general panfish tips?

[sadworld]

i'm introducing my 2 yr old little girl to fishing this year and i even got a small fishing boat to do it.... just got it this week.... i'm wondering if you guys can share some general info on panfishing. i've haven't done much of it. ever. the limited times i have tried seems like i catch nothing or 3 inch gills. maiden voyage on the new boat last nite produced just that.... 3 inch gills. better than nothing i guess. what's the trick or secret? is it location? technique? bait? i was in 5 or 6 foot of water and tossing chunks of crawler under a bobber set about 3 or 4 foot. .... what i think i know is they are on beds this time of year? how do you find beds? (i know what they look like) scan the shoreline? how about other times of the year? also i try to look for weeds.... man, i d love to get into these SLABS people talk about catching.... as you can tell i'm just looking for general ideas or tips, if you want to give a lake that's great too, i'm in upper bay county but am willing to trave somewhat. pm if you like. hey, i'll trade ya some flyfishing technique for some panfish tips! i usually do pretty good at that type of fishing, but this other type is kinda foreign to me right now. thanks. matt.

[SuperSnapper]

If your a fly fisherman, I'de take your lightest rod and cast some flies up on the beds.
As for your daughter...get some Adjust-a-Bubble bobbers (or the like) and a spider-like fly. Just use the bobber for weight to cast, dont fill it with water, and put that fly right on their beds. Its a good method for kids because they can see the fish take the fly on top of the water.
When gills are on their beds the last thing I want to do is put a big bobber on and night crawler and dump it right on their heads.
Be stealthy and quite. Stay off the beds and try new things.

[KingSalmon]

IMO it's a compilation of all of these things. Location is pretty key, but most lakes have a surplus of panfish whether it be blugills, perch, sunfish etc. I like the set up your using. Good choice. As far as beds are concerned, I use polarized sunglasses to scan (near) the shoreline. Then just drop in. The big males that are guarding the beds will usually only strike out of aggression, not hunger. However, I have found that constantly dragging the bobber rig over the same bed will annoy those males into biting. If you don't mind a drive, go to Tipsico Lake in Fenton...great blugill action (see pics in my gallery). Have pulled out SEVERAL gills over 11" great crappie there too. I have had luck with a small top water CORK FLY. It was a little green thing with yellow trim and worked like crazy...gills love em. Also, if you hae no luck with that rig, try switching the crawler with small chunks of hotdog....works great as well. Good luck!

[DE82]

Panfish aren't as easy as people would make them out to be at times. In fact post spawn crappie can be some of the hardest fish to catch all year long. That being said I think I can help. That being said, I would doubt they are still on the spawn this late in the year myself but it's possible. IMO your not fishing deep enough water, find drop offs and weed beads in 10-15ft of water.

The biggest problem I would guess your having isn't location but bait your using. Small gills are more aggressive than big gills, it's just how it is. How to fix this is simple.....fish with lures. Try small crankbaits like #3 Countdown Rapalas, small twisters and small tubes on jig heads. Beetle spins also work great for panfish. The key with panfish is A LOT of colors. For Twisters pick up, orange, chartreuse, white, black, purple, pumpkin-pepper and even pink. For tubes it's hard to beat smoke/multi sparkle and for beetle spins, green and black, orange and black, black and yellow and white and red are all great. Change lures often until you find the hot one and move a lot. This time of year the crappie in my favorite panfish lake are in about 12-15ft of water off weed lines. Find weeds and fish them with jigs or cast a CD3 rap over them and you should have no problem getting fish. If you need any other help PM me - Bryon

[FishermanJohn]

I second the adjust-a-bubble above a spider or even a nymph fly. It works great for me on my ultralight, and if I can do it, then I'm sure a child can as well.

Besides the fly rod, try 2" mister twisters or tubes in any combination of green, chartreuse, orange, black, or pink. Beetle spins work great for anything that swims.

During the spawn, remember that bigger fish spawn in deeper water. I'm still seeing a few beds in the shallowest areas, but I think they're probably near spawned-out on most lakes.

[icecathound]

if you dont find the beds real quick to get onto the big ones go for the little ones to keep your little girl interested. even if they are small that is the best way to keep her interested in fishing just catching fish big or small.

[wishbone]

use K&E's stopper lures-worm rival-anise scented (its 3-4 inches long)>
comes pre-built with two hooks.
caught nice bass,gills,perch,etc. with it
(works great with altra-lite tackle also)
fished it as deep as 10ft.

just follow fishing tips on back of package
comes with 2 worms (use caution when taking worms out tangle easy)
part no. wr2pk-8

don't have re-bait hook all the time;)
good luck!

[RyGuy525]

i second the K&E worms. I always have a ton of them on hand.

[bass slayer 17]

panfish in my book are dumb you can cast out a bare hook at times and catch them.. its not really about knowledge its about finding the right location and what they want.. sometimes what is best is to loose the bobber and fish deeper water with a crawler. if you fish by the lillies and shallow weeds you might get some good big ones but more than likely your going to get bit up by the smaller gills...i also agree with the float and fly method it will work very well and you might even get some smallish bass.. good luck