Thread: panfish versus bass

There is something about a bobber being sucked under so fast it leaves a hole,,you know what I mean,,and also something about the "thunk" we all feel when we set the hook. Plus we have time to watch the eagles soar, today I watched a marvelous display of flying by a sparrow hawk and a small bird, The bird eluded the hawk but the dog fight in front of me was carried out in a thicket of limbs, vines and cedars, I wouldn't have noticed that, had I been chunking and winding for bass...Day before yesterday, a bald eagle and a inmature eagle soared above the bluffs of Piney Narrows...Today was a great day, I spent it in the theatre of the master, the creator, I was in awe.

Give me a fly Rod over a bed of bluegills over just about anything except Steelhead in OCT.

Originally Posted by Sacalait67

Ok, this is gonna sound real sappy.
I fish for panfish for many reasons. I love the fight, love bringing home a big stringer of fish, like to tie my own flies and want to get into tying my own jig. I even pass up redfish spots (I live 1 mile from the salts) to travel 30 min to fish for bream.
But the main reason I love fishing for Pans is that is what my grandfather fished for almost exclusively. I was 5 when he started taking me out to fish and continued till I got too old for such things to be cool. He is gone now, and I'm 44. It brings me back to being a small boy with no worries about work or bills or paying for the kids braces. Just me and memories of "paw paw". I know, lost my man card on my 2nd post lol.

Guess I'll turn my card in as well. Some of my best memories are sitting on a five gallon bucket with my Grandpa not saying a word. It amazing how long you can stare at a bobber and not get bored.

Panfish anyday, many times on camping trips, I sit looking at fishermen bass fishing and not going home with one fish while the wife and I have caught us a nice mess of fresh Sac-a-Lait (crappie) waiting for the fish fry and grease.

My fishing addiction began on the ice and i targeted Crappies 100% caught a lot of nice ones in the 5 yrs I've been suked in. The summer of 2011 I (and i don't know what took so long) got my first shot at summer fishing and I was after Bass right from the get go I personally don't target pike but who doesn't like reeling in the big one. I don't discriminate against any fish finely filled

when younger i was one that like slinging crank baits and rubber worms for bass. Now i would much rather jig for crappie & Gills any day. i like it so much i finely broke down and sold all my bass gear this year it was just sitting collecting dust.

Most of the time I am just targeting bluegill and sometimes crappie (planning on expanding my crappie fishing this year). I fish from a boat with my 9yr old and 6yr old most of the time and they enjoy the frequent action of panfishing. We use 5-5 1/2' ultralight rods and small spinning reels with 4-6 lb mono line, and a good bluegill on this tackle puts up a pretty good fight. 90% of our panfishing is with a slip bobber rig with nightcrawlers or wax worms and Powerbait CrappiNibbles.

We do target largemouth at times, along with white bass and catfish, but it's hard to beat the relaxation and fun of panfishing most of the time for us.

I fish for anything anyway that is legal. One of my most memorable fish was a gar that got snagged on one of 16' rods when I was spider rigging for crappie. In a way, the difference between pan fishing and bass fishing is like the difference between squirrel hunting and deer or elk hunting. A lot of the techniques I used as a kid to catch panfish 50 years ago, are now big deals for bass. I did not know that that little trick I used to put my grasshopper right in the middle of a lay down would come to be known as flippin. Pan fishing taught me how to work a patch of water to the point where if there were fish there, I'd catch them. The InFisherman folks have the right idea - all fish are worthy to be pursued, enjoyed and respected. They are all different but they are all great.