Perch Lake

Perch Lake is a lake in Guadalupe County, New Mexico, and covers about 3.5 acres, reaches about 4.7 feet at its deepest point and holds roughly 9.1 acre-feet.

Perch Lake is small water, so a careful lap around the bank can show most of the useful cover. With little deep water in Perch Lake, weeds, wind, and water color can matter more than depth alone.

Fish and Baits

Fish listed for Perch Lake include Channel Catfish, and Rainbow Trout.

One direct channel catfish tactic on Perch Lake is to fish cut bait or a nightcrawler on the bottom along a channel edge or warm flat.

The first rainbow trout pass on Perch Lake should cast a small spoon, inline spinner, light jig, or fly through cool water.

How to Read the Water

For the next pass on Perch Lake, start where two things meet: weeds and open water, rock and mud, a point and a drop, or clear water and dirty water; fish that edge at more than one depth before leaving it.

Season by Season

The first look at Perch Lake should cover this: in spring, start with warming banks, creek mouths, and shallow cover; summer usually pushes the better bite toward the outside weed edge or a nearby drop; fall can bring bait back to windblown points, while winter calls for smaller moves and a slower pace.

A Simple Tackle Plan

For a first pass on Perch Lake, a light spinning rod, thin line, a few small spoons, inline spinners, and jigs cover the listed trout; carry one slightly heavier setup when other fish or windy water call for more control.

To narrow down Perch Lake, record the wind, water color, productive depth, and cover after a bite; those four notes are more useful on the next trip than a long list of spots that did not produce.