I need help narrowing down the field on a good perch blank.

I don't fish for freshwater perch, but have a friend who's a fanatic. A long time ago he had 6 rods built, 3 identical sage and and 3 identical loomis. All 6' 2-piece spinners. Over the years four have succumbed to "events". He has no idea what the original blanks were, and I won't have the rods in hand until the end of January (so I can't provide any CCS measurements), and of course he would like to have "identical" action and power rods built with the latest materials...

Basically, he vertical bait fishes in 12-60 ft of water. He uses a 1 oz. sinker on the bottom and a couple bait rigs above the sinker. I don't know what the variety of bait is yet. He lets the sinker rest on the bottom and works the line enticing the perch without lifting the sinker. I'm not quite sure if I understand yet his technique, the line may or may not be going slack to the sinker as he works the rod tip. He uses 10 lb line and his favorite reels are 2500 class. Drag is set tight so he basically winches them up. He also lifts and swings the fish aboard the boat which has considerable freeboard (sometimes double headers a pound each).

Not to influence your recommendation but I was thinking that if I went with a one piece, it might be easier to find something about 6'6" so as to have room to trim a bit from the tip to get the right feel, and then cut from the but to get the length he wants.

He's open to both one or two piece. So, if you're a perch fanatic, what blanks might you start considering to fish in this manner?

I think that hot shot blanks have the action that would work well with this technique, a light tip with a magnum butt. Tip would be sensitive and lively enough for the teasing the perch and feeling/seeing the bite, yet the butt would come in and allow lifting the heavy sinker without bending half the length of the rod.

It sounds like he really won't buy into a long blank, though, so trimming might be necessary. I'm not a fan of trimming, but maybe in this case it will be necessary to get him what he wants. If the magnum butt were trimmed off a 7 1/2 to 8 foot hot shot blank I would think the characteristics of the light/fast tip magnum butt would be retained quite well.

I suggest getting one and tape a handle way up the blank and have him try it before destroying a blank.

good luck

I have caught perch by the buckets over the years.

However, I normally use a 1/8th oz jig. For this action, I use a 6 foot medium light jig.

But, if you just get a 6 foot medium action spin and jig rod with an extra fast tip, it will work perfect for you.

Talk to Todd at Mudhole and get their suggestion. However, I think that one of the MHX blanks in a 6 foot action with a medium or medium light in an extra fast action will be the rod for your needs.

The 1 oz weight - changes the equation a bit from your normal perch rod.

I think that the likely blank would be a SJ782, or a SJ783.

I would prefer the SJ782 if it had the beef for the 1 oz weight.

Be safe

I think a Spin Jig with enough beef to handle the sinker will be way too stiff for the sinker-on-the-bottom technique. Medium or medim light will not handle the sinker well. IMHO there is a better way. VERY stiff butt, light tip but only in the last 1 1/2 feet. What he needs is a very specialized blank, not the normal fast or extra fast action. The customer has a very demanding techniqe and doesn't appear to like long rods. And doesn't like one piece. I think he should have taken better care of his rods that were perfect, but that doesn't solve the problem.

I've fished walleye and perch on Lake Erie for years, perch using the same method you describe. a light to medium light power with a moderate to moderate/fast action is about what you want. There is no casting involved hear so don't let the 1 oz muddy the waters. Batson Revalation blanks REVS62ML-SB and REVS62L-SB are both good candidates. I have built perch rods on both depending on customers personal preference on the power and have had good feedback on both.

While I don't have experience fishing this technique, I do with bottom bouncers in 50-60 feet of water, in which the sinker is not cast either. With 1-1 1/2 bottom bouncers the best setup is an extra fast medium to medium heavy action that doesn't flex excessively on the retrieve. I don't doubt that the setup recommended will work, but I still think there is a better way utilizing a hot shot type action. Trying out the potential solutions with a couple taped up proposals is the best way of sorting it out.

John,

Look at a 6'6" 1 power spin jig blank. This would be my choice for this type of fishing. Essentially, the weight is just dropped or tossed out a short distance from the boat. The angler isn't fishing the weight, just giving a little jiggle to the line to impart a little action in the bait/plastic. It's essentially drop shot fishing (also similar to techniques used by Long Island guys for fluke, as Capt. Neil described to me, except they use a few ounces of lead and drop shot rods). The heavy weight is used to make it easier to feel what is going on at the business end of the line, by helping increase the tension in the line.

I've used the technique once. The one time I went out on a perch charter, this is the technique we used, the captain equipped us with very cheap fiberglass rods and braid. The technique works and works well, but a powerful rod is not mandatory. If I were to head out on another perch charter, you can bet I'd be bringing my ISJ781 with me. In fact, this technique came to mind as soon as my ISJ781 came in years ago. It will handle throwing light jigs in shallow water, and dropping the heavier weights out in deeper water.

Joe

Joe,
Right on.
When I first started fishing Perch many years ago, we used a heavy weight tied on the line with a line tied on above it.
We mainly use 5 1/2 foot ultra light rods which worked great.

As you said, when fishing; the weight is not part of the equation. The weight is only on the rod when the fish is reeled in.

If one did have a heavy weight and big perch on the rod, I would NOT be swinging the fish and weight over the side of the boat. I would pull it straight up, and then grab the line and swing the fish and weight over the side.

Take care

Hi John

I have a good friend who fishes the same technique on Erie regularly. His go-to rod now is an MHX S721-2. I thought that it would be too light to haul doubles over the gunnel, but he says it's fine so long as you don't high stick. In general, the weight is resting on the bottom, so sensitivity is the key. I think he uses six lb test and a fluoro leader with spinshot double rigs. Not a Sage or Loomis, but he loves it. And with thousands of perch caught this fall, I can't argue with him.

Keith



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/19/2014 07:31PM by keith nehrke.