I Don't Need No Stinkin' Bait

[John Jarosz]

This has nothing to do with muskie fishing except maybe it predicts the Fall feed before the winter.  The perch bite at Sturgeon Pnt is ON!!

Thurs, three of us went out off Sturgeon Point for perch.  As soon as we dropped anchor (8:00 AM), the bite was on using live emeralds.  It was one after the other with some double headers thrown in.  By 9:00 one of the guys got bored, put on a tube jig & was catching perch on a tube.  By 10:30, I got hungry but didn't have a chance to even put down my rod to eat, so after reeling in a perch & noticing that I had no minnows on either of my hooks, I decided to let the line drop to the bottom anyway (no bait on) while I ate my ham sandwich with mayo & hot jalapeno peppers on rye (the secret sandwich).

So...as I'm munching away, I noticed the rod dancing in the rod holder & I'm saying "What the he77 is going on?"  I set the hook & reel in a double header on bare hooks.

So, the perch are hitting on #6 red Gamakatsu, Octopus style & like I said:

I Don't need No Stinkin' Bait!!

Also made it to the Southtowns Walleye meeting that night & listened to Kevin K talk about muskies in the Niagara River.  I was very impressed with the atta boys he gave to the NMA for all the work & help we've been doing to educate, conserve & promote muskie C&R in the river & Bflo Harbor.  I'll write up an article, with pics, for the next newsletter.