Looks like there was a perch kill this fall in Spirt Lake. Wonder how ice fishing will be.

[Agronomist_at_IA]

Spirt Lake Perch die off

Looks like the Ice Fishing could be a little week this winter. Even if it is a natural die off of perch, looks like the numbers and size will be down.

[Esox_Magnum]

Natures way to balance things out, with the perch numbers the way they have been the last 4-5 years it was inevitable...upside is when ther perch bites off the walleye bite is hot....Perch run in 6 year cycles and was due to crash, you get 1-2 years of great fishing befor it falls off to almost nothing then starts climbing again... All this info is on the walls up at the hatherie....

[Agronomist_at_IA]

I kinda knew it was a cycle in nature, but I didn't know that the walleye bite would pick up when this happened. Guess it makes sense since they would have to look/work harder for food. Well guess one will off set the other.

[Esox_Magnum]

When I moved here in 04 we were going through a pound of leeches a weekend and walleye and smallmouth fishing was incredible... I belive my count was 232 smallies with a 17"+ average... walleyes we were catching 200-300 a day but most in that sub 14" range... Last time I trolled Spirit for eyes we caught 10 with 6 being keepers and about 50 perch only 6-8 of those keepers...In 04-05 we caught maybe a dozen perch all year....