Panfish

Does anyone jig for panfish while fishing for walleyes, or aren’t they in the same areas.

Are you saying does anyone jig for panfish while soaking a larger minnow for walleyes?
I would say most do not. Panfish bite on Mille lacs typically only happens in the south bays or harbors. People who catch them are typically targeting panfish. They may catch a random pike or walleye however.

Thanks

The pan fish bite on Mille lacs seems to be part of a secret society.
I’ve heard there are very large crappies & bluegills but there hard to pin down & it’s a short window to target them.

Maybe it’s a myth 😂

I’ve tried & failed.
Only successful trip I’ve personally had was 10 years ago, south bays & almost ice out , we pounded the perch just outside a bay transitioning to deeper water.

But no bluegill or crappies , yet.

I’ve always wondered where people caught those slab crappies out there too. The best intel I could find was in the spring after ice out in boat harbors. I’ve never caught any myself but when I worked for the DNR back in the mid 2000’s I saw some of those 15 inchers in person.

It’s not a secret society you just have to know the proper handshake.😂 Uh oh I may have said to much already.
It’s mostly a timing thing and I don’t even mean time of year. There are some real big crappies in the lake but not real big numbers for the size of the lake. They pretty much don’t show there face in the main part of the lake. I can tell you if you pick a random Saturday early or late ice your chances are not great. The guys that fish the NAIFC did well a few years ago with some impressive crappies.

That certainly could be my entire problem, the hand shake lol.
So this High School fishing league you mentioned, did they happen to be targeting crappies or just stumble across them ?
I think this is a great topic, because there is zero information, post or articles in regards to crappies, like mentioned by gimruis.

Only place I’ve been told to have success are the docks in Terry’s boat harbor in the spring ?

Ice Season it’s tight lipped.

NAIFC is National American ice fishing circuit. Is was the national championship a few years back. Yes they were targeting panfish

Ice Season it’s tight lipped.
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As it should be.

futurepoorperson wrote:

Terry’s boat harbor in the spring

I have heard this too. You’d be surprised how many of these boat harbor/inlet/backwater areas there are on Mille Lacs.

I’ve caught crappies in a few boat channels, but never anything special. Maybe 3/4lb at best. I’ve never tried them through the ice except maybe in Mac’s Twin Bay one time. I know guys that have caught some pigs though through the ice and open water.

Ripjiggen wrote:

NAIFC is National American ice fishing circuit. Is was the national championship a few years back. Yes they were targeting panfish

They were out of Chapmans or should I say the former Chapmans. They were fishing weeds I heard, we tried a week after and did not have any luck. Also hear like others said in channels or boat harbors early spring I would imagine looking for 55-58 degrees water temp.

Perhaps these panfish are completely dormant during Ice Season ?

futurepoorperson wrote:

Perhaps these panfish are completely dormant during Ice Season ?

Drill a bazillion holes in Isle Bay or Wakon Bay you will find a few eventually.

Why waste your time & money… So many lakes around that cesspool that allow walleye & great panfish.