Well that easy pickens spring time bite for panfish is over. No more shallow water bobber fishing for crappies and bluegills. Mike and I had a very successful spring panfishing season. Lots of fish and lots of fun.
Now we have to change our tactics to be just as successful and yes, summer panfishing can be very good, providing you are willing to adapt.
Deep, the are going deep to escape the heat and find that comfort zone.
Setting a bobber shallow and going for it is easy, but when it comes to deep fishing, that is another proposition and can be both work and frustrating.
This is when you need to employ new techniques.
First one has to have and rely on electronics. You will need them to find the fish. During the hotter summer months the pannies will be scattered out over the deeper pools at different depths.
Once you locate these suspended fish, how do you get down to them with any precision and do it quickly.
First choice for many is the slip bobber which can be very affective. However, if you are having to move around, most likely you will have to continue changing or sliding the knot to accomodate the correct depth.
The quickest way to fish deep is to straight line with no bobber. Kind of a jig, but not using much jigging action.
OK, then how does someone know how far down you are with your presentation?
Couple of easy tools to use are, using the lenght of your rod as a measuring tape/ruler and or knowing how much line is retrieved when you reel it once.
I use a 9 foot ultra lite, so when I dangle my lure from tip to the butt end, I know I have 9 feet and I can quickly lower or raise it accordinly.
Lets say I spot fish at 14 feet. Dangle out 9 and hand strip out 5 feet quickly.
Use your rod as a measuring tape.
The reverse of that would be, hit bottom with your bait, then if you know how far each turn of the reel will bring the bait up, you can raise it into the fish zone. With mine, each turn equals a foot. So if you are in 25 feet of water and the fish are at 21, turn your reel 4 times and you should be there.
Either way, remember, panfish will come up and not go down, so you are better off making the mistake of fishing a little higher then lower.
You can still get by with those smaller more enticing jigs however because of their lite weight it can be frustrating to wait for the decent. Simply put a split shot about a foot above your bait and down you go much faster. However, after fishing awhile, you will notice a twisting affect on your line between the split shot and jig. Sorry there is no way to get away from this and you just have to get into the habit of cutting off and retying.
Yes, the dog days of summer can be very productive for crappies and gills if you are just willing to adapt and go deep.
June 17, 2006 at 3:28 pm
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