Catching Panfish? 2024

fishva reply :

I'm taking my son (7) camping for a couple days next week. He likes fishing in short spurts (usually 30-60 mins at a time before he gets bored). I'm not going to push him, but I'd definitely like it if he got more into it as he gets older. I figure the best way to get him more excited about it at this age is to help him catch a lot of fish, no matter the type.

In addition to bass and catfish, the place we're going has bluegills, crappie, and sunfish.

I've never really fished for panfish before. Is it best to use live bait? If so, do you prefer nightcrawlers? Small minnows?

Are there any particular structures I should look for, or do these fish just hang out everywhere and anywhere?

Thanks, guys.

Mike2841 reply :

Night crawlers on a bobber always worked for me. I usually pinch the worms in half to get the most out of them.

John G reply :

You can also try bread balls.

Superdumper reply :

I have taken my younger brother fishing n its the same story after thirty minutes of nothing his mind wanders n he'll wanna leave. Live bait works but what I found to be good is the little rebel grasshopper lure. Worm under a bobble can get boring so a lure there is constant activity. It catches fish and will keep them entertained for longer from my experience just make sure they can cast well a birdsnest can ruin a day for a little guy. You can pick one up at Wal-Mart for like five bucks or a local tackle shop.

Just thought I'd suggest an alternative.

Hyrule Bass reply :

use live bait. night crawlers and crickets. wouldnt bother with minnows unless you want to target the crappie specifically

fishva reply :

Thanks, that's great advice.

With the nightcrawlers, do you thread them on the hook or wacky rig them?

I've never really fished with live bait before.

Jar11591 reply :

I use a tiny piece of nightcrawler on a long shank hook. They tend to swallow it a lot.

Mike2841 reply :

On 4/24/2014 at 4:14 AM, fishva said:

Thanks, that's great advice.

With the nightcrawlers, do you thread them on the hook or wacky rig them?

I've never really fished with live bait before.

I thread the majority of the worm and leave a little bit hanging off the end

flyfisher reply :

Nightcrawlers are always good. You can also get some beetle spins. they seem to catch a bunch of fish and keep them actively casting and reeling.

slonezp reply :

Small pieces of nightcrawlers for bluegills and sunnies. Crappies will take a larger piece of nightcrawler if it's moving, but they much prefer minnows. If the bass have spawned by you, the bluegills spawn immediately afterwards. The bull males on beds become very aggressive and will hit everything at this time. Small jigs tipped with 1.5" Gulp minnows, or any other small plastic like a nail tail or twister tail in natural colors will work as well.

Brian Needham reply :

nothing like a 100 crickets to me...

Missourifishin reply :

As others have said, worms for bluegill and minnows for crappie. I also catch a ton of both, as well as bass, on roadrunners.

Hyrule Bass reply :

On 4/24/2014 at 4:14 AM, fishva said:

Thanks, that's great advice.

With the nightcrawlers, do you thread them on the hook or wacky rig them?

I've never really fished with live bait before.

i thread them on but weave the hook in and out of it. i only use half a worm when targetting bluegill. i like to use abeerdeen hooks. take an old rag or cloth to wipe your hands on after handling the nightcrawlers, unless you dont mind the dirt/mess. as someone mentioned above, they tend to swallow hooks too, so be prepared for that...

about the only time i dont thread a nightcrawler on is if im sight fishing for bass. i will just nose hook the nightcrawler and toss it out. bass can hardly resist that long nightcrawler floating off the bottom in the water...

Gaerith reply :

If your son wants to do it all himself and doesn't like the mess that comes with nightcrawlers consider canned corn or crappie niblets. They work on crappies and panfish, but I do tend to get more bites on crawlers.

Bankbeater reply :

Worms under a bobber, or if he wants to try casting you might try a small rooster tail spinnerbait.

Bluegiller reply :

You can catch them with a Rebel Crikhopper if you feel like using a lure.

Crestliner2008 reply :

I agree with all that's been said. Unless you do not want to bother with live bait. Then by all means, tie on a 1/16 oz. white marabou crappie jig and put a bobber about 2' - 3' below it. All species will readily attack this combination.

bigbill reply :

We use the longer stem hooks and thread a 1" or so piece of night crawler on the hook so it's a straight piece of worm on the hook. This way the fish can't steal the worm. We use a bobber or a rattle bobber if you have one. The 1" mister twister chartreuse grub with a rattle bobber with it. You rattle that bobber and the crappies will come.

MCS reply :

Berkely crappie nibbles work really well. I use those over worms and crickets now because they last longer and are a perfect size for the little bait hooks. Kids love them too. neon yellow or hot pink.

Ratherbfishing reply :

If you have a cricket cage, get a bunch of crickets. No self-respecting bluegill will pass up a delicious cricket.

dave reply :

And these

http://www.bnmpoles.com/p-119-black-widow.aspx

fishva reply :

Thanks guys, I really appreciate all of your tips.

We're going camping tomorrow for 2 nights, and I can't wait to give all of your advice a try. I picked up a little lightweight rod for him that should be fun to catch these on.

The bass did just spawn here in most the areas I frequent, so maybe the bluegill will be really aggressive. We have had nasty weather this week (lots of rain and storms), so I'm not sure how that will effect things. It should clear up tomorrow morning, finally.

What size hooks do you typically use for the nightcrawler pieces?

Lund Explorer reply :

I seldom use nightcrawlers for bluegill in preference to leaf worms.

Use a #8 light wire Aberdeen hook like a Tru-Turn, pinch a small split shot 6" up the line from the hook, and set the bobber (I use a Thill brand stick bobber) at the appropriate depth. If I have to fish deeper than about three feet, I use a slip bobber with a bobber stop/bead. You can adjust depth by simply moving the bobber stop.

Remember to take a pair of small hemostats to help removing deeply hooked fish.

Also remember to keep a few for dinner.

bigbill reply :

#10 & #8 hooks these hooks are found in the assortment cans with the longer stems. The longer stem is a quicker hook removal too.

fishva reply :

Awesome, thanks!

I'll be sure to post an update when we get back. Again, thanks a ton for your help.

flyfisher reply :

On 4/24/2014 at 8:22 AM, slonezp said:
Small pieces of nightcrawlers for bluegills and sunnies. Crappies will take a larger piece of nightcrawler if it's moving, but they much prefer minnows. If the bass have spawned by you, the bluegills spawn immediately afterwards. The bull males on beds become very aggressive and will hit everything at this time. Small jigs tipped with 1.5" Gulp minnows, or any other small plastic like a nail tail or twister tail in natural colors will work as well.

This is a great time to get someone involved in fly fishing. Last year i went out while they were spawning and on one stretch I caught 45 sunnies on consecutive casts and many were the same fish multiple times.

fishva reply :

Well, the trip was a huge success. We had a camping spot right on the water, so we cast out and watched our bobbers while we played board games and things. He caught about 30 bluegill and a couple crappie.

The first morning we were there, he woke me up at 6:30 and asked if we could start fishing. Second morning we slept later, but again, he wanted a line in the water the moment he woke up.

By the end, he was casting his spinning rod with confidence (and giving me a pretty good ribbing about catching more fish than me).

Thanks, guys -- we had a blast.

HeavyDluxe reply :

Aberdeen hooks and whatever you want on them... when they are feeding aggressively/competitively, they'll bite an empty hook. One of the best baits we used last year, honestly, was small chunks/strips cut from old, discarded senkos I used for bass fishing.

Worms, crickets, bread, hotdog bits, whatever... The big thing is the longer-shank (aberdeen) hooks so you can unhook 'em.

Lund Explorer reply :

On 5/5/2014 at 12:12 AM, fishva said:

Well, the trip was a huge success. We had a camping spot right on the water, so we cast out and watched our bobbers while we played board games and things. He caught about 30 bluegill and a couple crappie.

The first morning we were there, he woke me up at 6:30 and asked if we could start fishing. Second morning we slept later, but again, he wanted a line in the water the moment he woke up.

By the end, he was casting his spinning rod with confidence (and giving me a pretty good ribbing about catching more fish than me).

Thanks, guys -- we had a blast.

Congratulations on what sounds like a very successful trip.

You've created memories that will last a lifetime for both of you.

blongfishing reply :

Rooster tails!

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