Seneca Lake, New York Perch Derby April 19-20

What an unbelievable trip I just had to New York state. I got a round trip ticket from Moline, IL to Buffalo, NY for ~200$ – not bad at all. The plan was to fish the Seneca Lake Duck Hunter’s Club Perch Derby with my twin cousins Craig and Ethan Sleeman. We pre-fished Friday and then tournament was Saturday and Sunday. Weigh your personal best fish and the top 10 biggest pay.

First of all, this lake is incredible. You can see down to the bottom and see fish in as deep as 30 fow. It was great to drive around in the shallows and see smallmouth, pike, perch, and big bullheads all over the place. Great way to pass the time when the perch quit cooperating during the mid-day hours.

Saturday we were on the water at 5:30 in the morning and in the last spot we had contact with a large school of perch the day before. As soon as there was a trace of light the bite was on. At first light the fish were definitely scattered around in an area and you just had to fan cast and find them. We used 1/16th and 1/8oz black jig heads and hair jigs with large fatheads or jig/twister combinations. Shortened BFT ringworms also worked well at times. Natural colors like Junebug and Cotton Candy were the best with the gin clear water. After the sun comes up on this lake the fish really group up. There will be one giant school of perch every couple of miles or so around the lake. My cousins worked hard the last couple months staying on these perch and checking their location with an underwater camera frequently. Once the fish were grouped up we would have to put the camera in the water and search for them. Once you could see them off in the distance we’d drop a marker buoy for reference and back off of the school so we wouldn’t spook them. Then just cast at them and "FISH ON!!". We’d get a few and then we’d have to find them again. It was interesting seeing how these perch would slowly move north little by little and then when they got to a certain point, they’d B-line it back to where they started. Very cool.

After day one all three of us were on the board with Saturday’s fish. Craig was in 1st and Ethan and I were in like 7th and 10th I think. However, we each caught bigger fish on Saturday night that kept alive and weighed in on Sunday. I ended up just out of the money with a 1lb 15.8 oz perch (only 14") and Ethan and Craig took 1st and 2nd place out of 183 guys with a 2lb 6.8 oz and a 2lb 6.2 oz perch. Way to go guys!! I had a blast and those perch are unbelievable!!