Panfish Pointers

Few anglers would dispute that panfish provide the bulk of fishing opportunities and effort in Wisconsin. After all, panfish provide great action and are fairly easy to catch, evidenced by the 58 million panfish anglers caught in the 2006 license year. Best of all, panfish taste great!

Here are some of my time-tested fishing tips for increasing your catch, developed over five decades of pulling in panfish and 25 years as a fisheries biologist in Plymouth.

The number one rule is to KEEP THINGS SIMPLE. Use:

• Ultralight tackle
• Light test line (2 to 4 pounds)
• Small hooks for sunfish and perch (#10 and smaller), larger hooks for crappies
• Small bait ( grubs, small leeches, small minnows, red worms, small plastics)
• The lightest weight required to get the bait down and the smallest bobbers to keep the bait positioned

The next key is to find active fish. Panfish are more actively feeding at sunrise and sunset. However, they are sometimes cooperative during the entire day, especially if the water is cloudy.

Quality-size panfish use very specific areas of a lake. Concentrate your efforts on outside weed edges, openings in weed beds, fish cribs and tree falls. Larger bluegills and crappies will often suspend over water 15- to 20-feet deep in summer, where water temperatures are cool and where their food (plankton) is abundant. Remember that they may be found in only 5 percent of the lake area, so you will have to move around a bit to find active fish. Slip bobber rigs are great for keeping the bait at the correct depth. Perch are often right on the bottom of the lake, feeding on snails and other organisms on rocks or in the mud.

The best technique to locate active panfish is to drift slowly across likely areas often, keeping track of where the best action is found. Use a small variety of techniques (plastics versus live bait) at different depths to find the fish. Use lake maps to mark where fish cribs are located or where fish were found to be active. Change locations often until the fish are found. Slight movement of the bait will often stimulate a strike.

Below are some waters where fisheries biologists have documented good quality panfish populations. Most of these waters are large in size and may withstand more fishing pressure. However, that small lake in your county may be a good bet as well.

Northern Region:

Wading in the water on a hot summer day served up cool relief and great panfishing for these girls.

• Chippewa Flowage, Sawyer County – Bluegill and crappie
• Chetek Chain of Lakes, Barron County – Bluegill, crappie and perch
• Turtle Flambeau Flowage, –Iron County – Crappie
• Lac Vieux Desert, Vilas County – Bluegill and crappie
• Upper and Lower Clam Lakes, Burnett County - Bluegill

Northeast Region:

• Green Bay – Perch
• Shawano Lake, Shawano County – Bluegill
• Lake Winnebago Pool Lakes, Yellow Perch
• Cauldron Falls Flowage, Marinette County – Bluegill
• Green Lake, Green Lake County – Bluegill

West Central Region:

• Mississippi River Pools, Bluegill and crappie
• Mason Lake, Adams County – Bluegills (small), crappie and perch
• Lake Menomin, Dunn County – Bluegill
• Tainter Lake, Dunn County – Perch
• Stevens Point Flowage, Portage County – Crappie

Southern Region:

• Lake Monona, Dane County – Bluegill
• Fox Lake, Dodge County – Bluegill, crappie and perch
• Beaver Dam Lake, Crappie and perch
• Lake Koshkonong, Jefferson County – White Bass
• Rock Lake, – Jefferson County – Bluegill

Southeast Region:

• Lake Delevan, Walworth County – Bluegill
• Pewaukee Lake, Waukesha County – Crappie and bluegill
• Lake Michigan, Perch
• Big Cedar Lake, Washington County - Bluegill and perch

Regardless of where you fish for panfish, enjoy the experience and the good eating that results. Remember also to limit your take of panfish. Quality-size panfish are a limited resource. Leave some for tomorrow.

John Nelson, fisheries biologist, Plymouth