Pool 7 Panfish Report.

I’d been sitting on about a week of vacation that I’d held over from my previous calendar year. It’s not that I didn’t want to burn the time away from work, but I really didn’t revel in the thought of taking a vacation only to watch it rain. So I waited and watched and waited and listened to the weatherman hoping to score a week where the planets would align causing the clouds to part and the rains would ultimately subside.

Finally, the week of June 10th I decided to burn my leftover vacation time and dedicate those days to chasing finned critters. I don’t thing I could have timed it any better. The LM Bass are in their post spawn phase and the bite is a little harder to pattern.

Nipping on the heels of that Bass spawn is the Bluegill spawn. Right now they are up fanning beds and making for one of the hottest bites going right now. The simplest way to target these bobber dunking beauties is to hang a #4 Aberdeen hook on a spinning combo, setting it about 12-18″ below the bobber and just start casting to the water’s edge. However, if you really want to have a great time, rig up a fly rod with a chartreuse and black popper. Those Bluegills will almost leave the water when they strike at that popper. For me it’s the one time of the year when I get ramped up to fish Panfish. I love to fish them in the summer/fall on wingdams, but doing it on a flyrod is an absolute riot. Foam spiders and other color combos of poppers work well too, but I found the chartreuse and black combo to work the best.

Another great way to catch spawning Bluegills is to use ice jigs with plastics, waxies or just a small piece of worm. The added color of the ice jig really gets them going on days when they won’t commit to the topwater action. I used the Heavy Metal Tungsten Series and Diamond Jig lures from Custom Jigs & Spins. Most times I put the Shrimpo/Ratso body on them and fan cast the banks twitching the lure to the boat. The key is to keep the bait moving so that tail never stops dancing. I like the Tungsten and Diamond Jigs from CJS because there’s no need for extra weight. With the right sized bobber it stands up as it should. The overall profile allows for easy casting as the bobber slide right up against the jig. That can make life good when those Bluegills are spawning in and around brushy spots.

If you’re into the fixed position bobbers, give this a try. When we were out Thursday we noticed a lot of the Bluegills we were catching weren’t hardly moving the bobbers at all. The only time we knew we had a fish on was when we were twitching the bobbers. So what we did, was hook up some fixed position bobbers, the ones with either the spring on them or the Thill kind with the rubber stops on them and set the to the desired depth without the spit shot on them. That lets the bait sink at a very natural speed, causing panic induced strikes and a blast for the guys fishing. If you’re not getting strikes on the fall, any kind of nibble from a Bluegill moves the bobber quite a bit.

It’s weird how those Bluegills will cover the complete spectrum of feeding, from topwater poppers to the lightest bites. It’s good to have a lot of options handy when chasing those panfish.

I had a great week away from work fishing with my Dad. We didn’t find much for Bass or Pike, but where that was lacking the Panfishing surely made up for it. It was also great seeing my good buddy Bret out there enjoying some sun with his friend Tom. Hopefully soon we’ll get to share the boat together.