The awesome perch lakes of yesteryear....

[bessiedog]

I knew several... and not having been up there for 30 years... I hear tell that they are either nothing more or vague shadows of themselves.....

- Baptiste lake in the 80’s... could be the biggest perch I’ve ever taken cam from there..... off the neighbors dock no less!

- Brodak lake by Shemeluk lake... some absolute pigs. Extremely hard to catch. We used to snorkel that lake and see them in the summers...

- Mons lake... not for size... but we’d get the old limit of 30... and we could fillet them all.

- Cache lake... did it dry up... man the ice fishing there in the 80s

- ironwood used to have these roaming armadas of perch schools.... just all big humpies.... glide underneath our canoes...

- island lake.... we’d spend days trying to get a legendary Smallmouth out of there... and be frustrated b/c we only caught 12-13” perch...



I
Miss those places...

Kaduke lake.... I don’t even know if it’s there any more.

[Drewski Canuck]

Sorry bud, you are not a real perch fisherman until you mention Missawawi lake by Lac La Biche.

Just sorry that you have only had a glimpse of heaven and not heaven itself.

But there are still some great perch lakes around Fox Vegas.


Drewski

[Jigsalot]

I knew several... and not having been up there for 30 years... I hear tell that they are either nothing more or vague shadows of themselves.....

- Baptiste lake in the 80’s... could be the biggest perch I’ve ever taken cam from there..... off the neighbors dock no less!

- Brodak lake by Shemeluk lake... some absolute pigs. Extremely hard to catch. We used to snorkel that lake and see them in the summers...

- Mons lake... not for size... but we’d get the old limit of 30... and we could fillet them all.

- Cache lake... did it dry up... man the ice fishing there in the 80s

- ironwood used to have these roaming armadas of perch schools.... just all big humpies.... glide underneath our canoes...

- island lake.... we’d spend days trying to get a legendary Smallmouth out of there... and be frustrated b/c we only caught 12-13” perch...



I
Miss those places...

Kaduke lake.... I don’t even know if it’s there any more.

Things have sure changed the last ten years. I target perch on most trips. Mons lake has lots with no size but a great place to take the kids.
I had favorite lakes years ago like Powder, North buck, Minnie, Francis and all are not worth the trip now. I still have 3 or 4 lakes I still go to and I know where to target them. I never had luck at Island lake.

[MooseRiverTrapper]

I knew several... and not having been up there for 30 years... I hear tell that they are either nothing more or vague shadows of themselves.....

- Baptiste lake in the 80’s... could be the biggest perch I’ve ever taken cam from there..... off the neighbors dock no less!

- Brodak lake by Shemeluk lake... some absolute pigs. Extremely hard to catch. We used to snorkel that lake and see them in the summers...

- Mons lake... not for size... but we’d get the old limit of 30... and we could fillet them all.

- Cache lake... did it dry up... man the ice fishing there in the 80s

- ironwood used to have these roaming armadas of perch schools.... just all big humpies.... glide underneath our canoes...

- island lake.... we’d spend days trying to get a legendary Smallmouth out of there... and be frustrated b/c we only caught 12-13” perch...



I
Miss those places...

Kaduke lake.... I don’t even know if it’s there any more.

Fished them all in recent years. Lots of small perch. Barely anything worth keeping.

Wonder how many years it takes it grow a 12 inchers? Mons is loaded with 4”, maybe stunted? Obviously the genetics were there. Need the bigger pike to police the lake and keep the balance?

[elk eater]

South buck had some monsters in it but the biggest I’ve seen was out of Medicine lake in the early 90’s. Fished from shore while playing cards at the pick nick table right in our campsite and landed many in the 13-14” range and Dad caught one 15”. It currently resides in a glass case in his house.

[Jigsalot]

South buck had some monsters in it but the biggest I’ve seen was out of Medicine lake in the early 90’s. Fished from shore while playing cards at the pick nick table right in our campsite and landed many in the 13-14” range and Dad caught one 15”. It currently resides in a glass case in his house.

You are right about South Buck. They are deep in certain areas.

[elk eater]

Wonder how many years it takes it grow a 12 inchers? Mons is loaded with 4”, maybe stunted? Obviously the genetics were there. Need the bigger pike to police the lake and keep the balance?

I believe perch only live like 10 years. I’ve often wondered about them being stunted ? I’ve got a small lake close to my place that I have only ever seen a handful of people fish on and it is overflowing with perch in the 6-8” range with the odd 10 I’ve pulled out. Just don’t seem to grow any bigger and zero pressure on that lake.

[elk eater]

You are right about South Buck. They are deep in certain areas.

They are still there if you know where to look!!!!! Oops I’ve said to much !!!!

[Jigsalot]

They are still there if you know where to look!!!!! Oops I’ve said to much !!!!

There you go. There will be 800 people at SBuck tomorrow 😂

[elk eater]

There you go. There will be 800 people at SBuck tomorrow 😂

And half will be at the bottom of the lake. That lake scares me so many bad spots with weak ice.

[Dewey Cox]

A few people have told me the biggest perch they ever caught was from the Coronation dam.

[pikeman06]

Any of those lakes with small perch as in 2 or 3 year old 3 or 4 inch perch have a decent population of bigger ones sonewhere to produce that strong year class. Once they get 12 inches they start hanging with wallies and turn into loners. I've watched big perch on the camera right in with pike and bully smaller wallies out of the way so I don't think they get preyed on once they reach a certain size they just feed constantly and slectively and get fat and fussy and hard to catch unless you know they are there. I've seen big perch stare at a hook for minutes and leave and come back and never commit.

[Jigsalot]

And half will be at the bottom of the lake. That lake scares me so many bad spots with weak ice.

Calhoun area I won’t go out there at all. That’s a scary part of the lake.

[Penner]

Devils Lake had/has some biggins. Back in the day some guy would always pull out a 2lber every now and then. Always seemed to be a incidental catch in Devils but they were big when you caught one.

Cowpar and Tucker lake had some bruisers also.

Swarm fishing and liberal keep limits has largely been the demise of the Perch fishery in this Province.

[MooseRiverTrapper]

Alberta has a real lack of lakes and surplus of guys willing to drive four hours to fish a hot lake hard. Look at Wiau years ago.

[Talking moose]

I used to fish 2 lakes exclusively for perch in the 80,s and 90’s.
Joker lake east of peace river.
Goosegrass out by gods lake.
Was incredible. Haven’t been to either in 20 years.
Anyone been?

[Talking moose]

Biggest perch I caught was from joker. Going after pike, trolling the biggest Len Thompson that they make. Never snagged it either........

[MooseRiverTrapper]

I used to fish 2 lakes exclusively for perch in the 80,s and 90’s.
Joker lake east of peace river.
Goosegrass out by gods lake.
Was incredible. Haven’t been to either in 20 years.
Anyone been?

No never been. Goosegrass is way up there. Lots of lakes north off the marten hills road. Heard McMillan and mistehae could be good.

[elk eater]

Devils lake I forgot about that on !!! I’ve never caught one out of their but they are big for sure. Used to be a fellow that would fish by the bridge and catch some monsters every time I was out there. He would never let you see what he was using !!!

[wind drift]

Hook (Kimowin) Lake, west of LaRonge, before the road was improved. Lake was dominated by perch with the odd hammer handle pike. Totally defied the popular notion of what would lead to “stunted” perch. Turns out, if they don’t get killed we let them get old, they get big. Weird.

[Smoky buck]

Hook (Kimowin) Lake, west of LaRonge, before the road was improved. Lake was dominated by perch with the odd hammer handle pike. Totally defied the popular notion of what would lead to “stunted” perch. Turns out, if they don’t get killed we let them get old, they get big. Weird.

Little more complicated then that and a big factor is forage and every body of water has a limited amount of bio mass it can handle before stunting happens

Really it comes down to forage, oxygen levels throughout the year, temperature, water quality and lifespan. It’s more complicated then most realize

[Talking moose]

Little more complicated then that and a big factor is forage and every body of water has a limited amount of bio mass it can handle before stunting happens

Really it comes down to forage, oxygen levels throughout the year, temperature, water quality and lifespan. It’s more complicated then most realize

Yup. 100%

[Sooner]

I recall jumbo's out of Thunder Lake. Back in the day of 30 each, friends would fill the bucket they sat on pretty quick.


Biggest perch we used to see consistently was Slave, ice fishing Easter long weekend on the west end. Jigging for Walleye in the tent, you never knew what was coming up as those perch would take almost anything.



One day I will find a backwoods lake that needs a sled or an Argo to get to that has good perch. Lots of water bodies where we hunt that could hold fish but don't. Yet lakes like Calling and Meyers are in the general area and have fish in them.

[bessiedog]

Yup.... I got into a mess of Perch at Slave the only time I ever fished it.... 1984.

Big guys...

Oh Cross Lake..... ‘85 I caught a bunch of nice ones right from shore... but I hear about it now.... sad.

[pinelakeperch]

Pine Lake was a good perch lake in the 90s.

[Talking moose]

Pine Lake was a good perch lake in the 90s.

Caught my first perch there in 1981. Memories. Caught lots off the dock with 6 feet of line tied to a stick, a plain j hook on the end with a couple maggots.

[sns2]

North Buck, Missiwawi, Blackett, Jackson, Kinnaird, and Helena to name a few.

[wind drift]

Little more complicated then that and a big factor is forage and every body of water has a limited amount of bio mass it can handle before stunting happens

Really it comes down to forage, oxygen levels throughout the year, temperature, water quality and lifespan. It’s more complicated then most realize

Really it comes down to adult mortality. The surest way to not have large perch is to kill them before they get big. Not surprising that my grandpa had better fishing in this province than my dad and I. The biggest difference is fewer fishermen then.

[Drewski Canuck]

Really it comes down to adult mortality. The surest way to not have large perch is to kill them before they get big. Not surprising that my grandpa had better fishing in this province than my dad and I. The biggest difference is fewer fishermen then.

welllll now that you want to compare the old days, the decade long drought in northeast Alberta did a quick job in dropping water levels to the point that winterkill sterilized alot of these shallow lakes.

Frenchman Lake being a prime example. Oh wait, then there is Hastings. Oh wait, what happened to Charron Lake by Grassland, it dried out too!

You see, now that the ground water is being recharged, and the run off is refilling these lakes, it just might be possible to spread the fishing pressure by restocking so many of these former perch factories.

Then the fishing pressure would not be so bad after all.

Drewski

[Smoky buck]

Hook (Kimowin) Lake, west of LaRonge, before the road was improved. Lake was dominated by perch with the odd hammer handle pike. Totally defied the popular notion of what would lead to “stunted” perch. Turns out, if they don’t get killed we let them get old, they get big. Weird.

Really it comes down to adult mortality. The surest way to not have large perch is to kill them before they get big. Not surprising that my grandpa had better fishing in this province than my dad and I. The biggest difference is fewer fishermen then.

I spent a good portion of time manipulating the factors I listed in aquaculture to achieve size and growth rate. All organic no supplements just adjusting the natural factors that impact fish growth

Speaking from firsthand experience and education it’s more complicated then time and just letting things grow

There are remote lakes that see basically no fishing pressure that are full of stunted fish that have very little adult mortality

[Vacation]

I've never caught a good perch in Alberta. Been here since 1997. However as a kid in Sask the best came out of the Beaver River near Beaval....2 pounders every time u found a school.

[dodger]

Pine Lake was a good perch lake in the 90s.

And the 60's.

Dodger.

[lromanchuk]

North Buck, Missiwawi, Blackett, Jackson, Kinnaird, and Helena to name a few.

This.

[Howard Hutchinson]

I remember going ice fishing with Dad in the early-mid 70s' to Crooked Lake, near Fox Creek. Dad chained up the 69 Chevy 1/2 ton, 2wd and down the trail we'd go headed for the lake. Seemed like a loooong drive in there...We caught a bunch of those orange finned footballs back then. We'd stay in Fox Creek that night and Dad would thaw the fish out in the tub, then get to filleting. I was amazed at how some seemed to come back to life in the tub of water.

I loved catching the Pike then as I didn't see the value of the Perch back then. As a kid, you want the BIG ones I guess...Fond memories.

[Red Bullets]

Centrally, Coal, Pine, Sylvan, South Buck and Pigeon lakes all had great perch in the 70's and 80's. North towards Athabasca lakes had lots of nice perch too. Venice lake by Lac La Biche had loads of jumbo perch. Was catching them at Venice with only 10 inches of water under the ice. Coal lake was crazy good too.

Pigeon was my favorite. Sight fishing and wading in 1 to 3 feet in June, 1 to 6 feet shore fishing during summer, 10 to 14 feet at first ice until Christmas, 20 to 35 feet after Christmas. Always used to catch several 12 to 13 inch perch in Pigeon.

[Wendigo]

Waiu
Snipe
McMillan
Hastings
Hasse
Jackfish
And a lake by iron River
Too bad social media killed them
Loose lips sink ships and decimate perch lakes

[briangeorge]

I remember in the 60's Laurier Lake up by Heinzburg Alberta was absoultely crazy perch fishing. I imagine it is like alot of the other lakes talked about DEAD NOW.

[RACKER]

Super Mario im sure knows !I always thought Sylvan would produce some big ones with all the varied terrain,depths and weedlines.

[Jims83cj5]

Pine Lake was a good perch lake in the 90s.

It was awesome in the mid 70,s when I as a kid, lots of 12-13” ers

[dfarms11]

Fork Lake when I was a kid. Won a local fishing derby there!

[slough shark]

Super Mario im sure knows !I always thought Sylvan would produce some big ones with all the varied terrain,depths and weedlines.

Sylvan used to have a bunch of perch and some half decent ones 20+ years ago, walleye seem to have pounded them back a lot, they are still there but not like they used to be. Hopefully the walleye get knocked back to a manageable level and we may start seeing some more in a few years.

[Jigsalot]

I remember in the 60's Laurier Lake up by Heinzburg Alberta was absoultely crazy perch fishing. I imagine it is like alot of the other lakes talked about DEAD NOW.

Wow. I used to drive up there in the late 90’s and it was crazy. Some of the best perchin I ever had but I have been there forever. Long drive from here. May as well drive to Slave now

[Sundancefisher]

Centrally, Coal, Pine, Sylvan, South Buck and Pigeon lakes all had great perch in the 70's and 80's. North towards Athabasca lakes had lots of nice perch too. Venice lake by Lac La Biche had loads of jumbo perch. Was catching them at Venice with only 10 inches of water under the ice. Coal lake was crazy good too.

Pigeon was my favorite. Sight fishing and wading in 1 to 3 feet in June, 1 to 6 feet shore fishing during summer, 10 to 14 feet at first ice until Christmas, 20 to 35 feet after Christmas. Always used to catch several 12 to 13 inch perch in Pigeon.

X2

[moose maniac]

I used to fish 2 lakes exclusively for perch in the 80,s and 90’s.
Joker lake east of peace river.
Goosegrass out by gods lake.
Was incredible. Haven’t been to either in 20 years.
Anyone been?

Not much for perch in either lake anymore mostly pike

[James.m]

I live 20 mins from south buck so if anyone wants to go target them let me know.

[trigger7mm]

Late 70’s and early 80’s....Moose, Ironwood, Long, Blackett, Spring, Frenchman, Fork, Tucker, Pigeon, Mink, Crooked, South Buck, Missawawi, Lower Mann, Chickenhill, Coal, Pine, Mcmillian, Slave.....the list goes on. Fished them all, and caught dandies in all of them. There was a small private lake just north of Lake Eden west of Stony Plain that we used to catch jumbos In as well. Awe, the good old days.

[Moosetalker]

I always thought it worth a head scratch our Yellow perch (Perca flavescens)
are a small panfish topping out at just over 2 lbs at16"
Compared to Caspian(Perca fluviatilis) European perch which can Rival Bass for size at 6 lbs.

Same holds true for Zander European Walleye. Fish Dr Gord Pyzer thinks they might be the next invasive species.

[buckmaster]

In the early 80,s Sandy beach was a popular lake with perch; I don't think they were big but remember catching lots. I think back then the limits of perch were 30. Bonnie lake, Hanmore lake used to have decent perch as well. Havent fished hanmore lake for about 15yrs now.

[Commander B]

I always thought it worth a head scratch our Yellow perch (Perca flavescens)
are a small panfish topping out at just over 2 lbs at16"
Compared to Caspian(Perca fluviatilis) European perch which can Rival Bass for size at 6 lbs.

Same holds true for Zander European Walleye. Fish Dr Gord Pyzer thinks they might be the next invasive species.



For the European perch dreamers KANALGRATIS perch pro 7 has started on YouTube. Top 5 longest perch 2.38 meters, yes meters, on day one. Have to be over 30cm to count


B.

[PerchBuster]

:innocent:

[fish99]

sylvan still has some perch over a pound , you have to go deep thou

[Strix]

I am surprised with over 50 posts and no one has mentioned Lac La Nonne. I recall going there in the late 50’s and 60’s and catching the big humpbacks on a treble hook baited with 2” spottail shiners. We would frequently get walleye too, we called ‘em pickerel back then, on the same setup.

[elk eater]

Spring lake also know as Edmonton beach had some pretty nice perch back in the 80’s.

Beaver lake by Lac La Biche had some monsters when you found em.

One things for sure the glory day’s of piles of monster perch seem to be behind us.

That being said I have been particularly pleased with the way the AB govt has been reaching out to fishermen for their views over the past couple of years. Seems like they are more engaged in hearing what we are seeing and what we want from our fishing resources. Would sure be nice to see them tackle the perch problem

[elk eater]

I live 20 mins from south buck so if anyone wants to go target them let me know.

This thread has inspired me to go after em again. I’m sure they are still there. It was never a lake you would pull your limit but you could always get a few and they were large so you could make a meal of it.

I love the challenge of trying to catch the impossible. So many of my buddies just want to go and catch a pile of whatever as long as they catch. I really enjoy trying to figure out the how, when, where, and why.

Hit south buck about 8 years ago with a couple of buddies. They wanted walleye and I was driving so out to my perch hole we went. Hadn’t been there in years. They were annoyed and sceptical. Said they have “ never seen a perch out of this lake “. We drilled some holes rigged up and dropped lines. BOOM fish on !!! Pulled up a real nice perch 10-11 pot bellied mini lunker. While the looks on their faces was priceless. Fished another 3 hrs moved around a little and not another bite.

[Moe]

Best perch fishing of my life was the winter of 1987/88 at Angling Lake by Bonnyville. Big fatties one after the other that whole winter. It's been a long time and I have no idea what it's like now.

[AK47]

Top 5 longest perch 2.38 meters, yes meters, on day one.

.


Are they talking Nile perch lol. In what world European perch grows over a meter?
Thats the official records:

As of May 2016, the official all tackle world record recognised by the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) stands at 2.9 kg (6 lb 6 oz) for a Finnish fish caught September 4, 2010.[6] In January 2010 a perch with a weight of 3.75 kg (8 lb 4 oz) was caught in the River Meuse, Netherlands.

[Drewski Canuck]

Given the obvious support to restore many of the Perch Lakes that were winter killed during the low water years, and have now regained viable water depth, is there any way to have the Minister flagged to this Thread for re stocking Perch and some Pike in a few of these lakes?

It seems a no brainer to go to some of the lakes with significant numbers of perch, such as Ghost Lake by Athabasca, do a netting in the spring, and truck the mix to one of the devoid but refilled lakes for re stocking. Multiple age classes would be introduced with a lake that is loaded with feed that has been unutilized.

Missawawi would be a prime candidate, and in 10 years time, would be producing catchable numbers.

Drewski

[bezzola]

I pulled some hogs from amisk back in the day good times.
We sledded into a lake last year 10” perch all day went back last week and didn’t even see a fish on the camera.

[Stinky Buffalo]

Back in the 70's and 80's we had friends who targeted perch, and some of those were massive! We didn't go after them ourselves, however.

Lots of the lakes that were named in this thread are ones that my father-in-law fondly refers to when he talks about the fishery of yesteryear, when the kids were younger. Some of these lakes have all but dried up in the meantime.

[Reeves1]

Reading this took me back to my teen years, in southern Ont.

Was fishing for (don't remember, but likely Walleye/Pike) and was catching LOTS of Perch in the 16"+ range ......and left because at that time, I didn't know they were great eating :sHa_sarcasticlol:

Found a dug out near Hinton one time. It was -30 or lower & stopped anyway & drilled a hole. 20'+ deep. Pulled a bunch of Hogs out & went to Jasper.
Rented a room & put them in the sink to thaw so I could fillet them later.....came back late that night & half were on the floor & the other half swimming in the sink ! :sHa_sarcasticlol:

[Commander B]

Are they talking Nile perch lol. In what world European perch grows over a meter?
Thats the official records:

As of May 2016, the official all tackle world record recognised by the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) stands at 2.9 kg (6 lb 6 oz) for a Finnish fish caught September 4, 2010.[6] In January 2010 a perch with a weight of 3.75 kg (8 lb 4 oz) was caught in the River Meuse, Netherlands.


It is a photo and release tournament. 5 fish × 45cm
Equals 2.25 meters . Pretty standard format. Watch the show its pretty good.

B.

[B.O.]

When I was in junior high school, mid to late 80’s, I went on a weekend fishing trip to south buck lake with a friend and his dad. We fished hard all weekend for walleye and only caught small pike. When we beached the boat Saturday night there was another boat coming in. I asked them how the fishing was and they raised a collapsible mesh basket with several fish in it. What I saw were perch but they were so large they didn’t look real. I thought at the time every perch in there was an Alberta record. I had caught many perch but I couldn’t imagine perch could get this large. I asked the elderly couple were they caught them.

So the next day we went out before we had to head home. We headed across the lake to the spot they told us and used the same bait and lures. We did catch many perch but nothing even close in size.

The best perch fishing I remember was Moore lake in the late 80’s and Hastings lake. Also caught many 12” footballs from ironwood casting wally divers and cc shads for walleyes. Long lake near peers had some large perch as well.

[Skoaltender]

When I was in junior high school, mid to late 80’s, I went on a weekend fishing trip to south buck lake with a friend and his dad. We fished hard all weekend for walleye and only caught small pike. When we beached the boat Saturday night there was another boat coming in. I asked them how the fishing was and they raised a collapsible mesh basket with several fish in it. What I saw were perch but they were so large they didn’t look real. I thought at the time every perch in there was an Alberta record. I had caught many perch but I couldn’t imagine perch could get this large. I asked the elderly couple were they caught them.

So the next day we went out before we had to head home. We headed across the lake to the spot they told us and used the same bait and lures. We did catch many perch but nothing even close in size.

The best perch fishing I remember was Moore lake in the late 80’s and Hastings lake. Also caught many 12” footballs from ironwood casting wally divers and cc shads for walleyes. Long lake near peers had some large perch as well.

Grew up at Hastings in the 90’s when it was withering away, sad to see it a dried up slough now. Along with cooking lake.

[dryflyguy]

Fun thread!
Growing up in the 90's our perch factories were Pigeon, Garner and Nakamun.

I've seen pictures of the perch my Grandpa would catch from Missawawi and they were mutants. Had to rub my eyes to believe what I was looking at. Too bad it was before my time.

[bessiedog]

Ah!!
Beaver Lake! Forgot bout that one.

We also got into pigs as Hanmore and Whitefish lake too.

I hate the thought of Hasse lake having perch. What a terrible thing.

Hasse had real 5-7 POUND trout in it.... I have old pics from the ‘70s to prove it...

Well my dad does.... heh.

I hope that lake comes back...... what a place.

[fish99]

beaver lake in the late 80,s the perch were surface feeding , we quit trolling walleye and instead targeted the perch.
travers dam had Hoggs for perch back in the early 90,s ,
1.5 pound males was the norm in the spring real aggressive

[Talking moose]

Ah!!
Beaver Lake! Forgot bout that one.

We also got into pigs as Hanmore and Whitefish lake too.

I hate the thought of Hasse lake having perch. What a terrible thing.

Hasse had real 5-7 POUND trout in it.... I have old pics from the ‘70s to prove it...

Well my dad does.... heh.

I hope that lake comes back...... what a place.

Only thing hasse got is bows and tigers.

[bessiedog]

Yes I know...
I was referring to years ago... people used to say it was a good perch hole.

I’m guessing it got perched in the early ‘90s

[trigger7mm]

Missawawi was a great perch lake back in the day. Early 80’s. I caught one there once that was sky blue in colour. No stripes or orange fins, the whole thing was just one colour. Sky blue. I wish I would have taken a picture of it with the other perch laying beside it, but back then, like all the other good old boys, it just went into the frying pan with the rest.

[elk eater]

I hate the thought of Hasse lake having perch. What a terrible thing.

Hasse had real 5-7 POUND trout in it.... I have old pics from the ‘70s to prove it...

Well my dad does.... heh.

I hope that lake comes back...... what a place.

Yeah Hasse had some big trout in it. I remember fishing it as a kid and catching some real nice ones. For a while they figured the Alberta record was gonna come out of that lake. I know that the Nait biology students used to Electro fish the lake as part of their learning and that’s when the rumours started that they had brought up fish that would be Alberta records. Then along comes some wiener and dumps perch in it. Such a shame.

[elk eater]

Missawawi was a great perch lake back in the day. Early 80’s. I caught one there once that was sky blue in colour. No stripes or orange fins, the whole thing was just one colour. Sky blue. I wish I would have taken a picture of it with the other perch laying beside it, but back then, like all the other good old boys, it just went into the frying pan with the rest.

Haha. You ate a blue perch !!! No harm done I guess. Can’t say I would eat an orange whitefish or a purple walleye.

[GrillBoss]

Best perch fishing of my life was the winter of 1987/88 at Angling Lake by Bonnyville. Big fatties one after the other that whole winter. It's been a long time and I have no idea what it's like now.

Angling Lake perch fishing sucks now. I had my camera down there all day last week and didn't see a perch over 4 inches. I talked to a local and he said only tiny ones left now. I won't be going back.

[trigger7mm]

Haha. You ate a blue perch !!! No harm done I guess. Can’t say I would eat an orange whitefish or a purple walleye.

Probably a one in 10 million, and it let the way of the filleting knife. Old school ways back then.

[sureshot]

We used to catch lots of perch in the 80’s out of Lake Eden

[goku88]

We used to catch lots of perch in the 80’s out of Lake Eden
did lake eden change name? we fished it in 80s. lots of 8 to 9 inchers with rare 13 inchers every 200 or 300 fish. every time there is a 11 incher. back then no one talked conservation

[3blade]

Was just griping about this today...no good perch lakes left. Nakamun never recovered. Mann didn’t either. Stupid walleye regs wiped out lac la nonne, Garner, fawcett and moose. Last time I was at island the water started about 150 yards past the end of the ramp. No idea what happened at devils, but I suspect the one 5 lb walleye I caught all day had something to do with it.

Regarding size....two biggest factors are walleye predation and presence (or absence) of fresh water shrimp. Perch sleep at night, walleye feed at night, not hard to figure out.

There needs to be enough forage for perch to keep growing, and that pretty much means shrimp. No shrimp, no big perch.

[OL_JR]

Interesting thread. Lots of the lakes mentioned I haven't fished and some mentioned still have big perch but you better be willing to pop some holes and put some work in.

Hard to beat a big humpy coming up to the hole and that's why a fellow keeps at it.

[Jays toyz]

Cutbank lake in the early 80's. Giants from shore. One of the many places my mom delivered me to when I was 14. Left me with Food, a tent, a lake or river and my rods and pick me up in 4 or 5 days. I was still alive every time. How many 14 year olds are left alone at a lake for near a week these days? Sometimes alone and sometimes with a buddy. Moonshine, sturgeon, swan and one Island Lake were all on the hit lis
cutbank became overpopulated with perch and the they removed the catch limit (or changed it to a crazy number). Groups of people filling their boats. It dropped and winter killed like most other shallow lakes.

[sureshot]

Another lake I used to catch tons of perch in was Muir lake, that was back when it still had pike in it.

[curtis_rak]

Interesting thread. Lots of the lakes mentioned I haven't fished and some mentioned still have big perch but you better be willing to pop some holes and put some work in.

Hard to beat a big humpy coming up to the hole and that's why a fellow keeps at it.


Exactly.. I chuckled at a few of the lakes mentioned. Yes things have changed since the 80’s/early 90’s but the perch are still around in some of the old haunts, just no freebie jumbos anymore.

I find, at least in the perch lakes where walleye exist, is to downsize my walleye setup and move a lot. Big perch take minnows just like walleye do and if it’s a smaller presentation you will catch the walleye and the perch if you stumble into them


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[pikeman06]

A hook in the water sure helps too. Put in your time on most of these lakes mentioned, minus a couple that are truly toast, and you might be surprised. Like the fellow above said they aren't easy anymore for the most part.

[trigger7mm]

Another one that we used to catch some beauty perch in back in the late 70’s was Floatingstone. We would catch the jumbos right in the bulrushes, using a Russian hook and a perch eye.

[bubba300]

A friend of mine and myself got into a school ice fishing at Pine about 10 years ago,they were a little under a pound,not monsters but decent.

[EZM]

I used to fish 2 lakes exclusively for perch in the 80,s and 90’s.
Joker lake east of peace river.
Goosegrass out by gods lake.
Was incredible. Haven’t been to either in 20 years.
Anyone been?

One of my earliest "big fishing trips" was up to Goosegrass. Would have been 35 years ago (I was a kid) . Not sure how it is today - but the road in was a trail really. OHV and 4x4 in only and it was not easy getting gear in.

The lake was full of reasonably large Pike and Perch and even us kids would paddle out in front of camp and land pike after pike just tossing a spoon around.

I can't be 100% sure (as I'm going from memory) but the perch were likely all in that 10"-12" size as "average". Very big perch and very willing to bite a small spoon or rubber tail jig. I don't recall using bait.

There was a report in 2006 aby SRD that showed exactly ZERO perch over 10" found or netted over the entire course of the study. Largest Pike in study were under 40" as well - so nothing spectacular.

Good memories - not sure of this is another casualty of over fishing due to better access ...

[Talking moose]

One of my earliest "big fishing trips" was up to Goosegrass. Would have been 35 years ago (I was a kid) . Not sure how it is today - but the road in was a trail really. OHV and 4x4 in only and it was not easy getting gear in.

The lake was full of reasonably large Pike and Perch and even us kids would paddle out in front of camp and land pike after pike just tossing a spoon around.

I can't be 100% sure (as I'm going from memory) but the perch were likely all in that 10"-12" size as "average". Very big perch and very willing to bite a small spoon or rubber tail jig. I don't recall using bait.

There was a report in 2006 aby SRD that showed exactly ZERO perch over 10" found or netted over the entire course of the study. Largest Pike in study were under 40" as well - so nothing spectacular.

Good memories - not sure of this is another casualty of over fishing due to better access ...
Last I went in to goosegrass was a trail as well. Even way up there, perch lakes find a way to get fished hard......so I’m not surprised.

[EZM]

Probably a one in 10 million, and it let the way of the filleting knife. Old school ways back then.

YUP .... LOL ....That was the way it went ...........

As a teenager, I remember going on a trip (multiple families) out to McGregor Lake. We went to fish the canal one evening and one of the old timers caught a absolute MONSTER burbot. I'm guessing high teens even 20lb maybe. He didn't weigh it, but it may have been one large enough to legitimately make the provincial record.

I was excited and told him he should weigh it and enter it for the record .... he laughed and proceeded to skin it up mumbling something about not being able to "eat a record".

Still think about that to this day.

[Smoky buck]

YUP .... LOL ....That was the way it went ...........

As a teenager, I remember going on a trip (multiple families) out to McGregor Lake. We went to fish the canal one evening and one of the old timers caught a absolute MONSTER burbot. I'm guessing high teens even 20lb maybe. He didn't weigh it, but it may have been one large enough to legitimately make the provincial record.

I was excited and told him he should weigh it and enter it for the record .... he laughed and proceeded to skin it up mumbling something about not being able to "eat a record".

Still think about that to this day.

There is probably more record fish that were released or became dinner without the angler realizing then people would expect. I know of a few that were definitely contenders but had no idea what the records were even. Black bullhead I have seen beat multiple times by 1/2-2lbs

I have heard lots of stories of burbot caught in northern BC that were contenders for record status but they are viewed as fish & chips not game fish. Most in northern BC have no clue there is even a record for burbot

[Jays toyz]

There is probably more record fish that were released or became dinner without the angler realizing then people would expect. I know of a few that were definitely contenders but had no idea what the records were even. Black bullhead I have seen beat multiple times by 1/2-2lbs

I have heard lots of stories of burbot caught in northern BC that were contenders for record status but they are viewed as fish & chips not game fish. Most in northern BC have no clue there is even a record for burbot

I caught and ate a greyling out of the ponton river in the 90's that unbeknownst to me was likely a record that may have been 24”. It was an amazing shore lunch though. A huge greyling up against dozens of 15 pound Slough Sharks still seems small...

[shawn]

When I was a kid and living in Bonnyville I remember we would come home with a 5 gal pail of perch and dad would be filleting forever. I think the limit was 30 or 40 a person back then. Mmmmm and I wonder why they are no longer around, kinda like everyone shooting supplemental wt does. Hopefully people are more educated and learn to conserve now, I know I learned my lesson.

[abhunter8]

Missawawi, North Buck, upper and lower Mann, Baptiste and Calling lake were all good. My best day was at Thunder lake watching a dozen perch down the hole and moving your hook to catch the biggest. Would sit on a 5 gallon pail open side up and before you got your limit they were slapping you in the butt, All around 1 pound. Slave had some real big ones but you would only catch a couple while fishing for walleye. The good ole days.

[pikeman06]

Yup I lived in bonnyville during the glory days but we were so busy working we only fished it maybe 10 days per year on the average over 6 years or so that I lived there. All those lakes up there were pretty good but the biggest perch were always selective. I admit to taking my buckets home too but never wasted a flake of perch meat so I guess I got peace of mind. Its overfishing and its happening right now at sylvan. I dont know how to remedy it besides a total closure in the winter where it can actually be enforced easily. People are greedy. Its a long way to recovery especially without stocking. I think its actually impossible in this day and age to manage so many anglers with so few fish.

[Talking moose]

Yup I lived in bonnyville during the glory days but we were so busy working we only fished it maybe 10 days per year on the average over 6 years or so that I lived there. All those lakes up there were pretty good but the biggest perch were always selective. I admit to taking my buckets home too but never wasted a flake of perch meat so I guess I got peace of mind. Its overfishing and its happening right now at sylvan. I dont know how to remedy it besides a total closure in the winter where it can actually be enforced easily. People are greedy. Its a long way to recovery especially without stocking. I think its actually impossible in this day and age to manage so many anglers with so few fish.
People biotch about zero limits and tag systems, but when you pull up over the hill and look down at a lake, and it looks Woodstock festival down there, you know it’s needed. I welcome it.

[SNAPFisher]

Originally Posted by pikeman06 View Post
Yup I lived in bonnyville during the glory days but we were so busy working we only fished it maybe 10 days per year on the average over 6 years or so that I lived there. All those lakes up there were pretty good but the biggest perch were always selective. I admit to taking my buckets home too but never wasted a flake of perch meat so I guess I got peace of mind. Its overfishing and its happening right now at sylvan. I dont know how to remedy it besides a total closure in the winter where it can actually be enforced easily. People are greedy. Its a long way to recovery especially without stocking. I think its actually impossible in this day and age to manage so many anglers with so few fish.

People biotch about zero limits and tag systems, but when you pull up over the hill and look down at a lake, and it looks Woodstock festival down there, you know it’s needed. I welcome it.

I agree with you Moose. Well said on both zero limits and tags. There is a reason both exist.

Surprised to see Pikeman coming around on overfishing being the real culprit. For sure stocking and expanding stocking of all sport fishing species, that can be, would be a great way to begin to counteract the slide. I believe it is possible to manage these fisheries. Alberta needs to change
to do it.

For example, I looked at Wisconsin a while back and they have over 200 stocking locations comprised of government and private industry. They stock everything they can including perch, pike, musky, etc.

Here is one example of a private firm in WI:
https://www.wisconsinlpr.com/lake-and-pond-construction/fish-stocking/

Just take a look at the species list. Also look at how they recommend walleye and perch together.

They have successfully privatized and made it into a valid business. May not be the only thing AB could do better but it is one thing. At least imho.

[3blade]

People biotch about zero limits and tag systems, but when you pull up over the hill and look down at a lake, and it looks Woodstock festival down there, you know it’s needed. I welcome it.

It’s when the limits and tags aren’t managed properly that people get frustrated. Lac la nonne is a great example. Used to be lots of every kind of fish, big perch, plenty of above average pike, enough walleye burbs and whites that you could catch them if you tried....then the walleye got hit by bio-itis and “collapsed” -it never was a trophy walleye fishery. Just a good well balanced lake

Now there’s lots of scrawny pigeon-eyes that you can pay extra to throw back, and nothing else.

[1899b]

When I was a kid and living in Bonnyville I remember we would come home with a 5 gal pail of perch and dad would be filleting forever. I think the limit was 30 or 40 a person back then. Mmmmm and I wonder why they are no longer around, kinda like everyone shooting supplemental wt does. Hopefully people are more educated and learn to conserve now, I know I learned my lesson.

Folks are from Bonnyville. We had a summer home at Northshore Heights. Perch fishing was phenomenal back in the 80’s and early 90’s.

We were from Fort McMurray and there was a lake my Dad would take his plane to called Heart Lake and it had some amazing jumbos....

[liketoshoot]

If any of you are old enough Sharron lake at the corner of 63 and 55 was a hoot but was short lived and a pile of years ago

[cheemo]

Me and Dad with our Russian hooks on Upper Mann lake. Memories! By the pail full!