How to Catch a Panfish

Small Creeks Run Deep

When you see a small creek like this, you might be tempted to write it off.

You can see that the creek is not very wide, and the cattails give the impression that the water is not deep.

Here's the thing about creeks.  They can be deep.  Much like rivers, there's also one side that's deeper than the other.  In this case, it was the near side of the bank, and I measured off about five feet of water.  The most shallow part was actually the far side, over by the cattails.

When a creek has that much water, it's time to go fishing.  My daughter had worms, and I had hotdog weenies.  We caught some FISH!

Don't ever write a water hole off.  Release some line from your pole into the water.  See how much line it takes to hit the bottom.  This gives you a rough depth estimate.  Remember, it only takes a little bit of water to conceal a BIG fish!

The turtle and all of the fish were released unharmed, including the fish that bled a bit from the gills.

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!

Fishing with Kids

Fishing with your children is both rewarding and challenging.  As an adult, you can cast into the depths and enjoy the scenery while you wait on a big fish.

Most kids are not big on waiting.  They tend to reel in a couple of seconds after they cast out.  This can be frustrating, and you may find yourself asking them to count to 30 before they reel in.

Believe it or not, there are smaller fish that can provide you with a solution.  They go by many names, but they're all close cousins.  Two of the more common are perch and orange-spotted sunfish.

               orange-spotted sunfish

                             perch

In large lakes, these fish can grow big enough to keep.  In most cases, they are only inches long.  Check your state's regulations for legal sizes to keep.  The fish pictured above were promptly returned to the lake.

These fish travel in schools.  They hit bait often and aggressively.  Your kids will literally pull one out after the other.

So how's it done?  First, you need the right hook size.  Generally speaking, that's a size four or smaller.  These fish have tiny mouths.

Next, you need the right bait.  In this case, you want worms.  I'm not talking about a whole worm or even half.  You'll want to use a third of a worm.

Third, you have to know where to put that worm.  Sunfish and perch hang out right beside the bank.  They're in a depth of inches, not feet.

Last but not least is technique.  Tell your kiddoes to take all of the slack out of the line.  Lower it into the water but don't let it touch the bottom.  The second the line tugs hard, your child should give it a jerk.  Nine out of ten times, they'll jerk the fish right out of the water!

There you have it.  Your kids are now happy and occupied while you catch the grown up fish!!