RE: ice perch
I commercially fish with an ice rod and reel all winter. They allow us to sell whole fish here and there is quite a market. Large perch love minnows but I mostly use small but heavy bibbets with no barb. Drop the lure down jig it and when the fish bites reel it up, dunk it on to the ice or in your bucket and it comes right off. If anyone needs a picture of what a bibbet looks like I can post. The lures don't need to be tipped with anything and color matters. Orange and white, chartreuse and white, blue and white are my favorites. Drop it to the bottom, reel up about 3” and then jig it up and down the water column to about 3’ off the bottom. Some times they like it falling on a slow drop and other times they will chase it on a slow jig up. We just lost our ice due to warm weather but it will be back. On good days I can catch 150 pounds or more.