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Try some bigger and smaller baits. 3"+ or 1.25" jigs. They should be more active mornings and late evenings and be more aggressive and shallower. They will hang on those steep contour lines in the...

Purple head color for just about everything, next option red, then plain unpainted for what I do.

Like other have said, black, brown, olive, also red.

I always thought the red/orange simulated the colors of a spawning bluegill and irritated them enough to strike.

I do much better with the...

James A Reed spawn happens really early, end of March to early part of April. Those small lakes are shallow and heat up quickly.

I have two St. Croix Premier rods, 6' light action. I use 4lb mono and 1/48oz-1/8oz jigs with them just fine. 90% of the time it's 1/32 or 1/16oz though. The only thing wrong with the St. Croix...

I have a different spin on the "my spot" claim.

You load up the boat, know exactly where you are going to fish, have been hitting the same (dock/tree line/creek bend, etc.) spot 3-4 times a week...

How were you fishing them on the 1/64th oz skeetbum? I cast the 1/32 oz, and had some 1/16 #8 and #6 sickles made so I could use them on a 12' jig pole. I use them for crappie, shellcrackers, and...

Yes it has been a really odd spawning season this year. We've caught some on the bank, but its a trickle, not a huge wave like some years. Even at the smaller lakes around KC, the crappie haven't...

Bobby Garland itty bit swimmer, in eclipse (black on top of blue), key lime, or all black. Can use the Bobby Garland 1/64, or 1/48 oz #8 jig hook perfectly with these.

Killer bait for panfish.
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I drop shot for them. Cast out with a #6 long shank hook about 12-18" above the bottom weight. Casting out and working it back creates an angle that has the worm closer to the bottom than it would...

Try'n Hard may be on to something.

I've been on fire long poling beds, really sticking to the fish, and then missed a couple and wondered why that was that I missed a hard hit that felt like the...

Set the hook immediately. It should up your hook-up percentage.

Bending the hook tip out should also help.

Ketchn is right though, a lot of times it is smaller fish or bluegill that are...

Water in bag for all fish and game that I freeze, yes even deer. It can't get freezer burned that way.

Looks like one of my family trips. I had 3 of us in the boat Saturday evening out after panfish. Brought home a little mixed bag of crappie, bluegill and shellcrackers.

I use an old fly reel and see no reason to change it.

Nice fish. Can't wait until they get their span on here in MO. One small shallow local lake is warming up pretty decently, the rest are 3 weeks off or so.

I take what will fit in a fanny pack, 3 mid size plano boxes, a small bag of bobbers, some misc soft plastics shoved in the pack in their original ziplocks, a jar of crappie nibbles, and a couple of...

I have used that exact same pole in 13', and have a 12' expandable also, and they are fine for what they are, but not as versatile as a regular dipping pole with guides and a reel. That said, I have...

With 10-12' jigging poles spooled with straight mono I add a rubber bobber stop that stays by the reel, just where my hand holds the rod to mark how much line is out.

Another jigging pole is...

Super looking bait! Excellent colors too.

#6 1/32oz Round head sickle
#6 1/16oz round head sickle
#2 1/16oz round head w collar sickle

The #6 for 1.5" tubes and smaller plastics, the #2 for 2"+ plastics.

Paint- Purple is my #1, Red...

Length of day light triggers spawn.

Spawn generally starts where I fish at 60-64* water temps, can spawn up to 70*+.

Spawning depth depends on water clarity, anywhere from 1'-20', but...

Cool stuff!

With 1/32 oz jigs and a stinger hook, the geometry to keep the stinger from tangling with the main hook, and/or the line is a problem, and I haven't gotten the action that I was looking for either. ...

Keep us posted on this if you would.

I've been working to find a successful articulated body jig for a while now and have almost given up.

I fish a lot of the places that you fish on Truman, up river from Bucksaw, and have for 20 years. There has been a real change in the fish population and the fishing pressure over that time. The...

Try a #8 and #10 wooly bugger. I also tie them on jig heads also, very effective fly. Any nymph pattern should also work.
Would be better to tie the pattern and to the line with the hook point...

I agree with Ketchn, I think the bigger fish spawn earlier.

Depends on water clarity, but I like blue/pink, purple/chartreuse, black/blue.

I do think fishing pressure can help panfish, crappie and bluegill specifically. If you don't take out quite a few they will become stunted and that is a hard situation to overcome. Generally if...