Panfish Magnet and Casting Setup

Looking to cast the incredible Panfish Magnet with a UL rod and a reel. First off, I weighed a Panfish Magnet head with the body on and it tipped the scale at .031 oz. Some quick math tells me that is 1/32 oz.

I have the following rods available:
Temple Fork Outfitters Panfish UL, 7', Fast, with a Diawa Legalis 2000
Temple Fork Outfitters Panfish L,7', Fast, with a Diawa Legalis 2500
Okuma Celio UL, 7', Fast, with a Diawa Legalis 2000
Diawa Spinmatic UL, 7' Fast, with a Diawa Legalis 2000
Diawa Legalis UL, 5'6" Fast, with a Diawa Legalis 1000

As you can see, I like Diawa Legalis reels....

All of the reels have Berkley 6lb. XL with the exception of the Legalis 1000 which has 4 lb. XL.

When testing casting distance today against a slight breeze with a 1/32 oz. jig head, I found all the setups to be fairly close in distance. The Okuma Celio was actually the furthest by about 3'. Distances were measured with a measuring tape. I took three cast and my son took three cast with each of the above setups. Between my son and myself, all or our cast were within a foot or two for each setup.

I am looking to get good casting distance with the Panfish Magnet. I know I need to go to smaller line.
Do I go to braid? If so, what braid and lb. test? I have used both Suffix 832 and Power Pro in the past on larger setups with good results. Bottom line is, what line should I use? Any help would be appreciated!

I like Power Pro slick8 in 2lbs diameter. With the Celio I can sling a jig a good ways.

I’ve used Sufix nanobraid, Berkeley Nanofil, and several Japanese braids. One from unitika called night game in 1.5 diameter, which casts and performs very well. No lees than 5 other braids on my reels come from Varivas and I’m pleased with everything about them. I also have some of Varivas nylon line also which performs better and is smaller than any of the domestic that I’ve tried. Some of the domestic li e I’ve tried is Stren crappie in 2 lb, trilene clear 2 lb and Sufix flouroclear. All of them do well for the domestic mono line. There’s probably a few others that I’m not remembering right now. I’ll also say that I fish different than most folks. I’m usually in tight quarters up near the bank pitching into pockets and stumps and between patches of grass and just junk in general. I like the full contact of braid and it’s lack of memory makes casting very easy unless it’s windy. The Nanofil is at the top of the list for castability but it comes with a few negatives also. No abrasion resistance makes it very easy to weaken the line by bumping a branch or rock or such and the line will break a long way from any knots for seemingly no reason. I no longer use it at all. The many braids that I now use from Varivas have greatly improved my opinion of small diameter braid. Some of mine are in .2 size that rates just over 5 lbs and will cast well with a 1/32 jig weight. My favorite jighead comes from a 1/32 mold but is a ball head and actually weighs 1/43 with a number 8 hook. If I can help shorten your learning curve, I’d say to look into Varivas twitchmaster for mono line, the three pound does very well for me and most folks. For the braid I would say the Varivas Master limited super premium PE line in the diameter you choose. I always use a leader of at least 4lb clear mono for abrasion resistance and flourocarbon also gets used. Uni to uni knots do very well for both size and strength. Braid comes with some personality too like wind knots or wrapping the tip. We all get it and just be patient. Reel loops also happen and warrant frequent checking as casts are made. I’ve had bluegill hit my jig that feel like someone just tapped the rod with a stick, and I love that. Hope this helps get you going, there’s lots better casts available than 6 lb mono can deliver.

Tough to beat the Legalis reels. Good performance and bang for the buck. A nice 2 lb line should do ya.
Bob

Casting distance has a lot to do with line and weight of lure .
Bumping up to a 1/32 jighead plus the TM body and you can get decent distance with some 4# mono or fluorocarbon.
Otherwise you’ll need to go with two pond test to get any distance out of panfish magnet with its 1/64 jighead.

Thanks Skeetbum, I will look into that line!

What I have found casting light weights on a UL rod with mono, is when the lure weight gets real light, shorter rods will actually get you more distance. There are very few monos that when left to dangle straight down don't show some form of memory. Some are better than others. This memory creates drag going through the eyelets of the rod. For real light weights, this little bit of drag is a killer for distance. The longer rods have more eyelets and thus more drag. As the weight of the lure is increased, longer rods will outcast the shorter ones. The extra drag of the eyelets is negated by the weight of the lure and extra leverage provided by the length of the rod. I did a lot of testing throwing 1/64 and 1/32 jigs to realize this. Once you get to 1/16 and 1/8 jigs, the longer rods will cast further. It took a lot of testing to finally realize why I was getting the results I was getting. From this testing, it so obvious to see why a thin diameter totally limp braid with no memory will cast further.

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Originally Posted by BobC

Tough to beat the Legalis reels. Good performance and bang for the buck. A nice 2 lb line should do ya.
Bob

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Yeah BobC, I bought one Legalis and ended up with six of them! I also have two Diawa BG reels for my Medium rods. To me the Legalis was a solid compromise between a real high end reel and low end reel.

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Originally Posted by peshtigost

What I have found casting light weights on a UL rod with mono, is when the lure weight gets real light, shorter rods will actually get you more distance. There are very few monos that when left to dangle straight down don't show some form of memory. Some are better than others. This memory creates drag going through the eyelets of the rod. For real light weights, this little bit of drag is a killer for distance. The longer rods have more eyelets and thus more drag. As the weight of the lure is increased, longer rods will outcast the shorter ones. The extra drag of the eyelets is negated by the weight of the lure and extra leverage provided by the length of the rod. I did a lot of testing throwing 1/64 and 1/32 jigs to realize this. Once you get to 1/16 and 1/8 jigs, the longer rods will cast further. It took a lot of testing to finally realize why I was getting the results I was getting. From this testing, it so obvious to see why a thin diameter totally limp braid with no memory will cast further.

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This is what I have found to be true in the testing I’ve done .
Seems like ultralight rods in the 5-5’6” range are the best casters with tiny baits .

These threads of testing for casting and overall performance have gotten my attention too. My six foot build doesn’t act like I think it should and I’m going to strip the all stainless guides and replace them with Alconite high framed guides. Same sizes basically and I might drop a guide or two, depending on how the line lays out. I have an old Lightning Rod in 5’6” with 4 guides and a tip and it is a casting fool. Nothing I have comes close and the line lay is just plain ugly. Go figure. I’m going to do some cast testing and write down the results before and after I change it up, and I’ll keep you posted.

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Originally Posted by skeetbum

. I have an old Lightning Rod in 5’6” with 4 guides and a tip and it is a casting fool.

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Is that the grey two piece Lightning rod ?
I think I still have one of those around here .
I need to get it out and try it .
I have an older 5’ one piece Lightning rod with the EVA handle that’s a noodle . Used to love those rods .
It’s a shame they don’t make them anymore.

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Originally Posted by gillchaser999

This is what I have found to be true in the testing I’ve done .
Seems like ultralight rods in the 5-5’6” range are the best casters with tiny baits .

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You can get the distance with light baits on long rods, by going to braid. Guess what I just bought? I ended up getting 5lb. Power Pro braid because that is what they had locally. Some how I ended up walking out of the store with 7' Sam Heaton Super Sensitive UL and another Diawa Legalis..... Just what I need, another ultra light! I fish rivers near me and have gotten to the point I fish smallmouth, walleye, and everything on UL and Light. Occasionally I will step up to a ML.

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Originally Posted by skeetbum

I’ve had bluegill hit my jig that feel like someone just tapped the rod with a stick, and I love that. Hope this helps get you going, there’s lots better casts available than 6 lb mono can deliver.

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I like the Braid, and as my old fishing partner says, "It's like hitting a brick with a lawnmower":Rofl:ThumbsUp:ThumbsUp:ThumbsUp

Okay, more test results.

Spooled a Diawa Regal 2000 up with some 4 lb. Trilene XL backing followed by Power Pro 5 lb. braid. I used a Diawa Spinmatic UL 7' rod. I beat my previous best mono cast by 10'-12'. I was kind of expecting more, but also the wind is a little different today. The funny thing about this is, the Diawa Spinmatic was the worst with mono, by about 6-8 feet. (all previous test were with 6 lb. mono) With the braid, it outcast all my other rods. It is listed as a fast tip, but is notably less fast than the Temple Fork Outfitters or Okuma Celio. With the faster tips on the Temple Fork and Celio, I got less distance than the Diawa Spinmatic. I used the same 1/32 oz. jig I used the other day for all the casting test. I found the results quite interesting.

Because the tip is a little more flexy on the Spinmatic, I tried an older UL panfish rod with a lot more tip flex. I assumed if this combination liked the softer tip of the Spinmatic, it might like an even softer tip. This came up noticeably shorter on cast distance. Again, not quite what I expected.

The bottom line to me is, it is combination of things with no single magic bullet! It comes down to the combination of the rod, reel, and line. There appears to be no specific single answer to solve the riddle, except to test different combinations to find what works best for you!

I honestly believe the 2-4 lb. Trilene XL would come real close to the braid on casting distance. This the only thing I haven't tested... YET! My Trilene stays nice, limp and coil free, mostly because of how I put it on the reel. My secret is to fill a pail 2/3 full of hot water, throw the spool of line in the water, let it sit for about 10 minutes, reel it onto the reel with the spool of line just floating around in the water, and use a wet rag in front of the spool to apply tension as I spool the reel up. If there is any twist while spooling, the spool will flop itself over in the water or go in any orientation it needs. The warm water relaxes the line and removes memory.

More to come!

Thanks for the results.
I think you’re right about it being a combination of things .
I’m having fun testing my equipment. Gives me something to do that pertains to fishing without going.
Then when I do go fishing I get the put the results to the real test

I stopped by mudhole to pick a few brains and pick up a set of alconite guides. All of the guides I used are all stainless and the lightest affordable high frame guides they had, the alconite a close second and smoother internal rings. In conversation it came up that they’ve seen a few instances of the same blanks not casting the same. I’m changing the guides on my 6’ build and see if it improves the casting. It does well but not as good as the 5’6”. The flex of the blank being slightly longer can also be part of it, but I’m not changing length. This rod is sweet when fighting a fish and I want the Soare on it. All of your testing is helping me look into my own dilemma. Thanks Guys.

Yesterday I took out my Diawa Spinmatic with the braid on the river and tied on a Panfish Magnet. I tied on the jig head with a Purple Haze body. I found a weed bed on a hump and started casting. Happy to say, I caught my first fish on the Panfish Magnet, an average size crappie. Considering how light the Panfish Magnet is, I was quite happy with casting distance I was getting. I have a hunch a true 8 strand braid line like Suffix 832 would give a little more distance than a 4 strand braid line like the Power Pro I am using. I say this thinking that the 8 strand braid is a more round line and would lay better on the spool and come of the spool better. I guess that is on more thing for me to test.

Fishing the Panfish Magnet, I cast it out, counted it down and reeled it in reel slow with a few slight twitches, paused to let it fall, and repeated. The fish I caught all hit the bait on the fall. I really believe that slow vertical fall through the water column really triggers the fish. I purchased the Panfish Magnet kit, as it came with some really great colors and was cheap. All of the kits Trout Magnet sells are really a bargain.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by peshtigost

Looking to cast the incredible Panfish Magnet with a UL rod and a reel. First off, I weighed a Panfish Magnet head with the body on and it tipped the scale at .031 oz. Some quick math tells me that is 1/32 oz.

I have the following rods available:
Temple Fork Outfitters Panfish UL, 7', Fast, with a Diawa Legalis 2000
Temple Fork Outfitters Panfish L,7', Fast, with a Diawa Legalis 2500
Okuma Celio UL, 7', Fast, with a Diawa Legalis 2000
Diawa Spinmatic UL, 7' Fast, with a Diawa Legalis 2000
Diawa Legalis UL, 5'6" Fast, with a Diawa Legalis 1000

As you can see, I like Diawa Legalis reels....

All of the reels have Berkley 6lb. XL with the exception of the Legalis 1000 which has 4 lb. XL.

When testing casting distance today against a slight breeze with a 1/32 oz. jig head, I found all the setups to be fairly close in distance. The Okuma Celio was actually the furthest by about 3'. Distances were measured with a measuring tape. I took three cast and my son took three cast with each of the above setups. Between my son and myself, all or our cast were within a foot or two for each setup.

I am looking to get good casting distance with the Panfish Magnet. I know I need to go to smaller line.
Do I go to braid? If so, what braid and lb. test? I have used both Suffix 832 and Power Pro in the past on larger setups with good results. Bottom line is, what line should I use? Any help would be appreciated!

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I use 1/64 trout magnet jigs all the time. My favorite line to use is 2lb Berkley vanish. You can cast them a long way using that and a nice whippy rod.


Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

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Originally Posted by Pistol_Creek

I use 1/64 trout magnet jigs all the time. My favorite line to use is 2lb Berkley vanish. You can cast them a long way using that and a nice whippy rod.


Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

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I would like to try your setup and see what I get for casting distance. What rod are using and how long is it? Also what reel are you using?

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Originally Posted by peshtigost

I would like to try your setup and see what I get for casting distance. What rod are using and how long is it? Also what reel are you using?

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Usually a Daiwa Regal LT1000 or a Pflueger Trion 20B, paired with a L or UL 6’ rod. If you are using a 1/32 or 1/16 oz lure… you can really cast it far. But it works wonders with the 1/64, too.


Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app