Every year thousands of anglers flock to Lake Simcoe for its amazing perch fishing. Not only can you catch a good number of fish, but you can also catch some of the biggest perch you may ever see!
My approach is to fish more aggressive baits and work toward more finesse techniques depending on how good the bite is. Aside from live bait, I’ve listed 4 lures I choose to have tied on to catch jumbos.
Lipless Rattle Bait
- Rapala Ultra-Light Rippin’ Rap
- Size 04
- Live Target Yellow Perch
- Size 50
I almost always start with a lipless. The loud rattles will draw in fish from further away and usually trigger the most aggressive fish first. Even if I don’t get bit with this bait, I will usually see or mark one on my sonar to then follow up with something else.
Jigging Spoon
Flash versus rattles can often be aggressive enough to attract fish, but subtle enough to not spook them. Look for spoons with a bead to give the perch a “target”. While the spoon itself may seem big, the fish will often fixate on the bead and engulf your hook. Once fish are around, holding this lure completely still will trigger strikes.
Gliding Jig
- Acme Hyper-Glide
- Size 1.5″ and 2″
- Acme Hyper-Rattle
- Size 1.5″ and 2″
- Rapala Jigging Rap
- Size W2, W3, W5
Gliding jigs offer a realistic baitfish imitation. As the bait falls, its “wings” make it spiral toward the bottom. This proves to be an irresistible movement and as soon as you pause/hold the bait, fish will destroy it!
Micro Jig & Plastic
Micro jigs tipped with a small plastic work for panfish in just about any body of water. The small profile looks like an easy meal. Perch won’t be able to resist you twitching the tail of a plastic in their face!
Tie 1 On - Fishing 
Hey I’m just wonder what location I should try in cooks bay I have tried left out and only caught one or two jumbos thx lmk
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Popular places to walk out from are Gilford or Keswick. As we get deeper into winter and there’s more traffic on the lake, just have to go deeper and further away from all the hut operators. While I love sight fishing in 12-20 ft of water, we often find more cooperative fish in 30-40ft. In shallower, you’ll still see and catch fish, but as sleds are driving or there’s other noise, they’ll be more weary of your bait. I recommend looking on https://webapp.navionics.com/#boating@9&key=%7Bq_mGtiddN to scope out depth ranges and areas to plan you day!
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