Panfish Magnet Scores!

Today I went on the flowage that has been kicking my butt on bluegill. I went to a local sport shop in the morning to buy some 2lb. Trilene XL and the owner told me where he use to get the bluegill on that flowage. Before heading out I spooled up a reel with the 2lb. line, tied on a trout magnet and did a few test cast. I was getting the same distance I was getting with 4lb. PowerPro braid. The setup was an Okuma Celio 7ft UL rod and a Diawa Legalis 2000 spinning reel.

Armed with a tip on where to look for the bluegill I hit the water. I started by casting a black/chartreuse Panfish Magnet and had a few bluegill following and pecking at it. I switched to the Bison color and started hammering them! No big wall mounters, but what a ton of fun. I honestly caught so many bluegill I lost count! Got to the point I was worried I was gonna get carpal tunnel from cranking in so many fish! To make things worse, I also caught about a half dozen perch, and couple of crappie. Then a couple of 13-14" smallmouth bass decided they needed a Panfish Magnet snack! Talk about fun, smallmouth bass on 2lb. test! I have always enjoyed fishing and have been a fishing addict, but today was the funnest day I ever had fishing!

I am sold on the Panfish Magnet! I can't believe how well this thing works. I was casting to weeded shorelines and over submerged weeds in 2-7 feet of water. I would cast it out, count it down to be just above the weeds, and crank it in real slow with slight twitches while cranking. Occasionally I would pause for a second or two while cranking it in. One trick I learned was that when you get to boat, leave it in the water and jig for a little bit. I picked up quite a few bluegill doing this.

While motoring down with the trolling motor to reposition the boat, I noticed on my side scan there were submerged stumps on the flat beyond the submerged weed edge. The stumps showed lots of fish around them and also scattered on the flat. I positioned the boat near the stumps, spot locked, and did short cast and vertical jigging. Ended up catching the perch and crappie there.

I just placed and order at Trout Magnet this morning, now I am going to need to place another. (Note to self: Get the 50 count bag of Bison colored Panfish Magnets!)

Another TM fan is born . Congrats!

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Originally Posted by gillchaser999

Another TM fan is born . Congrats!

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Yeah that's for sure!

I have spent my whole life fishing smallmouth, walleye, and musky. I have caught my fair share over those years. I have sucked at panfishing. Now that I am getting older, I just got this bug to slow down and spend time figuring out them panfish. Until today I was stumped. The funny part about it is, I fished that same area about a week ago using other plastics. Fished it today with the TM and what a difference.

Nice catches

Lol, that’s pretty serious catching if you think you’re getting carpal tunnel. Awesome job and congrats on the fun day. Trout Magnets work and the bison color has always been one of the best.

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Originally Posted by gillchaser999

Another TM fan is born . Congrats!

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Yes indeed! And the Bison is a killer!
Bob

Congrats on a great day fishing. Be sure and thank that shop owner for that tip. Sounds like that's a well rounded out place to fish...Thank you for the ride along...

Great share! Congratulations on a fine outing

I know about the super fun days, I’ve had a couple in the past few months. The rain machine got wound up and the river is now cookin pretty good and the fish have moved. Just time to go find em. Sounds like you’ve had a great day and I’m glad to hear of it. You’ll think of these days and smile, making folks wonder if….. I hope you get a few more soon.

Thanks Skeetbum. River current changes keep me on the hunt also. When I do find the fish, its never where I expect them to be. I usually find by them by working an area/structure for about 15-20 minutes. If nothing is happening, I find a new type of area/structure and work it for 15-20 minutes tops. I keep doing this and keep moving until I find them. I have a small spinner bait (like a Beetle Spin) that will catch them anywhere and that is what I throw while searching. It is kind of a confidence bait that always works. Small enough to catch panfish, large enough to catch everything else. I usually go back the next day and they have moved! I think they do this on purpose just to keep me on my toes!

Love it when a plan comes together:ThumbsUp

Great article!

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Originally Posted by peshtigost

Today I went on the flowage that has been kicking my butt on bluegill. I went to a local sport shop in the morning to buy some 2lb. Trilene XL and the owner told me where he use to get the bluegill on that flowage. Before heading out I spooled up a reel with the 2lb. line, tied on a trout magnet and did a few test cast. I was getting the same distance I was getting with 4lb. PowerPro braid. The setup was an Okuma Celio 7ft UL rod and a Diawa Legalis 2000 spinning reel.

Armed with a tip on where to look for the bluegill I hit the water. I started by casting a black/chartreuse Panfish Magnet and had a few bluegill following and pecking at it. I switched to the Bison color and started hammering them! No big wall mounters, but what a ton of fun. I honestly caught so many bluegill I lost count! Got to the point I was worried I was gonna get carpal tunnel from cranking in so many fish! To make things worse, I also caught about a half dozen perch, and couple of crappie. Then a couple of 13-14" smallmouth bass decided they needed a Panfish Magnet snack! Talk about fun, smallmouth bass on 2lb. test! I have always enjoyed fishing and have been a fishing addict, but today was the funnest day I ever had fishing!

I am sold on the Panfish Magnet! I can't believe how well this thing works. I was casting to weeded shorelines and over submerged weeds in 2-7 feet of water. I would cast it out, count it down to be just above the weeds, and crank it in real slow with slight twitches while cranking. Occasionally I would pause for a second or two while cranking it in. One trick I learned was that when you get to boat, leave it in the water and jig for a little bit. I picked up quite a few bluegill doing this.

While motoring down with the trolling motor to reposition the boat, I noticed on my side scan there were submerged stumps on the flat beyond the submerged weed edge. The stumps showed lots of fish around them and also scattered on the flat. I positioned the boat near the stumps, spot locked, and did short cast and vertical jigging. Ended up catching the perch and crappie there.

I just placed and order at Trout Magnet this morning, now I am going to need to place another. (Note to self: Get the 50 count bag of Bison colored Panfish Magnets!)

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Bison is a great color and number one producer. Yes, go with the 50 pack.
Bob

Another great way to use them is a drop shot rig. Works great for me. I catch everything in the water that way.

Great report!

Sent from my SM-S711U using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

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Was able to spend 2 hours at the city park for my first fishing of the year. Caught this guy on a bulldog trout magnet. Also caught about 5 small bass (8 - 12 inches) on a bison trout magnet. All caught using a Berkley Cherrywood UL rod and 2 lb. mono. The one pictured looks kind of like a shellcracker/bluegill hybrid and was probably between 8 and 9 inches and is about twice as heavy as the dinks I usually catch in there.

Nice cracker there! You’re much luckier than I am. I’ve had two cherrywood rods and they’ve both broken. Glad yours hold up for ya.

Nice fish . Bet that one put a nice bend in your Cherrywood UL !

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Originally Posted by skeetbum

Nice cracker there! You’re much luckier than I am. I’ve had two cherrywood rods and they’ve both broken. Glad yours hold up for ya.

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I've only used it twice. Had only used light action for all of my "ultralight" fishing in the past, but got tired of babying everything to protect the 2 lb. test and so bought this one in UL for a cheap test last fall. First thing I found out was that the foot on my smallest reel was too small for the reel seat to clamp. I tried shimming it the first time I used it last year and wasn't satisfied. This morning I swapped it out with a larger reel that fits securely. Not sure why Berkeley makes an ultralight rod that won't work with an ultralight reel! Anyway, don't know how long it will last, but it has served it's purpose in that I've learned that it will protect the 2 lb. line very much better than a light action, albeit at the loss of much feel. Will upgrade to a high quality ultralight at some time when I can scrounge up the spare cash.