TOPIC:

a couple notes from the 9-23 News-Dispatch..

Cannibals
Anglers have been finding perch eating perch quite often this summer and the few fish that had anything discernible in their stomachs this week had more 1.5-inch, young-of-the-year perch in their bellies than anything else, which says a lot about the forage situation in Lake Michigan.
Remarkably, one 10-inch perch had wolfed down a four-incher,
And, never to miss an angling clue, Messina filleted a perch into bait-sized pieces on Tuesday, and for a while the cut bait was catching better sized perch than minnows. I like to slice the white-skinned bellies from the vent to under the chin then dice it into minnow-looking shapes. They're tough on the hook and usually good for multiple fish.
And yes, the perch cut into bait count towards a limit. Thus, if you slice up the bellies you can still have your filet and eat it, too.
Big Smallie
A Michigan state record 9.88-pound smallmouth bass was pulled out of the Indian River on Sept. 11. It marks the second time in the past year the Michigan record has been broken, after going unbeaten since 1906.
MDNR biologist Tim Cwalinski, who certified the catch, told GreatLakesBass.com he expects the record to be broken again because the fish populations have changed dynamically in Northern Michigan with the introduction of new (invasive) forage species like gobies and rusty crayfish.
By the way, the basketball-sized bass was caught on a nightcrawler plunked on bottom, which goes to show you don't need a $40,000 boat, $10,000 in electronics and $3,000 in tackle like the tackle manufacturer's and their pro staffers tell you in order to catch quality fish.

Interesting.....use perch to catch perch. We have used the eyes with success before

I love to use the bellies too, cut into 2.5" triangles - last a long time catching lots more on the same bait, eyes are good to just bellies last longer. Learned that using walleye bellies for walleye from the previous days eaters.

I've also cured alewives in fire brine or borax and salt and done the same thing. Works pretty well! When perch fishing is hot you can burn thru a lot of money on minnows