Flats are one of the most consistent locations to find yellow perch in winter. Throughout the winter, perch can relate to shallow, mid and deep flats. The trouble that some anglers face when fishing flats is their size. Tackling flats of football-field dimensions can be intimidating, but with the right tactics and presentations anglers can quickly sift through unproductive water and dial-in biting perch. Here’s how to do it.

Sweet Spots

Forage is a strong influencing factor for where and how perch relate to flats. Equally important are available cover and any structural variations.

“Perch are kind of like cattle,” said ice guide Brian “Bro” Brosdahl of Max, Minnesota. “They graze their way across the flats.”

Thus began the Bro-ipedia explanation of when, where and why yellow perch live on flats during winter across the Ice Belt. Brosdahl explained that there are many different kinds of ingredients to look for in a flat. On some of his local lakes, mud flats adjacent to structure are the places to catch portly perch, eating bloodworms in the muck. On other waters, he focuses on finding chara. Crayfish live in this aquatic tumbleweed and perch love eating crayfish. In other lakes, cabbage or milfoil on flats hold the biggest perch, provided the vegetation still has life in it and isn’t rank with decay.

“In winter cabbage and milfoil can be nothing but the stubble, but they will hold fish,” Brosdahl said. “Bloodworms feed on decaying matter, and crayfish, too.”

Sand grass is another good find, according to Lake Simcoe ice-fishing expert, Dave Chong of Aurora, Ontario.

“When shallow, I like sand grass, with little piles of rocks or rubble mixed in,” Chong said, noting that sand grass isn’t a tall vertical plant, but typically only grows a few inches off of the bottom. “The grass mixed with rubble is key for holding them in an area.”

When perch hold on deeper flats, a typical midwinter pattern, Chong likes rock piles and rubble depth irregularities. Brosdahl also looks for hard-bottom zones, like shell beds or rocky uprisings, as they help perch to capture darters, minnows, crayfish, insects and other food.

Scanning and Spying on Flats

Gazing down into clear water on shallow flats is effective for locating sand patches, weed lines, rock piles and other bottom irregularities. Of course, modern ice anglers have plenty of technology for tracking down perch, which is advantageous in turbid water and on mid-depth to deep flats.

Chong prefers doing this homework in open water from his boat during the warmer months, saving GPS waypoints for rock piles and other attractive features. The data is uploaded into one of his Garmin portable units before first ice. Digital lake maps also display large uprisings and substantial features, like contour bends and drop-offs.

Brosdahl and Chong aren’t shy about going high-tech on ice. Some years back, I watched Brosdahl scan a flat using Humminbird’s 360 Imaging from his Toyota FJ Cruiser to locate roaming panfish. Chong uses Garmin’s Panoptix to locate fish faster.

“Rather than drill a hole, see nothing, then drill another hole, and so on, I’ll lower the Panoptix, look around and know I’ve found fish or that I don’t have to drill a hole for another 50 feet. It saves on holes to drill and is a great search tool,” Chong said.

Underwater cameras also help. Brosdahl will lower an Aqua-Vu and spin it around to check the health of vegetation, learn about cover, and look for bloodworm “smokestacks” on bottom and other forage. After finding perch, he’ll use the camera to observe perch reactions to different presentations, then refine tactics and make them bite.

Laws of Attraction: Big, Flashy Baits

Generally, perch on flats are locomotive in nature. While irregularities may stall their movements, or encourage them to swim laps around a smaller area, anglers must be prepared with attention-getting baits to keep perch interested and stall them from swimming away.

One way that Brosdahl attracts perch is by jigging a Northland Buck-Shot Flutter Spoon or a Northland Rippin’ Shad. The rattle chambers in these baits quickly attract roaming perch.

I’ve found the tactic effective, as well. Last winter while fishing an 18-foot flat I caught several perch snapping a Rapala Ultra Light Rippin’ Rap. The aggressive fish crushed the lure. After that bite died, I switched to a tungsten jig and a finesse worm (aka blood-worm replica), pounded it on the bottom and swam it up the water column to catch neutral perch loitering below the hole. Inevitably, as is often the case, I needed to relocate and try other holes on the flat to find fish again, then repeat the process.

Flash is another potent perch attractor. Chong likes McGathy’s Slab Grabbers, a bent spoon tipped with a small plastic bead. The ultra-shiny brass or chrome finishes of these spoons flicker and flash as the bait flutters down sideways and away from the hole, before rocking back to center on a tight line. This flashy dance drives perch wild. The colored bead acts as a bull’s-eye for riled-up perch. He often jigs a 2-inch Slab Grabber, but upsizes to a 3-incher in deep water or for more flash.

One great, flashy offering that I’ve relied on for years is a Williams Ice Jig (limerick hooks removed). On slack line it’ll wobble and fall to the side. This helps to work a larger patch of water beneath the ice, which is always a bonus for attracting perch. Dressing the treble with some tinsel, feathers or a plastic tube adds a subtle action for triggering bites. Freedom Tackle’s Minnow Jigging Spoon is another unique, flashy, bead-tipped bait that I’m growing increasingly fond of for winter panfish.

Brosdahl believes in flash, too. One of his tricks is jigging a large gold or silver Northland Buck-Shot Rattle Spoon just beneath the ice. “It flashes under the ice, which is also shiny, so that you get a baitfish effect to attract them. Then, drop it into the scene.” He’ll tip the spoon with a minnow head if perch need extra convincing.

Smaller Presentations and Live Bait

When big and bold doesn’t work, downsizing will catch inactive perch or ones with tunnel vision for diminutive forage. Tungsten jigs are smaller than lead ones of the similar weight and help with deep-perch bites when you need to quickly get down to fish. When pounded on hard bottom, these jigs produce a different sound than lead ones. Clam, Custom Jigs & Spins, HT Enterprises, Northland Fishing Tackle and Ultra Tungsten are brands offering tungsten jigs.

Don’t write-off lead, though. In shallow or mid-depth flats, lead jigs deliver a slower fall. Sometimes this is what perch want, like when they’re feeding on freshwater shrimp or other suspended morsels.

There’s no shortage of soft bait for tipping jigs. Thin, wispy tails match bloodworms. Brosdahl likes his creation, the Northland Impulse Bro’s Bloodworm, as well as the Skeleton Minnow. Other options include the Berkley PowerBait Ice Whipworm, Custom Jigs & Spins Wedgee, and Maki Bloodi and Spiiki.

“Then there’s live bait,” Brosdahl said. “Wax worms and maggots are nice because they’re small for when you need to downsize and have scent. Or, use fatheads or tiny shiners. That’s perch candy.”

I recall one winter outing with my 5-year-old nephew. We were fishing a mid-depth flat in February for perch and consistently caught them by tipping a glow Custom Jigs & Spins Ratfinkee with a small minnow head. Hole-hopping and then lowering and shaking this scent-loaded bait above the school was as complex as this approach got.

The invasive round goby found in Lake Simcoe and other waters provides another forage perspective for bottom-feeding perch. While Chong says aggressive fish will smash a Slab Grabber or other lures, when perch are neutral he often has better success with smaller, go-by-like plastics fished tight to the floor.

“Gobies don’t really go that far off of the bottom because of their lack of a swim bladder,” Chong said. “If I’m marking fish and they’re not real aggressive, I’ll use small tubes [and] small swimbaits.”

Drop-Shotting Flats

Equally potent for Chong is using a drop-shot rig. When perch are down feeding on gobies, a #4 Stringease Zero Twist Shot is positioned 4 inches off of the bottom, 6 inches at the most. His bait of choice is HT Enterprises Ice Scentz Freshwater Shrimp. “Even on Simcoe with all its gobies, perch still love scuds and this bait is great,” he said.

In deeper water, Chong customizes the drop-shot into a donkey rig, which we shared with readers last winter. To recap, instead of a sinker he uses a Slab Grabber. Above this 8 to 10 inches is the drop-shot hook with the plastic shrimp. This rig provides the attraction of a spoon with the triggering power of a small plastic. And, when perch are on the chew, he’ll catch them on both.

Brosdahl also raised the potency of drop-shotting for perch. He uses the rig on setlines for prospecting a flat.

“I like to set snares for perch with deadsticks. If you can use multiple lines, why wouldn’t ya?” he asked rhetorically.

Brosdahl typically uses 3- to 5-pound monofilament tied to a size 4 or 6 Gamakatsu Swivel Shot G-Finesse Drop Shot Hook that, like the Stringease hook, eliminates line twist. A fathead minnow or other scrumptious baitfish is used to tip the hook, below it the tag end holding either a bell sinker for sand or mud flats, or a wire sinker on a hard bottom. Bait position off of the bottom is based on where he sees fish on his Humminbird Helix sonar, but can range from 3 inches to 3 feet. He dangles the drop-shot on a Frabill Bro Series deadstick rod set across a pail or secured in a rod holder.

“A drop-shot takes away the guesswork of where the bait is,” Brosdahl said. “Just reel it so it’s tight and then the minnow’s at  the right depth the whole time.”

Keep the above locations and tactics in mind when facing off against flat-living perch and you’re well on your way to a lot of great catches this winter.

— Tim Allard of Ottawa, Ontario, is a hardwater expert and author-photographer of the multi-award winning book, “Ice Fishing: The Ultimate Guide.”