How to Catch a Panfish

Best Way to Identify Crappie

Crappie, bluegill, and sunfish are all included in a group of called panfish. They have a lot of similarities in appearance, but it's important to know when you have a crappie versus another type of panfish.

This is especially true here in Texas, where crappie are considered game fish but bluegill and sunfish are not.  Bluegill and sunfish are good cut bait for catfish.  It is absolutely illegal to use crappie as bait.

Let's start with comparing a crappie and a sunfish.  In the photo below, the crappie is on top and the sunfish is on bottom.

Now let's compare a crappie and a bluegill.  Again, the crappie is on top.

Notice that in the case of sunfish and bluegill, there is a distinctive black spot on the bottom rear corner of the dorsal fin that the crappie does not have.  I'll let you study the pictures to note other differences.  Now you can catch panfish with confidence!

The fish pictured were released.  Tight lines!

Sunfish and Bluegill Fishing

Sunfish and bluegill are fun to catch.  This is especially true if you're fishing with kids.  Find a school of these panfish, use the right bait, and your kids won't be able to keep their hooks or lures in the water.

So let's start with step one - where to find them.  Bluegill and sunfish frequently hug the shoreline, especially when there's cover like grass or rocks.  Check this out.

That rock pile screams fish, including bluegill and sunfish.  Take a closer look.

Lots of cover, and deeper water in front of the rock pile.

Now the bait.  I'd say the big three are worms, corn, and the Rebel Crickhopper.  Today we just had corn and the Crickhopper.  As you can see, we caught some large sunfish.  The kids had a blast.

If you use corn or a worm, I recommend one split shot weight and a size six baitholder hook, which is a small hook.  To rig the Crickhopper for these fish, you need only tie the lure to the end of the line.  No weight needed.  You want to fish it on or close to the top.

All fish were returned to the water unharmed.  Use extreme caution when fishing on or around structure.

Tight lines!

Rebel Crickhopper Review

So I'm perusing the fishing aisle at Walmart on Sunday, and I'm looking at the lures.  Slowly but surely, I'm building my collection of plastics and lures in order to do more bass fishing.

Out of all those lures, what caught my eye was this very realistic-looking grasshopper lure.  So I take a closer look.  The package says that this will catch trout, bass, and panfish.

I often use non-game panfish as cut bait for my first love - catfish.

I'm thinking about my usual process to catch these panfish.  It involves going to the store, buying nightcrawlers, and then heading to my lake.  I can't help but think that it would be nice to have a lure that would catch a non-game panfish, so that I could go straight to the lake and skip the store.

So with a great deal of skepticism, I made the purchase.  Then I tried for a panfish.  The first two casts resulted immediate strikes.  Cast three resulted in this.

That lure is a Rebel Crickhopper, and that's a sunfish, my friends.  Below is the catfish that followed the sunfish.

Let's also not forget that this provides a solution to worm hands and worm dirt still caked around your fingernails after the third wash.

Last pic.  Check out that moon!  Nothing beats night fishing.

Tight lines!