Gotta Have It!

[FisherMissis]

I have room in my kayak for ONE plastic divided tackle tray. What should I absolutely, positively have in my tackle box to help me catch panfish? Give me the IDEAL inventory so I can print that out and use it as my shopping list. Remember to tell me specific names, colors, sizes, etc... because I'm just not as "fishing-smart" as you guys (but I desperately want to learn!) I'm going to GM on Thursday and would like to be able to pick up some stuff while I'm there. Thanks! (Also would appreciate the same info for walleyes and bass, for those of you who have some suggestions)

[CrappieJohn]

I have some toys for you.

[riverrat56]

Well if i was limited to one box for panfish, it would include:

Ratso's and Shrimpo's

Some small random jigs

Ice Buster or Wave Buster Bobbers

Bare Hooks, size 8 or smaller

Bettle Spins

Round head jigs, 1/64 ounce and 1 1/2 inch twisty tails

Split Shots

A few small cranks, like 1 1/2 inch cranks

Bobber stops

Crappie Queen and Flu Flu jigs, Blue and wihte, White and Pink

As far as for bass and eyes, in one box, Lots of round head jigs in assorted colors and differt sized twister tails. It you can manage a few buzz baits or spinner baits would be good. Also i don't know if live bait is an option but if it is, i would recommend some walking sinkers and bare hooks for lindy rigging.

RR56

[Dan Thiem]

River Rat,

You just described my little tackle box. Awesome job! She can't go wrong with that.

[FisherMissis]

Hey, thanks for the great reply! This is PERFECT... now, what do you mean by small random jigs? (I'm telling ya... I'm kind of S-L-O-W about this stuff!

[squeedunk]

At GM you will find a wall full of bulk tackle from Northland Tackle Co. There will be jigs of all different sizes and colors. They range from 1/64 oz. to 1/2 oz. in most stores. 1/64, 1/32, and 1/16 oz. sizes are what use most of the time for sunnies and crappies. For bass and walleyes I typically use 1/8 oz jigs. My favorite colors are white, black, orange, and green or chartruse. There will be some jigs that have several colors on them which is also a good choice. Pick a color that looks good to you (they all work but some fisherpeople have preference for one reason or another). I have some of every color in my tackle box. Just pick out several of a few different colors and sizes. You can get a ton of jigs for for pretty cheap. I think they are usually 3 for $1.00 or something like that.

If you are fishing in a kayak you may not have room to bring live bait with so I would suggest getting some Powerbait (small curly tail grubs and tubes) 1"-2" size work best with the panfish sized jigs. Powerbait is a soft plastic bait that is sold in ziploc style bags (it smells and has flavor that fish seem to like). You can use the fake bait with a bobber or just casting and retrieving. If it is Powerbait the fish will hold on much longer giving you a better chance of catching them. Powerbait is usually $3-$4 a package but it lasts longer than real bait and works really well. My favorites are 1" tubes, 2" curly tail grubs, and 1" nymphs. White is always a good color for Powerbait too. Any of the colors they have for the nymphs will work too.

For Bass and walleyes I have a lot of success with 3" Powerbait minnows and 3" curly tail grubs on a 1/16 or 1/8 oz. jig.

I hope this helps a little bit. If I think of anything to add I will let you know. RiverRat has a good list to take with you shopping.

~Squee

[FisherMissis]

Thanks! Now, while I'm thinking of it... can you describe more specifically how to jig or cast and retrieve? I mean, I know how to DO that, but I don't know about depth or type of jigging, speed of retrieve, etc.

I already asked this on the Gals forum, but I may as well ask here too... do you know of a good "fishing for dummies" dvd?

[riverrat56]

By small random jigs i mean anything that is from 1/32 or smaller that can be tipped with a waxworm. Lots of times i will just buy panifishing kits meant for icefishing, you can probally find some cheap this time of year. My favorite colors are orange and yellow. Some other guys might have more specific names. Northland Ants come to mind, as well as tear drops.

I would be sure you at least have some Wax worms or Eurolarve with in your kyack, They don't take up hardly any room, you can probally dump them in to one of the tackle box dividers if you have to.

RR56

[CrappieJohn]

Waxworms are not needed now. There are a half dozen plastics that will kick the waxies to pot. Unless you are faced with a very deep cold front, now with the water open, a paddletail will smoke the craps. Sunfish, too, will jump all over these plastics.

If you are faced with a cold front of major proportions down size to something on the order of a flick tail, still using the 1/32 ounce head and give it very little action other than a steady, slowwwwww retrieve.

My last two outtings have been on open water and have not involved bait other than the plastic. You simply don't need bait now.

[FisherMissis]

Hey Tom, when am I going to get my TOYS?!??!!?

[delmuts]

dear ! as for how to fish a jig; this can be a whole new book ! first it kind of depends on the spiecies, and situation. panfish; when fishing shallow many times i use a small jig under a float . this is to help control the depth of your jig, plus it can give you options of twitching it,slowly reeling it in,or pull and let the jig slowly fall while keeping the same depth. ( and yes it also lets you know when you have a bite!note too. a bite may be a simple twitch of the float, it may just stay overly still, or you may see a little pop and it goes flat. these are all signs of a bite) this works well for depths down to 4 or 5 ft. to swim a jig, you are casting it out, and counting it down to fish a certain depth. or they can be vertically jigged wether fishing the bottom or holding a certain depth for suspended fish. this is just a start. Tom and some of the other guys can give you more and better info!

[CNY Lee]

Where can i get some of these paddletails? Our crappies get hammered on in the spring and looking for an edge but after the spring I think these crappies hang in our bays but nobody ever targets them. I don't even know where to start looking.

[CrappieJohn]

CNY....After the spawn look for the females to hang over deeper water just off from where they spawned....about 6-10 days depending on wind, water, weather. When the eggs have hatched the males will join in. Post spawn can be tough for some areas due to their loose schooling and spread out territories. A good way to locate numbers is to drift or slow troll. But when you start seeing males on the nests, back out to a bit deeper water and check for active fish.

If you drop me an e-mail I'll send you an address or two for getting the paddletails. There will something new in the future too.

[FisherMissis]

Hey CT, Thanks for the TOYS and the wonderful introduction to crappie fishing with plastics. I learned a lot, and I now have a good collection of "tools" to add to my tackle box. It was a good day on the water even if the fish weren't cooperating.

[CrappieJohn]

Always a pleasure to have you along!