Perch can sometimes be slow to start biting, but anglers should be prepared for action. Suddenly, for no apparent reason, perch will just turn on, and multiple hookups on the same rig can be common.

There is no size limit on perch, and Ohio now has a daily bag limit of 40 perch per day, up from last year's 30 per-day limit.

STEELHEAD
Turner said that Lake Erie's steelhead population remains strong, with yearly stockings of over 400,000 to many of the lake's river tributaries. These stocked trout make their way to Lake Erie where they spend the next couple of years before migrating to the rivers to spawn.

Natural-spawning success rates for these fish are extremely low, which makes the stocking programs administered by the Ohio Department of Natural Resource vitally important to the continued success of steelhead fishing for anglers throughout the state.

Steelhead stockings take place on the Chagrin, Conneaut, Grand, Rocky and Vermilion rivers.

Many other rivers and creeks that feed Lake Erie are not stocked, but also attract steelhead during their spawning run. Whether these fish are lost or are just using a waterway of opportunity is not known. But many nondescript small creeks and streams hold big fish for winter anglers willing to look for them.

Steelhead that follow the spawning urge have usually spent two years or more in the lake and reached an average size of about 25 inches. Many fish that have spent three years or more in the lake will grow to 30 inches and weigh upwards of 15 pounds.

Many steelhead spend the winter in the rivers and begin migrating back to the lake through May. Early in the year, Lake Erie anglers should find these steelhead near tributary mouths. As water temperatures climb, the fish will begin to move into the deeper waters of the lake.

Steelhead anglers eager to fish the rivers can have good success during spring before the fish move toward the lake, and again in fall when dropping temperatures bring steelhead back upstream to repeat the process.

Ed Peterson, a veteran local steelhead angler, regularly fishes for steelhead throughout the winter and spring.

"I mainly fish the rivers and creeks," he said. "I have caught and seen steelhead up to 34 inches and have lost fish that were nearly 40 inches long. All of these fish were on the rivers or in the small creeks that feed into Lake Erie," he added.