Lake Cascade is one of the fishing gems of Idaho\u2014and the\nentire Northwest, for that matter. The look a Cascade jumbo brings to the face\nof a Midwesterner who has spent his whole life catching perch says it all:\nthere might not be a better trophy perch fishery in North America. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Catching these giants isn\u2019t easy, though. As many anglers\nattest, Cascade can be a difficult place to find consistent success. The lake\u2019s\nhuge size gives the perch plenty of hiding spots, and their behavior is often\nmore finicky than typical\nperch fisheries<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fortunately for local anglers, guide Chris Weber<\/a>\ncan help soften the learning curve. Chris, who honed his perch skills in his\nnative Wisconsin, began guiding on Cascade last year and is building a\nreputation as a jumbo\nperch<\/a> whisperer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I recently joined Chris on an early-fall perch hunt. Also\non board were Patrick\nDurkin<\/a>, a Wisconsin-based columnist and Meat Eater<\/a> contributor, and his wife,\nPenny. Between Chris and the Durkins, the Cheeseheads had this Michigander<\/a>\noutnumbered three-to-one! <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the morning chill, we retrieved crayfish traps Chris\nand Pat had set out the night before. They yielded plenty for a Meat Eater-quality\nboil. Then, we set off to fish. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEvery lake has good fishing spots,\u201d explained Chris on\nthe drive. \u201cBut I think of Cascade as a \u2018spot on the spot\u2019 fishery. You really\nhave to have your locations dialed in, because the fish move so much.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n We set up on a mud flat in 20 feet of water and deployed\nour tackle\u2014drop-shot\nrigs<\/a> with a live worm. While Cascade can be a technical fishery, simple tackle\nusually works best for me. Chris agrees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s easy to overthink it,\u201d Chris said. \u201cThere are days\nwhen aggressive baits will work, like a swimbait in the spring or a Rippin\u2019 Rap\nthrough the ice. But as a guide, I go with the most productive methods.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Minutes after arriving at our first spot, I felt the\ntelltale bump of a fish and set the hook. A 13-inch perch soon joined us on\nboard\u2014an absolute trophy anywhere else, but simply a nice one on Lake Cascade. Chris\nand I bumped fists. A quality start! <\/p>\n\n\n\n The biggest thing I learned from Chris was how Cascade\nschools operate. In many lakes, perch live in massive pods. Once you\u2019ve found them,\nit\u2019s game on. But at Cascade, particularly with the jumbos, a \u201cschool\u201d often\nhas less than a dozen fish. The key is to find a productive area and stay\npatient, waiting for the schools to come through every 10-to-20 minutes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n