My brother and I launched at Willow Bay on Long Lake AKA Lake Spokane at 6:00AM Sunday 6/3/2018. We went near the small lily pads, just to the left of the bay itself and anchored 40' feet from the pads, which allowed us to cast both directions. We were using ultra light fishing gear, 4 to 6LB test clear monofilament line and I was using a red over yellow with sparkles, silicone rubber 1/32 mini jig at the bottom, with a size 6 snelled hook above so that it hangs about 8 inches above the mini jig... My brother used what is known as a "motor oil" colored silicone rubber 1/16 mini jig alone. We baited with 1" to 1 1/2" ( pieces ) of night crawlers and soon moved to using Perch eyes and often a combination of the two. Soon, it was evident that the Yellow and red jig was producing more fish so my brother switched over quickly but did not add the snelled hook above the jig.. Slow movement of the bait along the bottom also produced more fish than just leaving it set. By 1:30PM we had boated 47 JUMBO sized Perch, 5 Small Mouth Bass at about 13 inches each and 1 Cutbow Trout about 18 inches. Having to cull out smaller fish was minimal. When I mention "Jumbo Perch", I am talking about Perch that were no smaller than 9 inches but several were noted at 12 inches with one reaching exactly 13 inches. The real surprise was to see how much larger the males have gotten this season, plus fisherman report it's been slow fishing for Perch and Crappie on Long Lake. That's because most fisherman do not really know how to catch them or exactly what bait to use and how to go about catching them. A rule I learned long ago was to use dark colored min jigs when the water is murky or cloudy during the early Spring months such as Feb. March or April. Then, as water clears during the run off season, use a lighter colored jig. This is why yellow and red work so well in the month if June but also note, the colors are in between dark and light. That's because you probably shouldn't go to a white or lightly colored mini jig until at least July. No Crappie or Large Mouth Bass were caught or hooked, mainly because it was our goal to target the big fat Yellow Perch that Long Lake currently has to offer. The real treat was at the table later the next day. It truly reminded me why I often target this species. The table fare just doesn't get any better than a big batch of nice sized Yellow Perch, no matter how you cook them up. I personally prefer them sauteed in butter or margarine at a very low temperature and lightly sprinkled with Johnny's seasoning salt and granulated garlic when served. Believe me, you'll be back for more and more.....

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