Targeting Larger Panfish

[jlreding]

Great site! I discovered the forum about 2 weeks ago and have loved browsing all the great information & pics posted. Had to sign on.

My fish of choice has been Bass for the last several years, and have done the majority of my fishing in the Brainerd area. However, Spring Fever hit me hard this year, and I needed to get an early fix. Panfish seems like the only option this time of the year, so I've been fishing metro lakes and having a ton of fun. Never been a huge fan of eating or cleaning fish, so it's all C&R for me.

My question is whether you're for the most part simply playing the law of averages in regards to size when Pan fishing, or whether different approaches are successful in targeting the larger fish. I've been using 1/32 oz jigs with tubes, minnow tails, twisters, Flu-Flu's and have caught a ton of fish. I understand that going with a larger jig-head & skirts will eliminate some of the smaller bites, but does that necessarily attract larger pannies? Will the larger fish bypass a smaller presentation? Recently, I've been starting small to locate the fish, and trying different approaches thereafter. Upgrading in size has worked on occasion, but are there any other approaches? Are the bigger ones deeper (I've been bobber fishing 1-3 ft down), do they hold in different locations? Do the like different presentations?

It's all about the sport for me, so as in my Bass fishing, I like targeting the big dogs. Hope to hear some suggestions & commentary.

[slipperybob]

all I know is that big fish do no hang out with little fishes. If you run into nothing but little fishes, you're not likely going to find the big ones around, rare but still possible to get a big one.

Move like 20 to 30 feet and get away from the small ones...there if favorable, there'll be a few big ones together, if there's a few of them. They'll school together, somewhat.

[Timrek]

If you really are fishing the "metro" chain of lakes (Cedar, Isles, Calhoun and Harriet) there is a lot of stunted sunfish out there. It is not like fishing up north. In my experience if you get a 10" bluegill you got your self a whopper!

That said I fish mainly from shore and they may be schooling out in deeper water where I can’t get to them.

[magic_minnow]

Hey JLREDING and welcome to FM! I think you'll find most of the people here are friendly and helpful.

For me...i'll have to agree that the larger pannies tend to stray off from the school....try a few yards away from the smaller school. Also, take off your bobber. Try just free jiggin. For me thats attracted the larger pannies, maybe because they like to hang low beneath the smaller pannies. Just my 0.02 though. Good luck!

[jlreding]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I have been primarily fishing the city lakes (Calhoun, Cedar, Isles), so good point on the smaller fish. But I have also taken my Kayak out a few times to several smaller lakes in Bloomington. I suppose I have found a few of these lakes seem to hold slightly bigger fish, so perhaps that's the key. Thanks again!

[Corey Bechtold]

Try fishing larger profile baits. This will keep the smaller fish at bay giving the larger fish a chance to slide in and take your offering. I really like Berkley Powerbait 1" Tubes and 2" Minnow baits for this situation.

Good luck,

Corey Bechtold

[BillP]

In my experience there are a number of ways to target larger panfish and several have been mentioned. mostly they boil down to "if all you are catching is little ones than change something". Bigger fish can be above or below little ones. They are often nearby in slightly deeper water especially by mid summer. They often feed most activly near sundown. The key however to catching really big bluegills is to fish for something else. I catch a lot of bluegills but my friend a bass fisherman always catches several really nice bluegills. It stands to reason, I always catch a lot of little bass when I am trying to catch sunfish. It was a joke when we started saying that "big bluegills think they are largemouth bass", but I have come to believe it's true. Bumping a jig or lindy rig along the bottom in deep water will catch the occasional walleye but most times you will also pick up some real nice bluegills. Remember, you can keep all the little gills you want but throw a few of the biggest ones back.

[slipperybob]

While drop shotting for walleyes, the first fish I caught with my new drop shot pole was a near 14 inch crappie...big surprise to me. On occasions I catch a few bluegills on a lindy rig w minnow for walleye. Sometimes I hit the rock bass hole and I have to get away from that...

[nofishfisherman]

During the mid summer I have had really good luck slow trolling for big Gills. A small spiner with a leech trolled slowly was the ticket. Hooked nothing smaller then 8 inch Gills. Same area while jigging with a half a leech, or a leech under a bobber we got into alot more smaller fish, a few big ones mixed in but not many.

The small ones just did not go for a trolled leech.

[Matt Johnson]

Upsizing is definitely a good way of going about it. I'll sometimes pretend I'm targeting bass and use some of my smaller bass plastics. It's amazing how large of presentations pannies will hit, especially crappies. Don't be afraid to throw 3 and 4 inch plastics at these fish.

I would also shy away from using livebait it you're looking to increase the size of your fish. Sure, livebait will catch big fish, but I'm a firm believer that plastics will give you the upperhand in most situations. Profile and action are key, and those two things are really what seal the deal anyway.

Spinners and small cranks can produce some larger fish, but then again they really seem to attract the pike and bass too. And cranks don't come cheap I'll just upsize my plastic and look for new locations when targeting larger pannies. Look towards more mainlake structure and areas where you find bass. These can be great gill spots during the summer. And for crappies I'll stay on the same mindset and target mainlake areas. Isolated humps hold crappies during the summer months. Smaller fish will school up and cruise shallower areas, but larger fish need some sort of adjacent deep water.

Targeting larger pannies only takes a few small moves, most of which I'm sure all of you already are aware of, but we just get stuck in a rut. Increse profile and make locational moves, those two changes are probably the most important...

[jlreding]

Thanks guys...excellent feedback. I plan on testing several of your suggestions tomorrow from the kayak, weather permitting. Try as I might, I've been unable to find a local shop that carries the 2" Power Minnows. I do believe I've seen either the 3" or 4" variety carried though, and will give that a shot per Matt's suggestion (as well as the Power Tubes if carried). I'll report back if I'm able to hook in to anything of size. Looking at the pictures posted on phot sharing thread, I think it's safe to say I've been doing something wrong. Any rate, best of luck on the lakes this weekend. And thanks again.