I started around mid lake at first and found myself in Smelt and Laker depths really fast so I elected to get on to a bay that had 10-20 ft. of water for the most part. I drilled about 10 holes with the gas auger and didn't need anymore for the day. Here's a picture of the first two I caught and was feeling pretty good about myself thinking I'd be happy with a dozen of these jumbos.
In 18 ft. of water I got into a bite I haven't experienced all year. Within 1/2 hour I had a pile of respectable Perch and the day was looking quite good.
I moved a bit shallower as the fish got smaller and really got back on to the school of big fish. For the next couple of hours the jumbos kept busting the small jigging rap like there was no tomorrow. The bigger fish seemed to like the jigging rap two to three feet off the bottom and you could see them charge up on the flasher for dinner. After a couple hours I had a pile that was overflowing and life was good again
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I kept 44 on the day and threw back dozens of jumbos because I didn't want to clean that many. I think my buddy Slop from the board appreciated when I dropped off some of the nicest Perch he's seen this year on his doorstep. I hope he does the same for me some day
. So by 1:00 I had caught more fish in four hours than I think I have caught on many weekends. Muskrat didn't disappoint and it leaves me wondering how many more days I'll be able to fish the hard water there. Perch are beautiful fish and what a feast I shared with my family and in-laws tonight! 
One disappointment with the Muskrat Perch was the amount of white worms in some of the fish. A few flicks with the knife and they were gone, but you hate to let the wife and kids see what you're doing since they probably wouldn't eat any fish the rest of the year. I was also surprised at how much snow was left on the lake and the height of some of the drifts. Definitely not a place to be traveling off the sparse ice roads in a car with low clearance as I was. Strictly snowmobiles and 4 x 4s.
Get on out there boys and girls before the ice is gone for another year!
Tight Lines,
ratsotail
Looks like you had an awesome day!! 
