Crickets for Panfish

I am just curious if anyone has used them? I have never tried them besides maybe catching a grasshopper or cricket along a creek and using it as bait.

I stopped into Bitters and picked some up for the pond to try something different. The gills in the ponds will readily bite on worms until they start getting suspicious. I’ve tried gulp crickets/waxies and they completely ignore it (out fishes live bait my butt). Southerners seem to swear by crickets, so I figure what the heck.

Any suggestions on hooking them?

I’ll let you know how I do. If you don’t hear from me I either had to many of something from the good summertime cocktail thread or it was a bust.

I know the bait shop on Kentucky Lake use to carry them as the shell cracker (large gills) season came around. Said they were like “the bait”. They had a large box filled with them

Crickets work great. I’ll use the thinnest hook I can get by with and slid it under the shell of their back mid-section.

The biggest concern when using crickets is proper storage while fishing. I’ve heard, that the best thing is to keep them warm using the same device that youngsters are told to keep their worms warm in. (but that is just what I’ve been told)

Well I went through half of them so far…

…feeding the resident lizards.

I’ve used them and hook them behind the bottom of the thorax and come out behind the head. Done ok with them, but they’re a one-fish-to-a-bait type of bait so you spend a lot of time rebaiting.

Pug, you’re bringing back some good memories for me now! I grew up south of St. Louis, Missouri and we fished for bluegills with nothing but crickets.
For your hooks, we used to use a gold Aberdeen #4 or #6 long shanked hook. I think Eagle Claw even used to call it a “cricket hook”. Grab the cricket from its back and turn it so the bottom of the cricket is facing you with the head at the top. Insert the hook point in the thorax area and thread the cricket onto the hook until the point comes out of its tail end. When you’re done, it will look like the cricket is holding on to the hook shank. Add a split shot 6-8 inches above the hook and use a Styrofoam float, the type that slides on the line and has a wooden dowel in the center to hold it on your line.
Finally, a good 5 1/2 to 6 foot ultralight rod and 4 pound test line and you’re set. Pick up a tube of crickets and start catching ’em. You’ll find the bluegill are pretty particular and won’t bite a cricket that’s already dead, which is why your Gulp baits didn’t work.
Now you’re making me hungry for bluegill filets!!! Give me a call after you catch your limit and I’ll come down and help you eat ’em. I need to make a swimbait order from Bitter’s anyway, so I could kill 2 birds with 1 stone by flying down to Orlando. Good luck!

My first attempt was a fail. I bought a live target sunfish top water and wanted to try that, plus a pole with a Zara spook in case the bass were pressing the baitfish against the shore. I should have left them behind and concentrated on the gills.

I had a ton of crap go wrong, but I’ll spare you most of them.

The most important was I used a weighted spring bobber. For a weight I used one of those tiny Texas bullet weights you use to peg the bullet weight. That tiny weight caused the bobber to sink. Really? I didn’t bring another bobber so I was screwed.

I did miss a couple bass on the live target sunfish. Pond fishing in the summer down here for bass is tough. Best odds are a half hour window at the crack of dawn.

Oh, the cricket cage also opened up on the bottom while I was doing something and all but about 6 escaped.

I did use the crickets as you said, because I researched that ahead of time. Oh well, at least 6 lizards ate well today.