If you survey a small group of anglers, it is unlikely that among them there will be anyone who has not caught perch. Indeed, perch is one of the most common inhabitants in Russia. It can be found everywhere: from the hot Astrakhan peals to the harsh northern regions. It easily tolerates extreme heat and cold, and is also able to live in bodies of water with not the cleanest water and low oxygen levels. Thanks to this prevalence, fishermen fell in love with it.
You can catch perch in many ways and with different baits, but today we will touch on the largest area, namely perch spoons. There are a huge number of them and often it is not so easy for us to choose the one we need.
How to catch perch with a spoon
And before you decide on the most popular lures for perch, you need to familiarize yourself with some of the rules that you should follow on the pond. Firstly, the location of the perch and the bait it will take depends on the time of year. In cold seasons, perch prefers to be in the depths and goes to the pits following its food supply. In cold water, the activity of the fish decreases, so it is worth using more passive baits. And it would be logical to use heavier baits to get perch from their winter camps.
In the summer, when the water is warm, perch goes to shallow places where the water is warm and prefers to stay there all the time. Here you won’t need heavy baits and long casts; spinners weighing up to 6-7 grams and a spinning rod 240 centimeters long will suffice. Perch loves various heterogeneities in the coastal zone. Various fallen branches and sharp drops will obviously be to his taste, and therefore such places should be given attention when catching perch with a spinner in the summer (read more about catching perch with a spinning rod).
Important! Don’t forget about the banks overgrown with reeds, where it is very convenient for fish to stand waiting for prey throughout the day.
First you need to divide all the spinners into the two broadest categories:
- a rotating spinner, or popularly known as a spinner;
- oscillating spoons.
Where to look for perch?
In the summer, when the coastal vegetation has acquired a complete appearance, the perch comes out to feed closer to the shore. As you can easily see, areas with reeds and algae are actively visited by the striped predator. Large perch occupy more advantageous positions for themselves. They are located on the border of the grass, at the end of the coastal slope. What is a coastal dump? This is a slope under water that begins a few meters from the beginning of the reservoir. The coastal dump is marked in red in the figure.
At the very end of the drop there is not much vegetation, so the lure can be carried more or less comfortably. In lakes, perches concentrate along long spits and on sandbanks. They also like to visit areas near small islands. Perches also love oxbow rivers, that is, places where the river bed used to pass. The perch does not ignore bridges and dams. In summer they like to be under the bridge, where there is constant shade and the water is cooler. In general, in summer perch loves shady places near trees.
Naturally, perch prefers places with a large concentration of fry - its natural food. He loves to hunt for minnows and algae. Usually hunting takes place near rifts and in places with sandy and pebble bottoms. Let us remember that a riffle is a place with a sharp decrease in depth and with increased flow. This can be depicted in the figure as follows:
Pinwheels for perch
If a person was introduced to fishing by relatives and asked what lures they used for perch before, then most likely people will say that they caught perch on spinners. In those days there was no such thing as a jig, and everyone was content with spinners. On the one hand, it seems that this is a fairly simple spinner, but on the other hand, it must be very well made, for example, in order to start at the very beginning of the retrieve without additional pulls.
If you make a kind of top summer lure, then the best lures for perch in the summer will be spinners.
Among the manufacturers of spinners, most fishermen identify two clear leaders who have proven themselves over time and quality. These are mepps and blue fox . These are the ones that will definitely be in the fishing chest of a self-respecting fisherman.
The main difference between these companies is their weight. Perch spinners from blue fox are equipped with a fairly massive core. Given the same size of spinners from different companies, blue fox will weigh many times more, making them convenient to use in deep areas and also used for long casts.
Next, we will provide our rating of spinners for perch. Please note that the description for each bait is located immediately below the photo.
In the photo you can see how massive the central part of the turntable is. Catching perch with a spoon at sunset and dawn, when there is no bright sun, is precisely what provides for such bright colors of the petals.
Meps spinners will have a slightly larger range than blue foxes. The famous meps have a greater choice of both petal shapes and different colors.
Since Meps spinners have less weight, they should be used for casting along the shore and guiding in surface layers of water. But if a person fishes in a still body of water or there is practically no current, you can give some time for the bait to sink.
We select the color of the petals based on the water conditions and weather. If the water is cloudy, it is better to use a brighter petal color. In bright daytime sun, you should not place a “naked” silver spinner, which will glare too much in the water. These glares can scare away a potential catch.
Let's look at the two most popular petal shapes in mepps: aglia and aglia long. From the name, I think it’s clear what the main difference is.
Mepps aglia has quite a lot of drag, so guiding the spinner in the current will be very difficult, or you need to cast against the current or perpendicular to the shore. Many people believe that this particular modification is the best spinner for perch. And you can’t argue that she really catches very well!
Mepps aglia long . A kind of modification of the previous form due to an elongated and compressed petal. Such a petal will not provide strong frontal resistance and can be used to safely fish even in strong currents. For fans of heavier turntables, there is the aglia long heavy model. With the same dimensions it will have more weight. It will be very convenient to fish at depths of up to five meters. Also, due to such a narrow blade, the spinner will sink much faster if the angler gives some time for the bait to sink after casting.
Here it is one of the most massive turntables in the MEPS line. Due to the long and heavy rod, it weighs 16 grams! With its help, everyone can penetrate great depths and fish in strong currents.
TOP 3 best lures for perch for summer fishing
The following are ideal lures for catching perch in the summer.
Rapala Minnow Spoon RMS07-SH oscillating 15 g 70 mm
Due to its design, this model perfectly overcomes any vegetation . Minnow
Spoon passes through algae and grass with ease.
This bait can be used in the most difficult to reach overgrown places. By making pauses in the retrieve, you can increase the effectiveness of the bite at the moment when the wobbler sinks to the bottom in search of a hidden predator.
This model differs from classic spinners in that it is made of plastic rather than metal.
The spoon has a powerful single hook with wire protection. The spinner plays an excellent game on any retrieve.
Characteristics:
- type: spinner;
- type: oscillating;
- size: 70 mm;
- weight: 15 g;
- unhooked: yes.
pros
- high catchability;
- there is protection against snags;
- The series offers spinners of various shapes.
Minuses
- high price.
MIKADO oscillating Buddy No. 1 PMB-WBY-10-S 10 g 50 mm
This spinner model has an attractive and stable game . Wobbler excellent
plays at different speeds and on pause.
The spoon fascinates the perch, swinging in different directions.
The hook has effective protection against snags. Due to this, the spoon is suitable for fishing in hard-to-reach places. The spoon has a classic spoon shape.
Due to this, it is very attractive to perch.
There is a weight inside the bait that stabilizes the movements of the wobbler. The body is made of shockproof plastic.
Characteristics:
- type: spinner;
- type: oscillating;
- size: 50 mm;
- weight: 150 g;
- unhooked: yes.
pros
- good game;
- there is protection against snags;
- affordable price;
- The series offers spinners of different shapes.
Minuses
- rusts over time.
Rapala Minnow Spoon RMS06-FYGT oscillating 10 g 60 mm
This model is built around a high quality single powerful hook . Body
made of plastic.
In it you can trace and see the base of the spoon and the hook itself. There is a metal weight in the head part. Due to it, the spinner is endowed with its own game. A metal tendril emerges from the head.
It allows the lure not to cling to underwater obstacles when retrieving . Such obstacles include grass and algae.
This model is distinguished by its bright, sweeping play. It catches perfectly on a uniform retrieve, and also applies to retrieve with pauses.
Unlike other spinners, the Rapala Minnow Spoon has a weight located in the head.
Thanks to this, when falling, its game is more reminiscent of the game of a jig bait.
Characteristics:
- type: spinner;
- type: oscillating;
- size: 50 mm;
- weight: 150 g;
- unhooked: yes.
pros
- good game;
- there is protection against snags;
- The series offers spinners of different shapes.
Minuses
- high price.
Spreaders and castmasters for perch
Having determined a kind of top in spinners, you can move on to another category of lures for perch. Oscillating spoons come in many different shapes and colors. But as a rule, most experienced fishermen use various micro-oscillators, which are often used to catch trout. Micro-oscillators for catching perch in the current are not suitable because their weight is too small (up to 5-6 grams); the current will immediately lift them into the upper layers of the water, and as we already know, the perch stays mainly in the bottom layer.
The main use of oscillators is in shallow waters where it is not possible to carry out a turntable due to the shallow depth. For example, let’s take a coastal zone where the bottom is covered with vegetation and the depth does not exceed half a meter. This is where light spinners will help out.
These lures are perfect for ultralight fishing. Due to the single hook, there will be no problems with painless removal of the tee for the perch, like with a spinner. You need to be very careful with such bright colors. With an almost complete absence of bite, they are the ones who can provoke the perch to bite.
Such a spoon will bring good catches in places with a grassy bottom on sunny summer days. The spinner will not stand out too much from the rest of the background, but at the same time it will create movements that can attract a striped predator.
A heavier spoon with a slightly narrowed shape will allow it to be carried out at a depth of about a meter, which is excellent for fishing in thickets of reeds and water lilies.
And meps managed to make a mark in the spinners, thanks to its mepps syclops spinner, which is excellent at catching not only pike, but also copes with catching large perch. If desired, you can remove the red tip from the hook. It has been repeatedly noticed that, for example, in the Volga delta, many local residents remove such bright tails from baits, believing that they scare away fish, and removing them will increase the number of bites.
Don't forget about castmasters. Due to their large weight, they will calmly sink to the bottom and provoke the perch to bite. Castmasters began to multiply over time in terms of their forms. For example, the first photo shows a castmaster with more rounded edges. But most fishermen prefer to use a standard form with various stickers.
Advantages of using spinners for perch
Lure fishing is successful all year round. It is best to fish in winter, using them as bait to catch large individuals, playing with the bait, copying the movements of the predator. Perch reacts quite well to bright lures and bites successfully.
Today there are many spinners on sale with different sizes and characteristics.
When choosing, it is necessary to take into account fishing conditions, as well as knowledge of the area.
Spoons, unlike natural baits, can be used repeatedly. However, they will not be useful when used in muddy waters, as they will simply become unattractive for the fish to play with.
The fish are mostly found where weeds and snags are common when using other baits. Spoons do not cling and are successful when catching perch in such places.
How to make a homemade spinner
Surely a fisherman has ever had the desire to make lures for perch with his own hands. And this is a rather natural desire, because it is not so easy to please a capricious fisherman. Either the color is wrong for him, or the weight is too high, and so on.
If you look closely at the turntables, you will notice that their base is a wire on which all other components are attached. You can calmly either unwind it or simply have a snack. And the pinwheel will disintegrate into all its components. And now a person will have great opportunities to create a new bait. You can experiment with different weights, adding additional weights, increasing the number of beads and changing the shape of the petal. You can try using feathered hooks. As a result, we can say that imagination will work here and perhaps that homemade perch spoon will turn out to be the most catchy.
Read more about making a homemade spinner at home.
If everything is more or less clear with turntables, then creating oscillators will be a more labor-intensive process, since you need to choose the optimal shape and bends so that the product gets its play. Some enthusiasts made spinners from ordinary spoons.
Sheer lure
Don’t forget about vertical lures with winter lures. In certain situations, for example, if a school of perch is standing at a local point in a hole, if you have a boat, you can stand directly above this school and use vertical lures on the perch. It should not be ruled out that spinners for winter fishing can bring a good catch. This method of fishing can be the most effective, since the fisherman deliberately fishes in one place because he knows about the presence of perch. But to find such a local parking lot, as a rule, you need an echo sounder. It's quite easy to play with these lures. You just need to periodically throw a little and give a short pause for a bite.
Features when fishing with iron
It’s worth clarifying right away that the best bait does not exist. Each of them can work perfectly against a predator today and be silent tomorrow. There are many reasons for this, including: changes in pressure, temperature, seasonal transitions, and so on.
Perch is in constant motion and searching for food, which is the young of peaceful fish. The spinner and the wiring are selected depending on the layer of water in which the fishing is carried out. Undoubtedly, it is easiest to carry them out in the upper layers, but this is not the limit. By letting it sink to the bottom and then reeling in the cord, all horizons are explored.
- In autumn. The cooler it gets, the deeper the bass go. There is no point in looking for it in the near-surface layers; it is necessary to go deeper. Heavy models of vibrators and turntables are suitable here. If you have a boat, it makes sense to try vertical fishing while standing over deep water.
- In winter. Only vertical lures with vertical baits are used. The fish is lethargic, slow and you will have to try to stir up the striped fish. Perhaps the use of jigs or balancers will be justified during this period.
- Spring. After the ice melts and shallow water areas warm up, rotating spoons are the best choice. The colors chosen are acidic and bright, since nothing can be seen in muddy water.
- Summer. The entire predator stands in ambush: snags, grass, reeds, water lilies. The tee every now and then catches vegetation, or worse, something heavier. You can bait the bait on the surface, above the thickets, or in the water column. Unhooked ones will help out more than once. Dark colors work in sunny weather, light colors in cloudy weather.
