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In spring and early summer, most spawning behavior is triggered when the cold winter waters begin to warm. Among the many panfish species, yellow perch will spawn first when the water temps reach about 44 degrees.Perch spawn shortly after ice-out and deposit their eggs on vegetation, submerged brush or gravel bottoms. After perch spawn they leave the spawning site, unlike crappie and bluegills.
Pre-spawn and spawning perch are difficult to catch - their minds are elsewhere. Furthermore, fishing conditions can be brutal as early spring weather often brings raw winds and cold days. (Besides, many of us are turkey hunting!) I think your time is better spent concentrating on post-spawn perch moving out from the shallows into emerging weeds.
To find actively feeding post-spawn perch, try the technique called "weed walleye" fishing. (I use a six- to seven-foot graphite rod with a very sensitive tip.) I rig the rod with 4-pound test line and a 1/16th to 1/32nd ounce jig. I tip the hook with a small fathead minnow or larger crappie minnow. Hook the minnow through the open mouth and then up through the top of the head. This allows the minnow to trail straight behind the lure and it won't work off so quickly.Search out new weed growth in about four to nine feet of water. Cast out your line, leaving the bail open, and let the jig drop slowly toward the bottom.
Pay close attention to the line lying atop the water. When the line stops moving, the jig is on the bottom or is hung up on a weed. (If the line twitches, it's a bite! Set the hook!) Take up the slack and slowly raise the rod tip to the 11 o'clock position and hold it there. When you think you've raised it enough, cut your speed in half and it should be just right. This action just teases the jig off the bottom.
When the rod stops, the jig floats back down while you maintain a tight line. When the line stops moving, lower your rod tip, wind in the slack and repeat this slow retrieve, bringing the rod up and holding it at 11 o'clock, etc. The fish usually strike as the jig is falling. Perch bite in a series of fast raps. Drop the rod tip for a few seconds while picking up the slack, lightly set the hook, and bring in the fish.
Hope this helps
GB2
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