Thread: Panfish Magnet and Casting Setup

I like Power Pro slick8 in 2lbs diameter. With the Celio I can sling a jig a good ways.

I’ve used Sufix nanobraid, Berkeley Nanofil, and several Japanese braids. One from unitika called night game in 1.5 diameter, which casts and performs very well. No lees than 5 other braids on my reels come from Varivas and I’m pleased with everything about them. I also have some of Varivas nylon line also which performs better and is smaller than any of the domestic that I’ve tried. Some of the domestic li e I’ve tried is Stren crappie in 2 lb, trilene clear 2 lb and Sufix flouroclear. All of them do well for the domestic mono line. There’s probably a few others that I’m not remembering right now. I’ll also say that I fish different than most folks. I’m usually in tight quarters up near the bank pitching into pockets and stumps and between patches of grass and just junk in general. I like the full contact of braid and it’s lack of memory makes casting very easy unless it’s windy. The Nanofil is at the top of the list for castability but it comes with a few negatives also. No abrasion resistance makes it very easy to weaken the line by bumping a branch or rock or such and the line will break a long way from any knots for seemingly no reason. I no longer use it at all. The many braids that I now use from Varivas have greatly improved my opinion of small diameter braid. Some of mine are in .2 size that rates just over 5 lbs and will cast well with a 1/32 jig weight. My favorite jighead comes from a 1/32 mold but is a ball head and actually weighs 1/43 with a number 8 hook. If I can help shorten your learning curve, I’d say to look into Varivas twitchmaster for mono line, the three pound does very well for me and most folks. For the braid I would say the Varivas Master limited super premium PE line in the diameter you choose. I always use a leader of at least 4lb clear mono for abrasion resistance and flourocarbon also gets used. Uni to uni knots do very well for both size and strength. Braid comes with some personality too like wind knots or wrapping the tip. We all get it and just be patient. Reel loops also happen and warrant frequent checking as casts are made. I’ve had bluegill hit my jig that feel like someone just tapped the rod with a stick, and I love that. Hope this helps get you going, there’s lots better casts available than 6 lb mono can deliver.

Tough to beat the Legalis reels. Good performance and bang for the buck. A nice 2 lb line should do ya.
Bob

Casting distance has a lot to do with line and weight of lure .
Bumping up to a 1/32 jighead plus the TM body and you can get decent distance with some 4# mono or fluorocarbon.
Otherwise you’ll need to go with two pond test to get any distance out of panfish magnet with its 1/64 jighead.

Thanks Skeetbum, I will look into that line!

What I have found casting light weights on a UL rod with mono, is when the lure weight gets real light, shorter rods will actually get you more distance. There are very few monos that when left to dangle straight down don't show some form of memory. Some are better than others. This memory creates drag going through the eyelets of the rod. For real light weights, this little bit of drag is a killer for distance. The longer rods have more eyelets and thus more drag. As the weight of the lure is increased, longer rods will outcast the shorter ones. The extra drag of the eyelets is negated by the weight of the lure and extra leverage provided by the length of the rod. I did a lot of testing throwing 1/64 and 1/32 jigs to realize this. Once you get to 1/16 and 1/8 jigs, the longer rods will cast further. It took a lot of testing to finally realize why I was getting the results I was getting. From this testing, it so obvious to see why a thin diameter totally limp braid with no memory will cast further.

Originally Posted by BobC

Tough to beat the Legalis reels. Good performance and bang for the buck. A nice 2 lb line should do ya.
Bob

Yeah BobC, I bought one Legalis and ended up with six of them! I also have two Diawa BG reels for my Medium rods. To me the Legalis was a solid compromise between a real high end reel and low end reel.

Originally Posted by peshtigost

What I have found casting light weights on a UL rod with mono, is when the lure weight gets real light, shorter rods will actually get you more distance. There are very few monos that when left to dangle straight down don't show some form of memory. Some are better than others. This memory creates drag going through the eyelets of the rod. For real light weights, this little bit of drag is a killer for distance. The longer rods have more eyelets and thus more drag. As the weight of the lure is increased, longer rods will outcast the shorter ones. The extra drag of the eyelets is negated by the weight of the lure and extra leverage provided by the length of the rod. I did a lot of testing throwing 1/64 and 1/32 jigs to realize this. Once you get to 1/16 and 1/8 jigs, the longer rods will cast further. It took a lot of testing to finally realize why I was getting the results I was getting. From this testing, it so obvious to see why a thin diameter totally limp braid with no memory will cast further.

This is what I have found to be true in the testing I’ve done .
Seems like ultralight rods in the 5-5’6” range are the best casters with tiny baits .