Several winters ago an old college friend who hailed from Florida called me one evening. It had been years since we had talked about old times and caught up on new events in our lives at a homecoming reunion. Mark’s indoctrination from the Sunshine State to the Snowball State was a real shock that first winter, but he learned to enjoy Maine’s snowy season. We skied, ice fished, snowmobiled, and hunted rabbits, and he swore when he had children they wouldn’t be almost 20 when they experienced our winter wonderland for the first time.

While Mark celebrated and relived his college years at the reunion, his wonderful wife assured his free time by wrangling a very busy 2-year-old boy and a 5-month-old baby girl. Besides catching up, the crux of Mark’s telephone visit was to inform me that the whole family would be heading north for a few days with an 8- and a 10-year-old eager for their first introduction to snow. Snowmen were to be built, snowball fights enjoyed, introduction to downhill skiing and snowshoe hikes, and, of course, lots of snowmobile rides.

Then Mark snuck in the real reason for the call and put the weight of the success of the entire trip directly on my shoulders. “Oh, by the way” he mentioned offhandedly, “a famous outdoor writer like you must know a spot where a couple of kids can catch a bunch of fish on their first try ice fishing.” And there it was, I was under the gun to put up or shut up, so to speak, with my choices making or breaking a couple of youngsters’ premier visit and fishing foray to Maine. I made light of the pressure by telling Mark, “If I could teach you to catch fish through the ice, a couple of children ought to be a snap.”

Thankfully, the weather cooperated and our little band of ice drillers spent a calm, sunny afternoon on a nearby lake. Holes were augered, traps were baited and set out, hot dogs were grilled, snowballs were thrown, and oh yes, fish were caught. Lots of fish. The fact that many of our finned quarry were perch made not one iota of difference to the enjoyment for children or adults, and the evening fish fry just created additional memories of our adventure. A couple of toothy pickerel added excitement, and two trout, a short salmon, and a curious cusk added variety to the catch. Once again the mundane little perch had assured an ice-fishing outing that was bountiful rather than boring.

Trash or treasure

For many hard-water anglers, any species outside of the trophy trinity of brook trout, landlocked salmon, and togue are considered unworthy of their time and attention. Perch are actually referred to as trash fish, bait stealers, and several other colorful, unprintable monikers by a goodly number of Pine Tree ice fishermen. Many years ago I felt the same way, condemning perch, pickerel, cusk, and even whitefish as bothersome and unworthy scaly pests that took valuable time, bait, and opportunities from real gamefish. Oddly enough I would sit for hours and jig cut bait for smelt, a smaller and often less cooperative quarry.

My attitude began to change during an outing with a couple of friends on a lake that harbored no less than seven varieties of fish. Our goal for the day was to ice one or two decent-sized brown trout, but there seemed to be a severe epidemic of lockjaw affecting all the trout and salmon. Even the pickerel had lost their appetite, and we sat for more than two hours without a single flag while wishing, hoping, and lamenting the slow fishing.

When we finally did get a flag, and it turned out to be a fat yellow perch, we were surprisingly upbeat rather than disappointed. A few minutes later the very same flag flew into the breeze again and another perch hit the ice. One of the boys allowed that a half-dozen more would be just right for a fish fry, and since I’d never tried perch filets, it seemed a good idea. Less than an hour later, floured and seasoned filets sizzled in a cast iron skillet that had been greased with salt pork. Home fries and a thick slice of homemade brown bread joined the fresh fish to make us all reconsider our stand on perch; one man’s trash might be another man’s treasure.

What finally elevated perch to equal standing on my ice fishing agenda was a March outing when a couple of buddies brought their children along. Those kids could have cared less what type of fish was on the other end of their line as long as some species was tugging back and flipping flags regularly. Don’t get me wrong, I love to hook, play, and catch good-sized gamefish, but during the winter I’ll take steady trash fish action over slow treasure fish results every time. Unlike fly casting, it’s difficult to target a specific size or species of fish with a tip-up and live bait, so ice fishing is always a guessing game when a flag flies. For youngsters and novice ice anglers, perch are sure to grab and hold their interest and make them want to come back again. As for veteran cold weather fishermen, yellow and white perch have made many a slow trout or salmon trip more tolerable – and tasty.

Popular panfish

Although not necessarily here in Maine, yellow perch are one of the most popular panfish across the U.S. Found in 42 states, yellows travel in schools, are generally willing biters, and often nicknamed raccoon perch, zebra perch, ringed perch, and convict due to their six to eight broad, dark stripes over a yellow body. An olive or drab green back and red/orange fins make yellow perch a vividly pretty and very recognizable fish.

In Maine this species is more easily caught through the ice than on open water, and the filets are notably firmer and tastier from the ice cold water than during the summer. A 1-year-old yellow perch might weigh 1 pound, but most are smaller in regional lakes. Basically a bottom feeder, this species is very susceptible to small live bait, cut bait, and shiny, erratic moving jigs and lures. Mind the spiny fins when handling this fish or you’ll get picked, and they are tough to scale, so skinless filets are the best option for cooking.

Truth be told, I’m a bit more partial to white perch; they tend to be larger and therefore fight better, offer larger filets, and the flaky white meat is delicious regardless of season or water temperature. White perch are actually a member of the sea bass family, closely related to the striped bass and unrelated to the yellow perch or any perch for that matter. Often referred to as bluenose perch, silver perch, silver bass, and sea perch, in fresh water these plucky little fish are silver-gray or dark grayish-green along the flanks and silver-green on the belly.

Widely distributed throughout local lakes, white perch not only respond to minnows, worms, lures, and jigs, but strike flies being trolled or cast during summer months. Averaging 8-12 inches, it’s not uncommon to land a white perch weighing a pound, and in fact one of the largest specimens ever recorded, a 191/2-inch, 4-pound, 12-ounce monster, was caught in Messalonskee Lake right here in Maine. This specimen is excellent fried or the firm sweet meat can be cut into chunks and used for a top-rate chowder.

Tackle and tactics

While all Pine Tree gamefish have a set limit (often length as well as numbers) and even the lowly smelt and pickerel have restrictions, perch have none. This means all-day, every-day action if you enjoy eating fish, and if not, there’s always catch and release, which offers the fun of the fight without the work of cleaning fish. In regard to tackle, there are three main setups that work to catch perch through the ice, the most obvious and least hands-on is a minnow-baited trap. A simple monofilament hand line, small sinker, and hook baited with a strip of cut bait, fish eggs, small lure, or colorful jig allows the angler to actually be involved.

To really get the feel of fishing, use a short flexible jigging rod and spinning reel to present and maneuver baits or hardware. Even average-size perch put up an enjoyable tussle on a jig rig, and on good weather days, sportsmen can jig perch in one hole while watching their other traps. Swedish Pimples, Mepp’s spinners, Krocodiles, Dardevles, and Willow spoons from 1/4- to 1/2-ounce are sure perch attractors.

To make a spinner, jig, or lure more enticing, attach a strip of cut bait, fish egg, piece of worm, or a grub to the hook. I feel that icy cold water diminishes the smell of bait quickly, so I take along a spray bottle of bass attractant and add scent to my baits once in a while. Plan to fish early and late in the day to take advantage of peak perch activity. Fish mostly near bottom where perch most often cruise searching for food, but when jigging try all depths. Start just under the ice and let the lure free fall and flutter a few feet, then stop and jig for a few seconds, followed by another free fall and more jigging, and continue all the way to the bottom.

Perch travel in schools so it’s important to realize what depth the jig is working when a fish strikes, then you can quickly return to that level after the fish is landed. It’s not uncommon to hook half a dozen perch from one cruising crowd. Using small baits assures perch will strike heartily rather than nibble, and frequently the fish will hook themselves. If one of the tip-ups produces a perch, get a bait or jig right back down as it’s likely the school will hang around for a while, especially if more food arrives regularly.

When your mind is made up to pursue a certain species no matter how slow the fishing is, go for it. But if variety and consistency are more to your liking, visit a waterway that harbors one or both populations of perch. When youngsters are involved or you just have to have the main course for a fish fry, pick on perch and you won’t be disappointed. Remember, one man’s trash fish just might be another fisherman’s treasure.

Outdoor feature writer Bill Graves can be reached via e-mail at bgravesoutdoors@ainop.com