Iowa Great Lakes guide John Grosvenor admires a perch he caught through the ice at Big Spirit Lake. Photo courtesy of Dan Anderson.

The word filtered out in late 2008, just before freeze-up, that something was going on. Anglers at Big Spirit Lake in far northwest Iowa were scoring record catches of yellow perch. The bite not only continued through the winter but into the spring and summer of 2009, leaving ice-anglers wondering what they'll find beneath Big Spirit's ice this winter.

"Anglers this winter should have a heck of an opportunity to catch lots of nice perch out of Big Spirit," said Mike Hawkins, a fisheries management biologist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. "Last year, catch rates for perch were the best we've ever seen in all the years we've monitored catch rates. Our statistics indicate that ice-anglers targeting perch averaged 24 (perch) caught per trip, and they harvested (kept) an average of eight per trip.

"The bulk of the perch the guys caught last winter were in the 6- to 7-inch range," said Hawkins. "That's a little small, and there were more released than were harvested. Those 6- to 7-inchers should have put on an inch or more this summer, so there should be a phenomenal population of 8-, maybe 9-inch perch this winter.

"Last year was a record-setting year for perch at Big Spirit. But when you're dealing with Mother Nature, there's never a guarantee things will turn out as you expect, and it's always risky to make predictions in print. But based on angler reports and our netting surveys from last summer, ice-fishing for perch this winter could be the best we've ever seen up here."

PERCH -- WHERE AND HOW
Fisheries biologist Hawkins said his staff joked last winter that the best answer to questions about where to catch perch from Big Spirit was, "Wherever you drill a hole in the ice." He recounted how he took his young son ice-fishing just off the "The Grade" along the north shore of the lake, and they caught perch from a hole over less than 2 feet of water. "The best word to describe the schools of perch is, 'clouds,' " said Hawkins. "You see them on a fish finder and it looks like a cloud filling the screen."

John Grosvenor is a professional fishing guide at the Iowa Great Lakes (712/330-5815, jtg@fishokoboji. com). With three heated ice-fishing shacks at his disposal, he spent a lot of time sampling the spectacular perch fishing on Big Spirit last winter.

"Guys who were willing to keep those 7- to 8-inch perch would limit out in an hour or less on a lot of days," said Grosvenor.

Editor's Note: There is a combined daily bag limit for yellow perch of 25 and possession limit of 50 in Iowa, except where there is no daily or possession limit on the Missouri River. Regulations vary on boundary lakes.