The elder Masucci, 53, who’s been fishing Oneida since he was 5 years old, said he hooked the big perch at about 11 a.m. using a pink and white Caty jig, tipped with the tail end of a minnow.

To become really big, a perch will have wised-up to angling pressure, so making subtle tweaks and changes to your tactics is vital if you are to get them feeding confidently.

Captain Rob Ebersole of Scary Good Sportfishing, along with John Woelfle and Mark Mohr, braved the elements in the Southtowns Walleye Association of Western New York annual Spring Perch Tournament.

"They are the biggest perch I have ever seen, with one almost 13," said James Daher.

Canyon Ferry Reservoir played host to one of the winter’s biggest local outdoor events last weekend, with hundreds of anglers testing their skills against swarms of finicky perch.

Adam Nelson of Big Fork reels in a perch during the first couple hours of the 2015 perch derby on Canyon Ferry Reservoir. Thom Bridge, IR File Photo Kassie Fisher assists her daughters Oakley and ...