Fly fishing white perch in the pines!

SleepySheep said:
Of course I took a small break from terrorizing the perch to take my momma out to brunch! I've been hitting them all week so I guess I've had my fill. I'll probably be back on the Wiss next Sunday if you don't have anything more exciting lined up and wanna fish 😉
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That is a possibility, Sheep, especially if I get out on Saturday. I will let you know 👍
 
SleepySheep said:
It was interesting to compare the my efficiency on a wooly bugger vs a small jighead/soft plastic on my spinning rod. I could catch perch every cast all day on the latter, but only coax the occasional white perch on the wooly bugger, despite being a similarly-sized minnow-y pattern. I suspect if I can hone my retrieve and learn how to keep depth better on a fly rig, I should be able to close the the gap.

There was one instance where I was able to pull out a whole school of white perch stripping a tiny hare's ear nymph, but I didn't need as much depth in that spot.

Lots of puzzles to be solved, fly fishing the pine barrens.
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Just a heads-up, you may want to try targeting freshwater drum when you get bored with WP. They’re targeting and catching them below Fairmount Dam. Crayfish imitation might do it, but I suspect that an internet search will reveal the possibilities of catching them on the fly. Likewise the stripers are in close along the Delaware Estuary (and also below Fairmount). Best spots are on the NJ side rather than the Pa side unless you have a Kayak or other boat.
 
Mike said:
Just a heads-up, you may want to try targeting freshwater drum when you get bored with WP. They’re targeting and catching them below Fairmount Dam. Crayfish imitation might do it, but I suspect that an internet search will reveal the possibilities of catching them on the fly. Likewise the stripers are in close along the Delaware Estuary (and also below Fairmount). Best spots are on the NJ side rather than the Pa side unless you have a Kayak or other boat.
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I honestly did not know we had freshwater drum in the Delaware or Schuylkill! Kind of wild that I haven't caught one in the Delaware by now. I'd love to chase em since I don't have one on my life list yet. What's a typical strategy for targeting freshwater drum?
 
SleepySheep said:
I honestly did not know we had freshwater drum in the Delaware or Schuylkill! Kind of wild that I haven't caught one in the Delaware by now. I'd love to chase em since I don't have one on my life list yet. What's a typical strategy for targeting freshwater drum?
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They just showed up in the Delaware 2 yrs ago.
 
Mike said:
Nice WP’s. You’re hard-pressed to find them that size other than an occasional specimen in Pa with only a very few exceptions (water bodies). In nearly all cases in Pa lakes, that species is nothing but trouble…stunts and is hard on other species when occurring in waters that are not their natural environment. That size WP is, however, found with some consistency in the Delaware Estuary in Philly at this time of the year.
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I'm a member of a Facebook group, Fishing Lake Marburg. I've been impressed by the size of the white perch that guys are posting in that group this year. Usually it's tons of dinks in that lake. Seems like they're getting older age classes of fish this year.
 
blitzinstripes said:
I'm a member of a Facebook group, Fishing Lake Marburg. I've been impressed by the size of the white perch that guys are posting in that group this year. Usually it's tons of dinks in that lake. Seems like they're getting older age classes of fish this year.
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Dear blitzenstripes,

Maybe the white perch are reaching the end of their days in Lake Marburg? That would be a wonderful thing. Thirty years ago, before I moved to SC PA Marburg was a destination lake. Sadly, some bucket biologist put WP in the lake and it pretty much wiped out the quality fishing for the last two decades.

I'm not saying there are no good fish in Marburg anymore, but it was known as a great bass and walleye lake years ago. White Perch are fish egg eaters and nest raiders, and basically pests.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂
 
TimMurphy said:
Dear blitzenstripes,

Maybe the white perch are reaching the end of their days in Lake Marburg? That would be a wonderful thing. Thirty years ago, before I moved to SC PA Marburg was a destination lake. Sadly, some bucket biologist put WP in the lake and it pretty much wiped out the quality fishing for the last two decades.

I'm not saying there are no good fish in Marburg anymore, but it was known as a great bass and walleye lake years ago. White Perch are fish egg eaters and nest raiders, and basically pests.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂
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Well the stripers are flourishing now. Saw a nearly 30 pound fish caught last week. Bunch of 20lb fish showing up. The stripes should def put a dent in the young white perch. And the shad.
 
Anyone know if you can legally fish from the islands in the estuary from the pa-del border north? Say if you kayak to them beach the kayak and just wade around fishing from them?
 
Mike said:
Credit adaptive fisheries management in Fisheries Management Area 6.
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Quite a few years ago, I suggested stocking stripers to the area fisheries manager (Was it you?). At the time they were reluctant due to the limited trout fishery in the lake. I'm grateful they reconsidered. Not just for the potential that the striper fishery could be, but because of the potential to positively impact the balance of the lake. I can't back this with any hard data, but it does seem that they are having a positive impact on other species.
 
This one was caught last week.
 

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