Best Ice Fishing Destinations for Jumbo Perch

Try these jumbo perch hotspots and strike gold!

A table full of jumbo perch is the ultimate reward for a day of successful ice fishing. / Joe Shead

Yellow perch are some of the tastiest freshwater fish that swim. For many, finding and catching jumbo perch -- those that measure a foot or more -- is not only a passion, but an obsession. Here are some of the country's best and most popular jumbo perch ultimate ice fishing destinations.

Jumbo perch will crush a small spoon tipped with a minnow head or waxworms. / Joe Shead

Lake Gogebic, Michigan: Trophy Perch Fishing in the Upper Peninsula

Lake Gogebic, Michigan: Trophy Perch Fishing in the Upper Peninsula / Google

How To Get There: Lake Gogebic, the largest natural inland lake of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is located within the Ottawa National Forest, near the Wisconsin border. The small town of Bergland, Michigan is on its north shore. Interestingly, the lake spans two time zones, central and eastern.

At over 14 miles long and nearly 2.5 miles wide, Lake Gogebic is the largest inland lake in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. If the 13,380-acre lake is large, it's perch are even larger, sometimes topping 2 pounds. To help protect the perch fishery, a special regulation is in place here. Anglers may keep 25 perch a day, but only five can be over 12 inches. 

Fishing Tips: Gogebic has a maximum depth of 38 feet, and its jumbo perch are usually found roaming the lake's deep mud flats, where they search for insect larvae. "Wigglers" or live mayfly nymphs are the local bait of choice. Even though jumbos can easily eat minnows, they still prefer these large insects.

Anglers vising Lake Gogebic should be aware that the area receives heavy snowfall -- on average about 300 inches a year! A snowmobile is almost essential to get around on the ice. Many resorts serve the lake and snowmobile rentals are available if you don't have your own sled.

Michigan's Lake Gogebic is a great place to find jumbo perch topping the 12-inch mark. / Joe Shead

Mississippi River Backwaters: Jumbo Perch in Shallow Weedy Areas

Mississippi River Backwaters: Jumbo Perch in Shallow Weedy Areas / Google

How To Get There: Pool 3 of the river starts around Hager City, Wisconsin. Pool 10 is at Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin. The pools in between runs along the border of Wisconsin and Minnesota for the northern part, then between Wisconsin and Iowa in its southern pools.

The Mighty Mississippi might conjure up images of Tom and Huck riding a raft or big river barges, but it's also famous for its jumbo perch. Unlike walleyes, catfish and other riverine species, perch avoid current. So anglers look for them in shallow, weedy backwaters only about 3 feet deep. Any of the pools along the Minnesota-Wisconsin border, from Pool 3 down to Pool 10, can be a good place to find jumbos.

The key is to find backwater areas. However, in some cases, getting to these areas can be difficult. The main channel has plenty of current, which means it may be open or have thin ice. Some area guides use airboats to cross these areas and reach the thicker ice of the backwaters.

Fishing Tips: Fishing the river's jumbos is pretty straightforward. Find a hole in the weedbed if you can to make your lure more visible and reduce fouling. Tip-ups baited with small shiners or fatheads are good methods to cover more water. Pair that with active hole hopping, jigging with small spoons tipped with a minnow head to catch fish.

Nine-inch perch like the one above are usually considered keepers, but the 13.5-inch perch below is a true jumbo! Perch like these can be found in the backwaters of the Upper Mississippi River. / Joe Shead

Devils Lake, North Dakota: A Unique and Expanding Perch Paradise

Devils Lake, North Dakota: A Unique and Expanding Perch Paradise / Google

How To Get There: Devils Lake is located to the southwest of the city of Devils Lake, in the northeast quarter of North Dakota.

Devils Lake has long boasted a great perch fishery and it just keeps getting better. One unusual thing about this hyper-eutrophic lake is the lake keeps expanding. In the 1990s, the lake covered about 40,000 acres. Since then, the lake has swallowed farmlands, roads and even towns! At its peak, the lake covered about 210,000 acres, but has receded some. Lake levels fluctuate with precipitation, but in recent years, the lake has covered roughly 180,000 acres. That means in addition to the usual points, humps and dropoffs, fish in Devils may be found on underwater roads, ditches, cars, farm equipment and even houses! In all, the lake is roughly 30 feet higher than it used to be.

Fishing Tips: Of course, by mid-winter, many of the lake's perch slide off of structure and relate to the lake's expansive mud flats. Another thing you should know about Devils Lake is its fish are well-fed. The lake is positively teeming with freshwater shrimp, which makes the lake's fish downright plump. With all the forage a fish could ever want, there are times that perch are reluctant to bite. But if you find one of the lake's massive schools of perch, stay on it, changing presentations and waiting for the fish to become more active.

The state record perch came from Devils Lake, weighing just an ounce shy of 3 pounds! With potential like that, inactive fish are worth the wait!

Freshwater shrimp dot the snow on Devils Lake. This abundant forage makes the lake's fish plump but sometimes finicky. / Joe Shead

Lake Cascade, Idaho: A Premier Destination for Jumbo Perch

Lake Cascade, Idaho: A Premier Destination for Jumbo Perch / Google

How To Get There: Lake Cascade is a reservoir in the Boise National Forest on the North Fork of the Payette River in Valley County, Idaho. The closest cities are Cascade, Donnelly, and McCall, all in the Long Valley of Valley County.

When you think of fishing out west, trout and salmon usually come to mind. But Idaho's Lake Cascade has quickly emerged as perhaps the world's premier destination for jumbo perch! Perch have been present in this manmade reservoir for decades, but the population was hampered by predation by pikeminnows. However, through intensive management, Idaho Fish and Game has greatly reduced the number of these native, but pesky, predators, allowing perch to flourish. Walleyes are not native to the reservoir (although a few have started to show up) and with few other predators, perch are thriving, with some living to an astonishing 16 years old!

There is no bag limit on perch, despite angler concerns over protecting the fishery. Yet, Fish and Game Surveys have shown just 10 percent mortality rates of adult perch. The agency says more perch are dying of old age than angler harvest and they've got the numbers to prove it! The jumbo perch fishery is thriving. In fact, the state record perch has been broken here three times since 2013, currently standing at an impressive 3.22 pounds.

Fishing Tips: There's no limit on perch, and anglers are allowed to fish with 5 lines, giving you the opportunity to spread out tip-ups or other set lines to cover the area.

If you're looking for a true trophy perch -- one over 15 inches -- Lake Cascade may be your best bet.

Jumbo perch topping 12 inches are common on Idaho's Lake Cascade. / Joe Shead

Whether you're chasing trophies, putting together a tasty meal or just love ice fishing, these destinations offer some of the best opportunities for jumbo perch in the country.

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