Official Lake Sundance Calgary Perch fishing bonking club

[The Spank]

6”-7” perch aren’t too bad to clean. Takes a bunch for a good fish fry but well worth the effort. They are tasty little beggars!

[sneekerp]

Originally Posted by The Spank

6”-7” perch aren’t too bad to clean. Takes a bunch for a good fish fry but well worth the effort. They are tasty little beggars!

I wouldn't get too excited about a 6-7" average in Sundace. I'm not sure if their tape measures are rubber, but from personal experience the average size is much smaller. My boys and I were out for the afternoon last weekend. We caught 132 perch. Only 2 made the 6" mark. The rest were under 5".

[The Spank]

Lol, I wasnt getting excited by any means. Only offering up an opinion and word of encouragement. Calgary is a long drive to fish for perch. I can be on Lac La Ronge in alot less time catching limits of 5 pound walleye and lakers to 20lbs that I can keep without tags.

[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by sneekerp

I wouldn't get too excited about a 6-7" average in Sundace. I'm not sure if their tape measures are rubber, but from personal experience the average size is much smaller. My boys and I were out for the afternoon last weekend. We caught 132 perch. Only 2 made the 6" mark. The rest were under 5".

Strange. Most I measured today were over 6 inch. I have caught more smaller ones recently.

Still...these aren't monsters. I did catch a few 8 inchers this year and couple 9's.

[sneekerp]

Originally Posted by Sundancefisher

Strange. Most I measured today were over 6 inch. I have caught more smaller ones recently.

Still...these aren't monsters. I did catch a few 8 inchers this year and couple 9's.

I'd sure like to see those pictures of the 9 inchers with a tape measure.

[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by sneekerp

I'd sure like to see those pictures of the 9 inchers with a tape measure.

Next time I will. As mentioned...I said couple. So out of 10,000 + perch I caught last year... less than 10 were 8 inch and 2 were 9. Of course the corner where I fish has seen significant depletion of perch within a good casting radius...and they may have a bit more food.

I have a new net to use this year to reduce perch populations.

Dimensions: 150’ x 12’ x ½” stretched mesh
Material: Polypropylene braided knotless netting (black)
Lead line flush to net
Comes with purse/bag

When the perch move in shallow to spawn in the spring we will give it a spin. I want to try before I stock the new trout. Then during the summer when I see perch schools in tight to shore we will do more seining.

Just need to find folks that want thousands of perch to either eat, feed to animals or use as fertilizer.

Should be able to catch 10,000 to 100,000 perch in a day to start I am thinking. Depends upon how many people want to come out and help for a share of the catch.

I guess I will have to set up a registration system.

Netting like this is more fun.

[Sundancefisher]

Fishing was once again spotty yesterday. We moved around a bit. Lots of perch showing up on the flasher my buddy had...just not aggressive to the hook.

Every hole you drill has about 1000 perch within a 10 foot radius.

[slingshotz]

We were out there two weeks ago and caught maybe a hundred and then we also took maybe another hundred from Sundance and others that didn't want them. They all were about 6-7" and some of them were already full of eggs surprisingly.

Since they are so small, the best way I found was to simply fillet each one leaving the rib cage and skin on, takes about 10 seconds to run the knife behind the head and right down the spine, you don't need to gut them, but make sure you leave the dorsal fin attached to the spine. Then after washing the fillets quickly to get rid of any guts and stuff, I just roll them lightly in seasoned flour and deep fry them. Since they are so small, the rib bones, skin and scales just crisps up and there's no choking hazard. I learned this trick from some russian friends as a kid. For smaller ones it is also possible to run a knife down the middle of the spine and butterfly them but you need to remove the dorsal fin, head and guts. If you deep fry them properly (not in a batter), the spine will also be crispy and eatable.

Next time I do this, I'll try and take a video and photos showing the before and after. Took me maybe 2 hours and I got over 3kg of fillets.

[openfire]

Originally Posted by Sundancefisher

Fishing was once again spotty yesterday. We moved around a bit. Lots of perch showing up on the flasher my buddy had...just not aggressive to the hook.

Every hole you drill has about 1000 perch within a 10 foot radius.

Sounds like a great place to take kids.

[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by sneekerp

I'd sure like to see those pictures of the 9 inchers with a tape measure.

Out of 66 caught in an hour 1 was 9 inch and 1 was 8 inch. Most other 6-7. A few under 6.

https://twitter.com/iwanttofish/stat...90280583405568

[Sundancefisher]

Holes have formed due to melt and snow weight.

Watch out at surrounding lakes.