Panfish Fishing Tips
Panfish fishing includes species such as bluegill, redbreast, crappie, pumpkinseeds and redear sunfish. Panfishermen may not be big spenders in terms of equipment, but they are the ones who enjoy catching and eating the most fish.
Sportfishermen go for the glamour species like trout, bass, muskies, pike, walleye and salmon. Fishing for panfish is mostly about fun and food and a lot of the fishing can be done from shore. This is because panfish species are more numerous, always competing for available food, and are therefore usually hungry.
By weight of numbers caught, the most popular panfish to many anglers are the crappie and the bluegill.
A smart panfisherman rarely fails to bring home enough fish to fill a skillet. Also, some panfishermen are smarter than others, especially when it comes to catching the larger panfish. There are, as with any sport, tricks of the trade.
As with any specialist, these tricks vary with the angler, the part of the nation he inhabits, the abundant species of panfishes available and the tackle he uses. In the proceeding fishing articles, I'm going to pass along some surefire ways to outsmart the whoppers.
Why whoppers? Aren't the small ones good to eat, too? Most definately! But, when you have become an experienced panfisherman and have learned to catch many, the next challenge comes in going for the big ones.
Fishing Tackle for Panfish
One of the great things about panfishing is that you can use any kind of tackle from a cut pole to the finest fishing gear and still catch your share of fish. Normally, as your skill develops, subtle changes in tackle refinement occur even among the cane polers.
Many a panfisherman began with a tin full of worms, a piece of string as fishing line, and a cut pole from a willow in the woods. Many even sharpened their fishing skills using a bent straight pin as a hook.
Learn to watch for seasonal crops of food Mother Nature serves from her larder. Tent catepillars, junebugs, japanese beetles, and grasshoppers fall from trees or stream edges and into the water. Any of these make good bait and are a lot easier to come by than digging worms.
Most adept fishermen learned their instinctive feel of fishing from catching panfish as children. So, use whatever tackle you have or can afford, be it a cut pole, cane pole, telescoping fiberglass rod, or the more versatile casting, spinning, spin-casting or flyfishing outfits.
The one overriding rule is: Keep your monofilament line as light as possible, the hook no larger than necessary and the rod action light.
For instance, when fishing for bluegills I use four-pound monofilament most of the time. But, when summertime settles in and the waters become windowpane clear, I use two-pound test. The bigger fish get very wary when visibility is optimal.
Remember, though, as you lighten the line you must lighten the action of the rod, also. A rod too stiff will not only break off good fish but it also acts as a dampener that makes it difficult to feel a light pickup by sneaky feeders.
