panfish versus bass

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Originally Posted by Spoonminnow

Do you ever just target panfish and if so, why do you like catching panfish and not just bass or pike or other sportfish? In my club some members turn their noses up at crappie or other panfish and I have always thought the bias strange. Maybe it's just me...

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I prefer to fish to eat. Whether it's panfish, catfish, or trout, those are the fish available to me that I enjoy eating so that's what I generally target. I tried out tournament bass fishing for the first time this year, and while it's been fun and I've learned a lot and enjoyed the time with the club, something about the whole process just takes away from what I enjoy about fishing. In the same vein, I would never hunt an animal just to stuff and put on the wall...I'd better get dinner out of it or it just feels like an empty kill to me...

That being said, if I ever land a 10 lb. bucketmouth she IS going on the wall... ;)

It's not an "either/or" question for me.

I do a LOT of fishing specifically for bass, and enjoy the heck out of hooking into a hefty largemouth or, even moreso, a good smallmouth. There's something I really like about the tactics of pursuing black bass, and I even enjoy using baitcasting gear much more than a spinning rig. probably because I can handle my old Ambassadeurs better than I can any spinning reel.

That said, I will occasionally leave the boat winch reels at home and set out with a couple of ultra-light outfits and a pocket-sized tackle box full of small jigs and spinners to spend a day chasing bream and crappie. It's (to me anyway) a more laid-back kind of fishing. Plus, I never keep the bass that I catch, so if I want a good mess of tasty fillets, panfish are the answer.

Tom

I have bass fished club tournamenats for the past two years and enjoyed aspects of it. The is my last year because I just never saw the purpose of geting up at 3 or 4 in the morning, driving an hour or more, launching in the dark, and spending 8 or 9 hours on the water throwing lures just to catch a couple of bass. On my fun trips, I troll, and love the variety of fish that I can catch, from white perch to white bass, the occassional crappie, large mouth, striper, and even catfish. It is so much nicer to sleep in, eat breakfast, and hit the water at 9 or 10 and just worry about what to troll and where to run, and still catch more bass than casting for them. I will say that bass put up a harder fight than any crappie, but white bass, striper, and blue cat will beat a LMB any day for a fight. Too bad bluegill don't regularly run into the 2 lb range, they would be a killer fight. They all taste good, but I will say crappie and yellow perch are the best of the bunch.

Mary ann

I will fish for them all. Up north where I live (WI) you have a chance on any given day to try your hand at any thing that swims in the Mississippi River. All depends on the time of year and how the conditions are for that day. I enjoy them all and I think it makes you a better fisherman.

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Originally Posted by bassbull

I enjoy them all and I think it makes you a better fisherman.

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Agreed. If you only fish for one species or only use one method, I think you're short-changing yourself.

Well, bass are fun to catch...and when I first started fishing, that was what I was after. I do still enjoy it and do still go out fishing for bass sometimes. But I just really like to catch crappie and bluegill. More fish and I like to eat them :D

Bass fishing is way overrated. I may be alone in this thought, but I am soo tired of all of the hype over bass fishing. It's like someone else said, seems like each bass fishermen is just trying to keep up with the jones's, gotta get all the new lures and the most expensive boats and gear. It's all a load and just a way for the lure companies and boat manufacturers to make tons of money off of gullable fake fishermen. Don't get me wrong, I like to catch bass, but I refuse to buy unnessessary lures and equipment to make someone else rich. Anyways, back to the subject. I would rather fish for crappie and bream, not so much because I don't enjoy fishing for bass, but all of the hype and commercialism of bass fishing has really gotten under my skin and in my opinion has ruined bass fishing. Anyways, to each his own, just my .02. Tight lines!

Get ready crappie fishing is next. We now have crappie tourneys, check out the prices for some of these rod holders, a top of the line ff will set you back $3000. Go to the elec section of this forum, those guys sound like NASA engineers. You think bass fishing is bad, have you watched any "deer hunting" on tv lately?

I love bass fishing, but nothing will ever replace watching that bobber go down or watching that line slowly swim off while deadlining.