I was just asked about building a rod for perch jerking on Lake Erie. I have never fished for Perch. What does it take for a good rod? My guess would be about a 7` med. I hate to bother the sponsors as I may have it in inventory.

Thanks,

Bill

Ohio Rod Builders

Canton, Ohio

I have used 6ft med action in the 4-8lb range. Some guys have asked me for shorter ones like 5'.

Bill,

I've only gone out on Erie a time or two for perch, so my ideas may be off just a bit. They way we did it was essentially fishing a drop shot rig with a fairly heavy weight (more weight than I would have chose, but the charter captain had us rigged and ready) and live bait. Others fish with crappie spreader rigs and such. When you are fishing over 30+ feet of water, there isn't a whole lot of need to cast. The weight rating becomes less critical. I would would probably look at a 1 (1/16-5/16) or 2 (1/8-3/8) power spin jig in 6'6"-7' type of blank for this sort of fishing. The blank will be limber enough to enjoy the fight of the perch, but have enough backbone to handle dropping heavier weights and hook the fish in deep water.

If the build can wait a bit, I have a rod built on a Bastson ISJ 781 that I can bring to the ORB Gathering.

Joe

I agree with the posts about Perch jerking.
I think that a 6' to 6'6" medium action rod is perfect for this action.
The reason for the medium, rather than a lighter rod, is that Perch jerking is normally done with a fair amount of weight. i.e. 1/4 to 1/2 oz of weight. They do this to get the wieght down very quickly and JERK, another fish back on board. It would be nice to have a rod with an extra fast tip.

The St. Croix SCIII casting blank that is 6'10" m-l runs a bit on the more powerful side but the tip is one of the fastest rod tips in the industry and if left either at the 6'10" or trimmed to a shorter length would be about as an ideal blank that you could want.

Take care
Roger

MHX SJ781! Best perch rod I've built. Very light weight, light enough tip to detect they "shy" bites, and enough backbone to handle the sheephead when they decide to take the bait. I built mine as a spiral wrapped baitcaster and its great. I use a baitcaster with a flipping switch to just allow to bait to fall to the bottom. Add some 10 lb braid and your good to go. Im sure it would work great as a spinning rod as well.

Mitch,
I like your idea to use this rod as a bait caster. A great choice for any type of over the side fairly heavy weight fishing.
Roger