tipped with proper baits will also work when perch are feeding more toward the bottom of the water column. Float rigs also work when you want to find if they are feeding higher or mid-range in the water column. Have a spread of rods out set at different depths to see where they are intercepting the slick and react accordingly.
As you are probably chumming with shrimp, it makes a great bait to start off with. Thread a first shrimp on the hook, then ball three or four more on the hook for a shrimp ball bait. Bits of bloodworms will also make great baits as a half inch piece threaded on the hook with a little bit left to dangle off. You can even opt to use Fishbites bloodworms as they attract perch with scent infused into them and they do stay on the hook through multiple fish nibbles.
Battle Stations
White perch hit vigorously and with fire and fury, making it some serious light tackle fun during the winter months. As perch feed in schools, you can have many rods going off at once, zipping lines and bending rods all around the boat. Perch in the winter can run large, up to and over a pound if not more. Generally, set up with lighter tackle of Shimano Terramar 6-1/2-foot spinning rods rated for 6 to 12-pound test, matched with Shimano Stradic 4000 class spinning reels with drags set pretty light, but tight enough to turn a head an bring them in efficiently. Spool up with 20-pound PowerPro braid and tie the rig to the end.
| WATCH THE PERCH SHOW! |
| Want to see wild white perch fishing? Check out the episode of Saltwater Underground that the author filmed with Capt. Dave Showell of the Absecon Bay Sportsman back in the Mullica River. Find that episode on the homepage at saltwaterunderground.com. |
Without a doubt, I’d put up white perch as one of, if not the finest eating of nearly any fish in the cold water or warm water in New Jersey. Light flaky fillets can be breaded well with a dusting of flour and Cajun spice and thrown into a sizzling the frying pan, making for a purely scrumptious and delectable treat. Thankfully, in the saltwater, there is no size limit and a 25 fish bag limit on whiteys for now as you really do need a good catch of roughly three fish or so per man for a solid meal. Multiply that by however many anglers you intend to feed.
It’s well worth battling the chill to knock out some white perch this winter.
