Medicine Hat College Perch
 

Hi all;

I'm looking for some tips on catching Perch at Medicine Hat College. My wife, and I went there today and didn't even get a nibble. To those who have been to that pond before we were casting about 30m East of the culvert between the "small" and "big" ponds, right in front of a park bench. We tried both ponds.

Does anyone have a better location that they have caught some Perch from? Also, what were you using? We used small jigs tipped with Power Bait night crawlers cut in half, as well as some Gulp minnows. Honestly, we didn't expect to catch anything but we wouldn't have been upset if we had!!!

Thanks

I find its better ice fishing there,however its been awhile.use small frozen minnows oe maggots on a small hook.however there are also some massive pike in them medicine hat colledge ponds ,so they take out alot of perch,you should go for the pike in the pond.biggest one i've seen ouf of there was 17 pounds caught by my cousin when he was a kid.

Interesting, thanks for the help. What should I use for the pike? The only fish I've ever caught were Rainbow Trout, so I'm not up to speed on what to use when it comes to pike, perch, etc... I have a general idea but I'll take any help I can get!

Try this link for perch fishing tips...

http://www.lakesundance.org/PDFs/How...e%20Update.pdf

As this article is written for a private lake...be sure to read and follow the Alberta Fishing Regulations.

I am finding that the fall seems to be slower for perch fishing. This past few weeks has been ultra slow. About 2 years ago after catching tons of fish I invited a group over to fish...there was fresh ice around the edges of the lake...and we caught a big goose egg.

I find the best fishing for perch is the last three weeks in December, early September and mid May to Mid June...based upon our experience here at Lake Sundance.

Hope that helps.

Cheers

Sun

Use wire leaders for the pike, and there are a lot of lures that work for them. Red and White, or 5 of Diamonds spoons, Storm Wildeye crankbaits, or even baithooks and smelts work well.

Thanks for all the info guys. Sundance, when I get a bit more time I'm going to check out that link that you posted.

I talked with a friend at work today and he feels the same way about the pike gobbling up all the perch.

Wayne, what pound test would you recommend above the wire leader? I'm currently running 8# mono and I have a feeling that it isn't quite heavy enough. Hopefully I'll be able to get down there again this Friday to try some of your tips.

8# line should be fine. I only use 8, 10, n 12 # line and I have never had a pike snap it. I've brought in pike around 4 ft long on 8 # test. Maybe I've just been lucky though bcuz I don't use leaders either, only when trolling. As for the perchies, I use about 1/4 of a worm and it seems to work great. Check the regs though, not sure if u can use bait at the college but i think u can?Let us know how the fishing is at the college. I have never ever heard of anyone pulling a pike outta there in the last twenty years. If they r in there, they may very well be huge as nobody really fishes there from what I can tell?
Good luck!

So, what's the name of the pond behind the College residence then (you walk beside it as you go from hole 4 to 5 on the Connaught Golf Course)

See lots of people fishing there from the parking lot.

There's a little reservoir out by Rattlesnake that has some great perch fishing through the ice, don't expect to catch anything big though. It's called Cloutt's dam.

I agree, 8 pound is plenty as long as your reel has a good drag, and you have it set right. I have landed plenty of big pike on 8 pound test, just dont try and horse them in, you have to let them tire a bit. Theres a ton of info in this forum on pike fishing, just do a search and you will find all sorts of great tips and tactics for them. and good luck.

No idea what they call that little lake by the college but some say its full of perch??? Cloutt's dam eh, never heard of it but i think i know where it is, is it on farmland?? Need permission??

I think you may be fishing in the wrong ponds. The one by the College Residences and Connaught golf course is the only pond that I know has any fish. The ponds actually on the college grounds I have never seen anyone fish or ever heard of anyone fishing in. I may be wrong as I have only lived here for 10 years and fished the pond by the golf course and residences. Have caught a ton of really small perch in there but nothing worth keeping as it would take your entire limit to make a meal for one. Had good luck with a slip bobber with a bare hook tipped with a maggot or minnow. Do not fish where everyone drives in as there usually are too many people and lots of lost rigs in the water to snag on. Usually go to the first point around the right side and fish from there back into the bay along the golf course. Great fishing for kids in the winter. Good luck.

I have seen some fish swimming the weed edges in the college ponds,looked like suckers to me tho.

I've always been confused about which pond people are referring to when they say they are fishing "at the College". If it's any indication as to whether or not there are fish on the college grounds, my wife and I did find a bunch of fishing line hanging from a tree at the ponds on the College grounds. And yes, we did our best to take it all down.

Speaking of Clouts Dam. This Saturday I accidentally ended up their instead of going to Rattlesnake. I saw a compressor station called Rattlesnake Compressor and figured "hmm maybe I should turn here". I later found out that where I ended up was Clouts Dam when I mentioned to someone at work that Rattlesnake seemed pretty small for being such a popular place!

Again, thanks for all the info guys. It's nice to have some discussion about fishing spots so close to home!

i have caught hundreds of perch in there... All we do wether we are fishing in summer or ice fishing is use a really small jig head with a SMALL piece of worm. If fishing through the ice we drop it to the bottom lift up about 3-8 inches and let it sit there. You often don't feel the hit but you can see the line moving around in the hole. In summer we just do a underhand cast into the water let that light jig sink a little and then slowly retrieve it.

If you want a challenge, my friend and i (through the ice) caught 137 perch in a single day.

If you would like to ask me any other questions just send me a pm, hope to see you out there i drive a small red car if you see me please say hi.

[QUOTE=CoyoteChallenger;419277] You often don't feel the hit but you can see the line moving around in the hole.
I fished side by side with my brother one year at Sylvan in a tent, he caught nada, I caught my limit. what he didnt catch on to was that I had my line over my fingertip, I could feel the perch take my bait and hook them before they had time to spit it out. He used a bobber and didnt see anything at all. Of course I told him what he did wrong, on the way home :D

There is always the upgrade is the underwater cam .........a @%$@ deadly tool for fishing perch and also whites. A good one is about 350 to 400 but worth its weight in gold

[QUOTE=WayneChristie;419721]:lol::lol::lol:Evil brother:lol::lol::lol:

[QUOTE=Fishfinder;420019] Its my duty to outfish him every time :D

I have fished the pond in question a lot as I used to live not more than a few blocks from it. There are perch in it but none worth keeping. I am sure some of you know that just out by the airport way 10 mins out is a GREAT place for perch. Had 200 fish days there. Most of them are keepers. Come to think of it I have not put it on my map. Here are a few.

http://s274.photobucket.com/albums/jj253/jts1_album/Fish%20Pics/?action=view&current=IMG_2067-2.jpg

http://s274.photobucket.com/albums/j...t=IMG_2072.jpg

Nope it is on my map. BUT forgot the name of it. Its listed under Perch Perch Perch anyone know the name of the lake?


Nope it is on my map.. BUT I forgot the name of the place its listed under Perch Perch Perch. Anyone know what the place is called??

Is that not Clouts Dam? And r the perch worth keeping? Never been but going now:)

looks like some fancy residences on the one side, is there lots of access?

There is a big dam there and cabins along the west side. I drive across the bridge on the canal just off the grid road. Never had a bad day there as you can see from the pics

did you shore fish? supposed to be plus 14 Friday, and Im going stir crazy here, finally feeling up to doing something after my surgery, might as well try for dinner :)

Sry Wayne it was all hard water. Send PM if you want xzact locations.

Oops, jus seen ur pics so disregard my ? about if they r worth keeping. Clearly thet are.:) Cheers!

Yup, that's cloutt's dam. Size has gone waaaaay down. Numbers are great as my 2 little girls love going there

Wayne, the weather does look great this weekend. Might be a bit on the windy side though (what else is new!). Me and my buddy are going to try and head out to Rattlesnake Saturday, and maybe jump down to Clouts Dam.

Has anyone fished Clouts Dam recently? It's pretty low right now.

Its low but its pretty much like that every fall/winter once they stop flowing water thru the canals.
Never really had much luck finding big boys there but always lots of action...

klaudts damn
 

the best way to in is where the 523 makes a jog to the south thru the coulee and where u would turn west to go to rattlesnake just keep going south on gravel till u get to irrigation canal. go west along canal it goes right in to the lake. if u go on the grid road there is a lot of private residences and access is not real good.