Basic Panfishing Advice

[jacob2000]

I would like to begin trying to catch panfish with lures and would like advice that you would give a beginner. Thanks

[deathb4disco]

Learn to fish a jig. All you need to know is right here:

Charlie Brewer's Slider Company - ******* Weedless Crappie Slider "Why&How"

This method works for any jig, not just the slider.

[Eagle 1]

think small ! 1/32 jigs/spinners . lite line -6 lb. is great 4 is better !

[jacob2000]

Do you use in line spinners or roadrunners?

[CrappiePappy]

Do you use in line spinners or roadrunners?

I use marabou Roadrunners in 1/32oz & 1/16oz, depending on how deep I want the lure to run. One thing I do that seems to have increased the number of bites on these lures, is to trim the tail feathers down. Right out of the package, these lures have about a inch & a half long tail (past the hook bend). I trim that in half.

Now, while I don't specifically fish for "sunfish" with the trimmed Roadrunner, I do catch them when casting with it. Why do I trim the tails, when I know that a Crappie (even a very small one) has a mouth that's big enough to suck in a bait three times the size of a Roadrunner ??

Well, it all started many years ago on Watts Bar Lake in East Tenn. I was casting Roadrunners around the pilings of a bridge, and catching some decent sized Crappie, when the bite seemed to shut off. I kept casting & was getting what I thought was Bluegill bites or bumps from the Shad that often followed alongside the Roadrunner. It felt like I was dragging the Roadrunner across a concrete sidewalk, not really a pulling or jerking feeling but more a vibration. I was just about to give up and move, when I started getting that "vibration" feeling on a long cast. Thinking it was a small sunfish or whatever, I got frustrated and just set the hook really hard/fast. How surprised do you think I was when the rod bowed and about a pound plus Crappie came to the boat .... yep, all those "danged Bluegill bites" were, in fact, large Crappie just nipping at the long tail of my Roadrunner. I don't remember trimming the tail on that trip, but I did start trimming the tail afterwards. I can't tell you how many Crappie I've caught on a trimmed Roadrunner, but I do have a 12lb Tiger Muskie mounted on my wall that fell to one. And I've experienced two 30 fish limits of slab Crappie, on consecutive days, while casting one. And I've pretty much always got one rigged up on a rod, and many more in the tacklebox ... just in case the opportunity arises for using them. I especially like solid Chartreuse & solid Pink for colors.

Bluegill & other sunfish (other than Green Sunfish & Warmouth) like to "nip" at their prey, biting off legs, wings, fins, eyes, whatever ... especially when the prey is lively & moving, and they can't inhale the whole thing in one gulp. When you take a 1/32oz marabou Roadrunner down in length (or even a 1/16oz one), you give them the impression that this "thing" CAN be taken down in one bite, and not have to be "dismantled" beforehand.

... cp

[shipahoy41]

Welcome from Alabama. I was a school principal for over 20 years and started a "Hooked on Fishing" club at the school to keep students off the street and out of trouble. The group was called "PYP" which stood for Positive Young People. I will give you the same advice I gave them.

The first letter is "P." Use the first word "Positive" when you fish. The most important tool you will ever have in your tackle box is your confidence. You MUST BELIEVE that what you are doing will catch fish. Whatever lure or technique you use is only as good as your confidence in it. Learn a basic all season setup like slip floating that you can use anytime and anywhere to catch panfish. Here is a drawing of a basic setup that is a proven winner.



Next, the letter "Y" I would give you the advice to stay Young on the water. By that I mean you will never get so old that you cannot learn something from somebody. You may try something and fail but that is ok because when you do not succeed you have the opportunity to try again. You will miss many fish because they got off the line or just spit out your lure. Learn something from that by staying young in your mind. Start oout by just having fun fishing and learn different techniques. Never be afraid to fail.



Finally the last letter "P" reminds us that we are people and so are others. In life, always respect another persons values, heritage, goals and dreams. Always encourage them rather than discourage them. In fishing, rely on other people who have been there...done that....and are willing to teach you what you are asking. Associate with those who share your passion and dreams about fishing and ask a lot of questions. Ask the people at your bait shop. Ask the people on crappie.com and other forums. Ask the people who care about you. When you are at Wal-mart ask the people in the fishing aisle. Most will try and help you. Start with live bait and a few soft plastic lures. ALL PANFISH love red wigglers, minnows, wax worms and maggots. The soft plastic lures should be between 1.0 and 2.0 inches and imitate these items such as grubs, minnow imitations and worms. That will get you started and then add to your tackle box as you see what works for you and on your home waters.



For panfish I would recommend a 1/16; 1/32; 1/64th jig or a teardrop. (Look at y avatar) All of these will transport a live bait or a soft plastic into the strike zone where the fish live. You must use the right action or use a slip float to give it action to entice them to eat the lure.

Mike

[tnpondmanager]

I would suggest staying away from snaps as they will cut down significantly on the number of big bluegill you catch. Four- or six-pound-test, 1/32-oz. jig head with a 1.5" Crappie Slider body in white/chartreuse tail, black/chartreuse tail, or chartreuse/red tail. Bluegill have small mouths so make sure the jig head has a hook that's a #6 or smaller. I personally would rig the hook exposed - you'll get hung up more but you will miss a lot fewer fish when they bite. I also would not use a float as that will complicate things for you at this stage and reduce your success.

[Alphahawk]

I use Trout Magnets and I catch a lot of crappie.....Gills...red ear. There are many other great micro jigs out there. I own many of those also. Many people have great success catching panfish on a variety of lures....jigs. I am a firm believer the lighter the line and lure the more success you will have. I prefer 2# test line and a 1/64 ounce jig head. In my tackle bag I have the Road Runners.....UL cranks.....numerous micro soft plastics.....marabou jigs...and some others. While reading my fishing reports you will see the majority of the time I caught my fish on a Trout Magnet. The reason I have those other lures is there will be times when the fish do no want what you are catching fish with 90 percent of the time so you better have something else in your bag. It can turn a bad day into a great one when you change to a lure they are wanting on that day.

Regards

[Eagle 1]

Do you use in line spinners or roadrunners?

both . mainly ponyheads .

[LedHed]

Very interesting post - some very sage advice...

Can't opine on other areas but SoCal - here we use jigs and ultra light gear. My biggest jigs are 1/24th - down to 1/00th, majority of our fishing is with 1/32nd and 1/48th with either #6 or #8 hooks (tyed Bellyspinner or Auto style). Big fan of the new Eagle Claw Lil' Nasty hooks. Master the countdown technique & retrieval variations.
When it gets cold - go slow - and use very small baits.
A big bluegill secret - follow bass guys - fish their structure with downsized lures.