Dog Day Panfish

[Matt Johnson]

Dog Day Panfish

Springtime panfish are universally sought out and that’s mostly due to their nature of being aggressively schooled-up and more than eager to attack whatever you put in front of their stout little noses. Big sunfish and slab crappies are caught throughout the Midwestern belt during those times and it provides some excellent action for anglers both young and old. But, the springtime flurry doesn’t last forever and those same aggressive-natured fish will once again become less energetic and will transform into wandering nomads, only feeding when there bellies tell them to. No longer do they devour what ever presents itself, or at least not in areas where we once sat wide-eyed at springtime and early summer. Now they are on a different path, a path that leads them into the dog days of summer…

Panfish will hold shallow, there is no use disputing a statement like that, but shallow is only relative to the body of water being fished. Shallow can mean 2 feet in the local farm pond, yet in the expansive reservoir across the street it can mean 8 feet of water off a break. Panfish typically hold shallow during the spring fling and they are beginning their open water adventures. The shallow water bite may last for a period of time, but those areas will change as the season progresses, and usually into conditions that make fishing them tough. Thick weeds begin to sprout up and fresh budding lily pads turn into thick mats of green and brown walls separating you from the underwater world. Conditions call for a new approach and fish patterns will tell you the same. It’s time to seek out a new area, because one, the old hot spot is unfishable, and two, the fish have found refuge in nearby deeper water, although weed pockets are an exception. Deeper water areas usually take the form of deep weed lines or out in the open water of the main lake and mid-depth basins.

Around this time most lakes experience an influx of thick, infectious weeds, which surround much of the shorelines and usually have a deep and shallow edge. Many lakes will see this veritable force beginning in 4-6 feet of water and ending where the water drops into deeper water, usually where the break line takes a drastic plunge. Some lakes will even have a deep edge along a flat or where the thick mat of weeds disperses into scarce weed patches as the bottom composition changes. No matter the form it takes, these substantial weed lines will attract panfish, but effectively fishing them can be difficult unless you search out for pockets in the weeds. Weed pockets are often over-looked, but hopefully from now on you begin seeing them as opportunities instead of just spaces of nothingness. These weed pockets all have the potential of producing panfish. Panfish are abundant underneath the vegetated barrier and they are scurrying about picking off tiny morsels here and there. You can bet a sunfish or crappie will snatch up an easy meal if it presents itself out in the open water of one of those pockets. Some days you can set over one of these pockets and catch one fish after another. Several characteristics make weed pockets as effective as they are. Weed pockets provide an excess of sunlight, which will attract what attracts panfish, mainly baitfish and other forage. Weed pockets also seem to have a different bottom composition in the immediate area, which will also attract surrounding organisms and water dwelling insects. Just like weed pockets grab our attention, they grab the fish’s attention as well. Weed pockets are a part of my plan of attack when I hit the water in search of Dog Day Panfish.

Many anglers stop pursuing panfish once the shallow water bite ceases, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Locating summer panfish shouldn’t be intimidating and many times the fish are located in areas you seek out when bass or pike fishing. Weeds play an important role in summer panfish locations and the presence of deep weeds make things just that much better. Deep weeds and weed lines will draw in a huge smorgasbord of organisms for panfish to feed on and in very high numbers. The cool water of the deep weeds is comforting to panfish and you can expect to find them there until the weeds change or the temps begin to drastically drop. Classic summer panfish spots will remain true throughout much of the summer months and the panfish holding on them usually won’t go far if harsh weather presents itself. Deep weeds are a classic summer spot and should be a part of every panfish angler’s daily routine once the summer suns take form.

Weeds are very important, no doubt about that, and I usually seek out some form of weeds, whether it’s pockets or deep weed lines, but don’t let vegetation be your only guide to a day of success. Open water and mid-lake flats can equal victory on some days too. This pattern holds true for crappies more than sunfish, but every body of water is different and locations can vary. Crappies will roam out in open water, and usually it’s the open water areas of a bay or the areas adjacent to deep weed lines and structure. Crappies like chasing down baitfish that are daring enough to adventure out into the open. The crappies know it’s an easy meal and that they have a huge advantage over their prey in situations like that. It’s not uncommon to find cruising pods of crappies out in 30 feet of water, suspended 10 feet off the bottom. Crappie locations during the hot summer months can be very frustrating on some lakes, and the possibilities seem endless.

In order to narrow things down, you need to grab a lake map and look for possible springtime locations (where the crappies were just recently at) as well as nearby deeper water. Figure out where the deep weed line is and where, if any, is there deeper structure. Crappies will hold near and around deep structure during the summer, then when the opportunity presents itself they will slide out into the open water to feed. You will even find lakes where the crappies hold out in the open water for extended periods of time, and they won’t feel the need to seek refuge around deep structure. Cruising the break line and deep open water adjacent from shallow structure with the electronics running is a good way to locate a school of crappies. Once a school is located, it won’t take long to figure out whether or not they are hungry.

Why is it that during the winter months we target panfish in 30, 40 or even 50 feet of water, yet during the open water months we stop searching once we can’t find them in 5-6 feet of water? Panfish will utilize deep water just like walleye, bass and pike. Deep water shouldn’t scare panfish anglers, and having the willingness to target deep water during the summer months can really increase your catch. Some days it just takes patience and the motivation to look for meandering fish.

I’ve only touched on a few of the options that are available for panfish during the summer months, and don’t let these possibilities be your only resort. Fishing is constantly changing and we must change with it and adapt to the given conditions. Watch for pockets in the weeds, check for deep weed lines and pay attention to your electronics for pods of schooling fish in deeper water while motoring from spot to spot. By doing a few of these things you can eliminate some of the guesswork and wasted time spent on the water. But in the end, every day on the water is a good day if you have a fishing rod in your hand. Enjoy the summer and good luck!!!

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[FI Guide]

Matt once again great post and good to know for those that love to chase the big bulls year round.

[delmuts]

great info MATT ! i would like to add to the open water schools; that you are looking for active fish. some times( many times?) you will locate schools/pods of fish , but they are in a negetive mood. work this pod for a few minutes. no bites? start looking again til you find active ones. if you find a active pod and suddenly they shut off;try changing lures.( i.e. colors,styles) if no action; go looking again. matt. do you ever try drifting through and area that has several schools of fish ? here on a small lake i fish, that is one trick we use.

[Dan Thiem]

I agree, that was an excellent read! I always learn something from Matt's reports. Thanks Matt!

[Swimmer]

Matt: it seems like on every natural lake I have fished, there are always Summer panfish in and around the shallow 3-5' weeds. Now I have heard that the big bulls and craaps are a slightly different animal compared to there diminuitive relatives. In other words you can find thousands of 5 inch panfish in the 3-5' weeds (great for the kids), but do the larger individuals seperate themselves from the smaller? Would you find them schooling together? Perhaps in a different, deeper, locale? Thanks in advance for replying.

[CrappieJohn]

Really great piece, Matt! Good job!

[Matt Johnson]

In mosts cases, there is probably a slightly deeper weedline then where you're finding the smaller fish. The larger fish will hold in the shallower areas during spring and even some of the earlier parts of summer, but on many lakes they will slide out from those areas as the temps begin to heat up those shallow waters. The thick weeds provide comfort and shade for those fish. I'm not saying that there aren't days or even years when larger fish can be caught in the shallows during the middle of the hot summer, but when the fish are not shallow anymore, they tend to be holding in or around the deeper weeds.

To say the larger fish separate from the smaller ones I can't say for sure, because I've caught a mixed size of fish in the same area on several occasions this time of year. But, I will go as far to say that there is a better consistency of larger fish in the deeper areas. You will notice that the larger fish are holding somewhat together, but just that there are some smaller ones that follow them around as well. Some anglers will experience this and think that they are not on the school of larger fish, but in all reality they are, it's just that there are schools of smaller fish mixed in. There are only a few periods throughout the year when 90 percent of the fish you catch are going to be large gills, every time outside of that you're going to land some smaller ones mixed in. What sometimes happens is that the smaller fish are far more aggressive then the larger ones, so you might be over a large school of bull gills, but the tiny fish are intercepting the bait before the bulls get the chance to get it, or the bulls are just not as active.

This past weekend was a prime example of that. We found pods of large gills throughout the 7-10 foot weed edges and pockets, but everytime we'd slow down to fish them, the smaller fish would attack the bait before the bigger fish would get a chance. Larger fish are much more lethargic right now, but the small sunfish are like kamikazees and don't have any real variation in activity level. If you can find a clear lake where you can sight fish you will see what I'm talking about. The larger fish will slowly rise to the bait and they will often times investigate it before eating, but the smaller fish will make 10 foot sprints and smack the bait without even thinking, and they will do this while the larger fish are sitting inches away from the bait. The best activity levels I've seen lately (in referrence to larger fish) are when there are cloudy skies. Sunny skies will find an angler fishing much tighter to the weeds and even right inside the thickest weed patches in order to pick up some fish. Or else out in deep water where sight fishing is not an option.

I know that there were a few anglers this weekend who did well on large sunfish in 20 feet of water. They were targeting walleyes and found large pods of panfish holding in the bottom off the deeper breaklines. This is an example of when the fish came be located out in deeper, open spaces. Not much going on for structure or very apparent weeds, but the deeper, cooler water was an appealing feature for these fish.

Each lake is completely different though, and there are several characteristics that come into play. Water clarity, weed growth, bottom content... the list goes on and on. But, if you are only finding small sunfish in the shallows, then I would see if you can find some larger fish in the adjacent deeper weeds. Chances are those larger fish are still somewhere close by (unless they were never in that area to begin with).

Another option would be to look for large docks or boat-lifts where you have a large patch of weeds in about 3-6 feet of water. You might be able to pick up some larger sunfish in those areas too...

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[Dan Thiem]

Yet another excellent read! Matt, you alway seem to have good reports. Easy to comprehend whats being read. Good quality posting!

[Matt Johnson]

Another spot I forgot to mention was bull rushes. This past weekend we found some of our better gills in the bull rushes and pencil reeds. Fishing in and amongst them is very tough due to the fact that the sunfish will swim in circles once hooked and they will wrap themself around one of the reeds. This is almost impossible to force out when using light line and tackle. What we did was pitch a plastic under a small float and try to get as close as we could to the reed line. If you were too far off the edge then you wouldn't get bit, but anywhere within about 3 feet or so and they would come out and grab the bait.

One of the odd things we found was that it was a rocky/sandy bottom in about 5-7 feet of water. The water was fairly clear too. Those sunfish must have vacated the shallow spawning areas and stopped in the reeds to feed. I would like to see if they're still there in a couple weeks...

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[eyepatrol]

Those are great posts and great info Matt!!! I love to do the panfish thing later in the morning and early afternoon, after I've gone after walleyes and the info you've given will help out tremendously I'm sure!

I can relate quite well to what you commented on regarding bigger 'gills in deeper water along with the smaller ones, with the smaller ones being much more agressive. I was fishing Twin/Sylvia lakes near Kimball a couple weeks ago for sunnies (water surface temps were around 73 to 75 degrees depending on where you were fishing). There were still some nice 'gills on their beds, but I found them rather difficult to catch as they spent most of their time and efforts chasing away the smaller fish. I'd have to nearly bump the bait on their nose to get the fish to bite, but what seemed to work better was to land the bait on the bottom of their bed, twitch it a little and leave it rest on the bottom. They'd come up slowly to it and take it in, but they weren't really in that big of a mood to feed.

Well, getting back on track to the deeper fish. Twin/Sylvia is some pretty clear water and I was site fishing in about 6' of water after hitting the beds in 1' to 3' of water. I came up on a pod of 'gills and could see the nicer ones hanging down there with all kinds of smaller fish around them. I tried getting my jig down to them, but like you said, the little guys would dart out and take it before the big guys even had a chance. I could see that the larger fish were hanging down a little deeper than the smaller ones so I tried heavier jigs to get down deeper, faster, attempting to get to the bigger fish, but to no avail, the little guys were just too quick to the punch. So, to "counteract" my problem with the smaller fish, I would cast my jig out into deeper water (probably out in 11' to 13' of water), let the jig basically settle to the bottom, then pull it slowly in, keeping it deep enough so that when I did reach the area where the 'gills were, I was underneath the smaller gills and the big ones would then have a chance to get at my jig. The technique worked quite well as the smaller ones stayed up shallow and the bigger ones were hanging down about 2'-3' deeper than the small ones. I would even catch a few nicer ones on my casts out to deeper water before even pulling back to where I could see the fish. All in all it was a great day. I didn't catch the 10"ers I read about in this forum, but I did get some very nice 7" to 9" fish. Not exaclty the real deep water fish (like 15' to 20' deep), but similar principles seemed to apply in this instance as to what you've mentioned.

Lots and lots of fun those bigger ones are!!! One of my favorite fish to catch (and eat!!!).

Thanks again for the info and keep up the good work!!

[markkstanley]

I took two little girls and their Dad out last night for their "first" fish. Thought I would just go for the little sunnies for action so stayed shallow around docks. Was pleased to find some nice groups of larger gills hanging under boats. Seems the little guys had the end of the docks out to the weed line covered but caught quite a few nice ones by flicking Stub grubs under the boat lifts and letting them settle. The little girls had a blast and Dad has a whole bunch of photos/video so the night was success.

[CrappieJohn]

Good work Mark!

[markkstanley]

CT I was pleasantly surprised with the Stubbies endurance. I had started with the Culprit paddletails but got the tail bit off every other cast. Maybe because of the slower fall the Stubbies were just inhaled - no tail bite off.

[CrappieJohn]

Mark.....The plastic used in the Rats and Stubbies is quite tough even if it does feel soft to touch. To give you an idea of how tough if is, I fished one Stubbie for almost two weeks and turned it 180 degrees once on the jig. It is still on the jig! And this was during one hellacious period of action.

I've got just a bit more to do, but look for some interesting observations I plan to post in the next couple days about the Stubbies/Rats vs. the Culprits.

Another thing Mark....look to see the preference go from the Stub to the Rat with the summer's heat building in the water. As young of the year forage begin to emerge from their larval haunts, the preferred profile of the plastics will shift to longer, thinner. While the Stub's profile and action will still produce, the Rat's narrower appearance will more closely match the shape of these small fry. This trend will hold together pretty good until early fall when the sunnies and crappies put the feedbag back on big time.

As always, I've been doing some cutting and welding....only this time with some scented products. What I have seen thus far is pretty impressive too, but work has sort of kept me away from the water for a while and my toying with these items has been shelved. I want to try and get out tomorrow or Friday for a couple hours to do some jigging.

[united jigsticker]

July, August, September...

Now is my time of year to fish the Crappies.

I know da' folks get excited about springtime Crappie angling, but now is when a fella can really boat alot of Crappies in an hour.

Did I say ONE hour? Yep.

It is far from uncommon to boat 60 Crappies in 60 minutes this time of year...For one guy's efforts.

The Crappies are agressive, and will chase a free falling jig, smack it on the drop, and take ya' for a ride before you know what's even going on.

I tallied my bananas in an evening of fishing during a mid-July Crappie angling outing a year ago.

4 hours of jig casting produced 236 Crappies. (may I add, 236 of these fish were released immediatly)

Yeah, it's true.

The water is warm, the metabolism is high, and the fish are in their feeding prime.

And they can be easy to locate.

If they are near the weeds, they can be found quickly by casting a jig to the weed edge and letting it drop.

A couple of lifts and drops during the retrieve, and soon you will pick them up as they are eager to smack the old jig offering falling above their heads.

If they are away from the weeds, they are more then easy to spot on electronics, typically suspending in thick schools in 12-24 feet of water.

And don't pass up the twighlight periods yet either, as the fish can move to within inches of the surface over 20 feet of water or more, and feed heavily as the sun sets.

Man...If everyone knew how great Crappie fishing was this time of year, they'd all put the Walleye sticks down and pick up the small tube jigs.

Yee Haw!

[Matt Johnson]

Hey there UJ! Good post! So, have the crappies been good to you lately?

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[united jigsticker]

Yeah, they have been

The last time I was out was interesting.

The fish on the east side were in 8-14 feet of water, hitting free-casted jigs at will on the drop.

The west side of the lake saw most fish in the 5-7 foot depth range, and a still approach was most effective on these fish.

Lots of fun to say the least.

We are leaving Wednesday for a camping excursion on Cross Lake near Emily.

I have never been on this body of water before, so I am anxious to slay some slabs. Big lake eh'?

[Matt Johnson]

A camping excursion huh, sounds like a good time. Cross Lake is a good lake, you're really going to have to work for those slabs up there right now, but I know you're deep water guy and I'm sure you'll land your fair share of fish. Drop me an e-mail...

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson