Thread: Want to focus on pan fishing this year

I would not get too hung up on all the different body types. Just pick one or two and go from there. The trout/crappie magnets are great. I've been using the Bobby Garland Baby Shad's a lot, too.

I prefer not to use a bobber when jig fishing. I just cast and retrieve. If the 1/64 oz is hard to cast, try a 1/32 oz head. Lighter line (2-3#) will also help casting distance.

Originally Posted by leomort

I'm not sure about beetle spins as I have my own spinner arms to attach to jig heads and I use curly tail grubs. In your opinion, how effective is the split-tail beetle? I found a vendor who sells the bodies. Just wondering if anyone has tried used the beetle bodies by themselves?

The beetle spin body is good. I prefer without the spinner, though.

Originally Posted by leomort

I would really appreciate the experience crappie/pan fishing to help me with a dedicated set up with the limitations of space and mobility of being a bank fisherman in mind.

I would go with a 6-7' light or ultralight rod, spinning reel and 2-3# line.

A lot of guys here like the JDM rods/reels/line. (You can read about them in the sticky threads above.) There are lots of other rod/reel options, though.

Oh, I also wanted to try those 2" stinger shads from Southern Pro. I think they would work great on 1/16 and 1/32 oz round head jigs. The 2" stinger shads would replace my 2" curly tails. The 2" stinger shads would be my go to for crappies and larger panfish on jig heads or jig heads with spinner arms.

My thought were to use the beetle bodies as a larger trout magnet/crappie magnet type lures and when the fish wanted something more subtle. These would replace my 1" curly tail grubs.

I like using the smaller kast master spoons 1/8 and 1/12 oz lures. They seem to catch everything. Can be cast very far which is sometimes helpful for a bank fisherman, and fished in a variety of ways, just like jigs. Plus cheaper than most crank baits.

I love those small floating rapalas. They seem to catch everything and I don't lose many of them since they're floaters.


Regards,

Leo

Depending on your budget, the TSS Trout Magnet and BNM TCB Rods are very affordable and I know the TSS is a real fun rod to use. Alphahawk has a nice review in the Crappie Forum of the TCB. Pair that up with a pflueger 20 size reel and you have a great balanced setup.
have fun
Bob

Thank you, deathb4disco!

Thank yo, BobC!


Yes, I will probably have to upgrade my rod and reel set up for a dedicated panfishing. Right now I have a light action ugly stick elite, I think. It's a 2pc 5'6" rod rated for 1/16 oz to 3/8 oz weight, and 4-8lb line. I have a daiwa ss tournament 1300 series spinning reel that I'm going to put 4lb mono.

As Disco says...lose the float. There are a ton of good panfish lures out there. I happen to use the Trout Magnet for 95 percent of my fishing...and I do a lot of fishing. Micro Jigs will catch any fish that swims...big or small. I catch a ton of crappie and don't carry all those colors. I fish out of a boat...yet everything is on one box. I would pick one or two good microplastics...learn how to fish with them and stick with them. You can check out my channel and get an idea of what micro jigs can do...TroutMagnetMan on YouTube. You may want to check out the rod Bob mentioned. It will be far more sensitive than the Ugly Stik and using some 2# test line you will be able to cast smaller jigs longer distances. Best of luck.

Regards

First, welcome from Central Florida. We all started somewhere and asked lots of questions so ask away, one of us will answer.

In the above posts you’ll notice mention of 2lb line. Don’t let the numbers fool you, it’s tougher than you think. A lot of us use hi vis so we can see it better but it isn’t necessary. I use a 5’ leader on some of my Stren crappie 2lb just for durability around rough stuff, but it isn’t needed for everything. I fish from a boat and cast into some stooopid stuff for that light a line and have to go after it often but it’s very seldom that’s it’s broken by a fish. A 7’ rod and the light line would help the casting distance, and the shock absorber like longer rod also helps with landing bigger fish on light line. There are rods for $18 and up so the choice is up to you how much to spend. Good luck, have fun and keep us posted.