My dad was a staunch advocate of 20' long, telescoping fiberglass "cane" poles, 6lb line, #8 hooks, bobbers and having the line as long as the poles.
There were other people, seemingly of sound mind, who did not agree with him.
Bev who tight-lined.
Some who advocated for 4lb or even 2lb line.
Some liked #10 hooks (when they could find them). A splinter-group of heretics used #10 hooks to catch creek-chubs...but not for eating. They use the creek-chubs to catch pike and bass and channel cats.
Lovers of crappie (called "specs" or "speckled bass" locally) favored #6, gold, mustad style hooks.
The kids liked spin-cast rods and reels although the old-men out-fished them 2:1.
I even heard outlandish rumors of people who used Velveta or kernels of sweet-corn for bait.
My oldest brother went over to the dark-side. He spends actual, hard-earned money to buy meal-worms to use for bait rather than digging up local, good-enough-for-dad earthworms.
Catching panfish is one of those fundamental, food-on-the-table skills that every kid over the age of 8 should know how to do. Indeed, this is one area where No Child Left Behind failed.
Do any of my readers care to share their opinions on good ways to put panfish into the skillet?
I strongly believe the only thing that matters for panfish is getting the depth right. However you want to do this, dapping from a long pole, bobber, jigging, I don't think matters. You simply must put a reasonably sized hook at the correct depth where the panfish are at that time of year.
ReplyDeleteA foot too high or low means you'll catch nothing, or only smalls. IMO
This is where a slip bobber comes into play. Bait will gradually descend to the fish's depth then...fish on.
DeleteBobber and a worm... hard parts finding them?!?! Structure of somekind was always a go-to.
ReplyDeleteStructure is easier to find in dam-ponds than natural lakes in Michigan.
DeleteThe DNR does not allow the permanent addition of structure. And in a classic case of institutional schizophrenia, will not allow the removal of any "structure" that magically appear.
It might be different in other states. But in Michigan, old docks that used to be fish-magnets cannot be replaced after they finally collapse beneath the tops of the seaweed.
Fly rod
ReplyDeleteSunny day, cane pole, bobber, folding lawn chair, nap.
ReplyDeleteFish are an optional plus.
Nothing bad can happen when you are holding on to a cane pole,
A Little East of Paris
Smaller bait fish, fingerlings and new spawn, hang close to the shoreline, away from the larger fish.
ReplyDeleteCast your bait (I have had great luck with dough balls, rolled long to look like tiny spawn) parallel to the shore line, about 10 feet out and reel in slowly. Hold your rod out so you are drawing in along the shore, not in from deeper waters.
As soon as you get the hit, reel in fast, unhook the Crappie, Blue Gill, even Small Mouth, as fast as you can, re-bait and recast.
The activity causes a feeding frenzy and draws in more pan fish and larger predators. It only lasts for about 15 minutes. They you have to fish deeper waters.
Not official advise. I have my own fish pond and as Grandfather to many local kids I take the fishing.
ReplyDeleteKids like to catch not fish.
Punctured can of cheap cat food a week before I take them fishing almost guarantees they are happy kids.
That and the fish fry and ice cream :-)
Overseas I've used conical fish traps, and the advantage is they are alive, undamaged so you can keep them alive and fresh pretty easily. Thomas Jefferson's Monticello has a small manmade shallow fishpond next to the basement kitchen door. The kitchen staff (see how PC I can be, sigh) had the job of using an oar to stir up the water several times during the day to keep the fish alive and fresh for dinner.
My favorite bait is crickets and grasshoppers. nightcrawlers and redworms are OK, but any freshwater fish knows what crickets and grasshoppers are- FOOD. If there are any fish of any sort AT ALL they'll come for those. Cane poles work great as you can carefully lower the bait just where you want it. I've caught just about any sort of freshwater fish you can name with those two baits- pike, bass, channel cat, yellow perch, crappie, bluegill, walleye, all sorts of trout, salmon. They ALL go for crickets and hoppers. Crickets you can grow at home, too.
ReplyDeleteI hated the early spincast reels. Only caught snags on the backlash.
ReplyDeleteMy dad bought wigglers when we went for perch in the fall.
I heard of people using corn. Worm, hook and bobber is how I did most of my fishing. Same with my dad, except when we fished for catfish. Nightcrawlers then.
You all be safe and God bless.
An air rifle.
ReplyDeleteShoot a rabbit (or, if you are in the USA, a skunk, possum etc.), stab it several times through the body and hang it over the stream from a tree.
After a few days, it will be lifting with maggots and as they drop into the water the fish congregate for the free feed.
Shoot a fish through the head as its head breaks through the surface. No fishing pole, no fine for fishing without a license/permission etc.
Phil B
Hard to beat a cane pole; easy for youngsters and oldsters alike to handle. I do love to cast a fly rod, and was thinking this evening of fly-fishing for bluegills with my Dad from a little johnboat, and how much time he spent pulling back over to the bank to get my fly out of the trees/bushes I'd snagged my fly in.
ReplyDeleteDown here in South Louisiana you don't here crappie they are called sacalait (bag of milk in french) in North Louisiana They are called specks or white perch. Bob in B.R.
ReplyDeletesorry should have proof read hear not here
DeleteNo better bait than Catalpa worms.
ReplyDeleteDo you still have catalpa worms? I haven't seen one in years.
ReplyDeleteI moved back to where I was raised for 7 years, and never saw one the whole time . They were wonderful catfish bait.
As a kid we used bamboo cane poles rigged the same way with bobbers and long shank hooks and frozen minnows for bait for snapper blues in great South Bay, Long Island N.Y. I don’t know the hook size and long shank because snappers have wicked teeth. Grown up blue fish of 10# or so off shore are called choppers because of what they do to schools of bait fish!
ReplyDeleteThe answer is totally seasonal. Spring/Summer/Fall all require different approaches. And then there is ice fishing!
ReplyDeleteGet to know your local fishing hole year round - and follow the seasonal fish patterns. Tackle and bait will change season to season.
Started my kids out on cane poles. Daughters were game when small. Dainty now that they are ladies. The son is now the fish wisperer. Runs with fancy bait casters. Knows bass pond behavior. Asked the fellow down the way what he could do to earn the privledge of fishing in his pond.
ReplyDeleteUltralight standard spinning reall, four lb line, number 10 carlisle long shank hook (easier unhooking) European style quill sliding float and red worms. The red worms are best if self raised.
ReplyDeleteWay back in 70's in the spring and panfish were defending their territories, I would tie a length of monofilament to the end of Dad's Daiwa 9' surf rod for a make-shift cane pole. A small hook (I don't remember size but it was long shanked) and a masa harina bit of dough would be pinched onto hook. No bobber or weight, the hook was swung towards toward and quietly 'plunked' onto target. Beds were in shallow water in the irrigation canal and Bluegill / Rio Grande Perch / Redear would aggressively remove debris from their beds. A lot of fun with some meals were provided for the table.
ReplyDelete