Where to go for early season open water panfish?

[mainbutter]

It's approaching that time and I'm eager to break in my new 4wt fly rod and canoe.

I'm hoping to get on the water by april 1st at the latest, chasing panfish (be it 4'' bluegills or big crappies, I don't care).

I live in the cities but am more than willing to drive.

Does anyone have any suggestions for where open water will be within the next few weeks? I've never chased panfish in rivers but would love suggestions if that's what I'm going to have to look at for open water.

If it makes a difference, I'd rather catch a mess of tiny fish over getting skunked chasing big'uns.

[basssmasher*]

Main. e-mail me @ [YouNeedAuthorization] at yahoo i think i can help you brcause I did the same thing last yr with my new flyrod and it was a blast!!

[carpmanjake]

i have been fishing a small river quite a bit the past week. alot of craapies in there.

there were bowfisherman there the first time i went, i was going for walleye, and when they circled up by the dam, and started heading back down, there was a HUGE wave of crappies anywhere from six to 10" with a couple that looked at least 12"

[mainbutter]

seems like your email was replaced in your reply, teejay.

you can write me at my username here at g-mail

Thanks guys!!

[JBMasterAngler]

Go to the backwaters of the mississippi down by wabasha. That's where I always go to break in the new open water season, except it's from shore for me. In a canoe you could cover alot of area.

[mainbutter]

Wish me luck. I'm going to give it a shot tomorrow. Since I haven't even had the chance to scout anywhere yet, I might get skunked. I don't know where any the soft water is but I'm hoping that just about all rivers are a fairly safe bet.

The plan is to go south, maybe southeast, and hit a couple places I have never fished before from shore. I might keep the canoe dry until the lakes open up, I don't like dealing with too much current if my put-in is the same place as my take-out.

Thanks for the tip about Wabasha, if I get that far I'll give it a shot

[JBMasterAngler]

I didn't know you planning on heading out so soon. My guess is those backwaters are gonna be locked up pretty good right now

Last year I fished down there the 1st week of april and there was still big ice chunks floating around.

[CrappieAttack]

JBMasterAngler,

I have never fished open water on the river, can you give me an example of "backwaters".

Is this where there is a finger off of the river where there is no current?

Is that considered backwaters?

I didn't know you planning on heading out so soon. My guess is those backwaters are gonna be locked up pretty good right now

Last year I fished down there the 1st week of april and there was still big ice chunks floating around.

[JBMasterAngler]

I'll use Wabasha as an example since that's the area I know the best. After you cross the bridge into WI the road runs along a backwater system. There are side channels and current in the area, but it's alot of bays, sloughs, and lakes. There are 2 or 3 actual boat launches, but with a canoe you can pretty much launch where ever you want.

[blackdog1101]

When do the crappies and pannies generally move into shallower water? I presume right after ice-out they still mainly hold in the deeper holes. At what temperstures do they begin to move into shallower water?

[pushbutton]

Bdog, i have found they usually come up shallow after a few "nicer" stable days after ice out. lets say 2 to 3 sunny days in the 50"s, and then run back to the holes with any unstable weather. Either way you can often find them in either place, problem is getting them to bite when they retreat back to the holes. finding baitfish is the biggest key up shallow.

[OnAFly]

That's what they did to me this week. I was hitting lots of fish in shallower water on the ice. Went out this morning after the cold front went through. Didn't mark a single fish and had to kick holes open. The genius I am, I decided not to bring the auger or ice scoop. I'm guessing they went deeper where there weren't any easily kicked open holes. My last outing and I got skunked, just one more reason to break out the long rods I guess.

[fishinfey8]

what type of flies are generally used while panfishing?

[OnAFly]

Every time I tie up flies all the ones that don't come out right go in the panfish pile. It doesn't seem like there is any real pattern to them. I trail a #12 bead head hare's ear nymph about a foot behind a Chernobyl ant. The ant really gets their attention, then they hit the nymph.

Really, I could replace the set up with a combination of anything that is big and floats well and a dropper of any larger nymph. I always mash the bard down on the dropper since the occasionally try to swallow it. With a barbless hook the mortality rate goes way down.

[goblueM]

like onafly said, pretty much anythign will work

my all time favorite my be a foam yellow spider though for gills

[OnAFly]

If you don't have a large pile of junk flies sitting around, using foam flies is a good way to make your flies last a little longer with the aggressive strikes of bluegills.

Also, flies with rubber legs, as opposed to natural legs (like feather), will last longer with bluegills.

[blackdog1101]

Just dom't make the rubber legs too long. Otherwise the fish tug at the legs rather than take the hook into their mouth.

[Jim Uran]

Immediately after ice out crappies can be tough to find, well for me anyways. I stay out on the ice pretty late and have a few spots pegged, and they usually aren't far from there. Right now they are moving towards the shallower bays especially if you have a good run off and even a feeder creek coming in.

I try to fish the same areas once the ice goes off and find the fish suspended over these same spots, but they move around so much it's hard to stay on them. Once I mark fish suspended I throw a marker buoy out and fan cast the area with light 1/16 or smaller jigs tipped with plastic . I really think the slow sinking helps you stay in the strike zone longer and really the fish aren't looking for a huge meal this time of year.

Once the water creeps into the mid 40's to 50 is when the shallow north bays really shine. Stealth is key while chucking small jigs into the shallows, these fish are spooky and too much noise and commotion will get you shut out.

A good calm sunny day(rarely happens ) will get those shallow bays warmed up quicker, and there can be a difference of a couple degrees or more rise in water temp from morning to afternoon that can get the fish to move in. Add submerged timber or reeds to the picture and you increase the odds of finding fish because they help warm up the water a little quicker and add cover. Dark bottom bays are really just bays that are filled with decomposing weeds, leaves, branches and other organic matter. It settles on the bottom and creates a fertile breeding ground for what the baitfish are feeding on, and in turn, the crappies follow the baitfish in. The dark bottom obviously helps warm the water also.

Keep your presentations simple, a lot of times I'll throw on a small jig and clip a bobber on so that the bait is no more than half way down. Crappies always feed up and if you have your bait set too low, you might be missing out. Also move around a lot, we all know that crappies never stay in one spot very long, if you are having trouble finding them move. If they are there and your presentation is right they'll bite. That's what they are up shallow for, they are feeding.

If you can't find them in the shallows scoot just outside the shallows and try your luck out in deeper adjacent water, they are probably just staging waiting for the right time to cruise on in shallow. The presentation shouldn't differ much, just drop your jig down a little farther.

The right weather is key in finding these shallow slabs, cold windy weather will shut the shallows down really quick.

[fishinfey8]

Thanks guys. I'm looking forward to trying this as soon as the lakes warm up a bit.

[popriveter]

I've always alternated between white tube jigs and crappie minnows in the early spring. I fish on the warmest days I can and start about 1 hour before dusk. Also, this early in the year, I stick with lakes that are shallow. If it has an aerator in it, it qualifies. I keep the bait about 1-1.5 foot below the bobber and retrieve as slowly as i can reel. This pattern has worked great for me every spring I've experienced.

[wildmanp]

lake pao is doing good

[mainbutter]

Has anyone seen sunfish up shallow yet? I went out two days ago to a few places just north of the cities, and there was nothing at all swimming, even on the warmer north side of the ponds.

[OnAFly]

The weather needs to settle down a bit before they'll move up again. When the water is cold, low pressure systems, wind, and cold will push panfish from their spawning/staging spots back into their winter haunts or somewhere between. So far we've had a lot of windy colder days, so shore fishing hasn't been real productive.

Looking at the forecast, it looks like we've got some warm windy days coming up. This should clear off the lakes pretty well, but it may keep the panfish from the shallows too.

[mainbutter]

Yup thought so. I fished a small lake that opened up just in the past few days, not a sign of a single fish. It was windy as heck, good practice casting a fly in the wind though.

[OnAFly]

I hate trying to cast in this kind of wind. I always end up hitting myself with a fly at some point. Hooded sweatshirts come in handy then!