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Panfish (panfish?)Oh, I know this is supposed to be a snooty bass site, but what the heck. Everyone likes a meal of panfish and there’s’ no better time to catch them than in cold water and in the spring when they’re feeding heavily. Flyfishing for panfish is a great way to limber up and remember how to fly cast or just a great way to learn. Fly fishing is a great way to catch these shallow water fish. Here’s some ideas on how to approach panfish. These tips come from a fly fishing addict in St. Paul, MN named Kurt Nordrum. Kurt runs a local fly fishing club devoted to one thing - enjoying the outdoors through fishing! Here are some of Kurt’s tips on flies and approaches: Early Season Crappies Start your crappie fishing when the water warms to about 50 degrees. They will be found up shallow near downed timber, weed lines and especially in pencil weed rushed. Warm water and this cover can yield great fishing for slabs on a fly rod. The gentle presentation of a fly versas a jig or plug prolongs the catching when a school is found and is a lot more fun. Flyrodding for slabs also can be done in areas away from the boat traffic where the minnow slinger hang out. Many times small schools of slabs can be located with a fly in areas where no body would normally look. White, black woolly buggers, the Pink Mascara, or small Clousers work well for these fish. It may be necessary to use a sink tip in addition to weighted flies as these fish may be found in four to six feet of water. Mark the spot carefully as crappie schools can be very small in size. As the water warm, crappies will do more chasing of baits and the action can be wonderful. All white or grey and white Clousers work well also. Small silver and black mini Clousers can be a change, but I have found that the silver tinsil gets eaten off quickly when the action is hot. Early Season Bluegills: Choose a lake with one or more protected north shore bays. These waters warm first from the sun. A bay protected from the NW wind is also very good. On sunny days the water warms quickly during the day so fishing can start mid morning. On cloudy days the water will take longer to warm and the fish may not be up in the shallows until after noon. With very warm water, the fish may be in very shallow water. That means one foot or less. Smaller flies with longer leaders will be required to catch these no water fish. Pick a lake that has a good bluegill population. A lake that has a large number of year classes will produce a better early season fishing trip. Fish will hold high in the water column as the water warms and draws them out of the main body of the lake. Gently casting with very light tackle is required for these surface oriented fish. Be quiet, fish slow and carefully pull the fish to one side of the area holding the school to prevent scattering the entire population. As the sunslowly sets in the west, the temp of the water will slowly cool and the fish will sink deeper in the column. After about 4pm the high column fish are gone and the bite is falling off and it is time to go have a burger at the corner café. Have fun and take home a fish fry. A fun source lake for this style of fishing is not a limitless resource.
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