More splake, And some bonus perch

So, there were a few more splake to be found. Didn't get fishing until late morning. Got 2 (one jigging a little Cleo with no bait, one on a set line with a spoon and a single hook and worm hanging a foot below that) within the first hour I was there - 7 & 10 feet of water. Then things slowed down, and we moved a few times, trying different depths to try and locate fish. Drilled a hole in 55 feet, and was instantly marking a ton of fish. I knew they couldn't be splake, but what? After downsizing, I figured out what they were...perch! Even though they were pretty small (6-8"), I've never eaten perch, so thought I'd bring home a few for a taste. Could have caught so many more, but moved on in search of splake.. Later in the afternoon my stepdad got one in 38 feet of water, jigging on bottom. Sunny, no wind most of the time...just a gorgeous day to be out there.

All 3

All of them didn't add up to one fillet off the splake...seems like a lot of work for not much reward. I know they gotta be bigger, but I'm an opportunistic feeder.

Nice mess of fish there! Small perch I just gill and gut, salt, pepper, wrap in foil and onto the bbq. They come out great and not too much work.

Stellar outing. Congrats

great outing. Sooo good to see early ice fish porn!!!

Gorgeous day, gorgeous outing. Lovely report

Nice looking splake. The perch are very tasty and make great appetizers lol

Combo eh . Jealous... apps n dinner

Nice early ice haul Drew

Hey Drew Great catch! Was wondering what you're go to/ favorite lure/ setup is when targetting Splake. I'm going up next week in search of a few.

At this point, I'm going to have to say a 3" white tube jig, no bait, because that's what I caught my biggest splake on....but it seems to me finding fish is more important than the presentation.

Beauty - nice job!

Cleaning/cooking tip for smaller perch would be to just take the head off, gut, rinse well, lay on foil on the bbq back down (line em up so they hold each other up) with a pat of butter on each and lemon, garlic salt if you like, salt and pepper. I cook mine real slow and low and then I flip them belly side down and crank up the heat just for a minute or 2. You can peel the skin off and if you're careful the back bone and ribs just pull right out all at once along with the skin.

Nice fish, Congrats