CeeJay

Awesome. Remember to go with your first choice/instinct when comparing two new rods at the store that seem about the same. And if you really want a UL try to resist the temptation to get an L....they are not quite the same Good luck my friend.

Yeah the BR forums are awesome and the people are friendly I joined BR mostly to learn new bass techniques after a long break, and of course also help others and share my experience whenever I can. Meeting anglers who cast their line for other species is a huge bonus

Yeah there are also magazines and all kind of tournaments and organizations dedicated to Crappie. Lots of info about fishing for them out there.

Awesome pics

Yep I agree. The 1" black grubs are very good panfish plastics. I use the white and yellow as well. And of course the 2" versions are also good but my stock has disappeared

Berkley Gulp maggots on a tiny jig or just plain small hook, under a small float, is pretty much as close as one could get to having a 100% chance of catching a panfish or ten. But you are fishing different waters than I, and by perch do you mean actual yellow perch? Or the bluegill and related sunfish? I ask because regional names vary and some anglers refer to all panfish as "perch", which can be a bit confusing Anyway though don't worry, you'll catch them. If you find yourself in Walmart definitely check out Berkley Gulp panfish baits, and a couple little floats and small split shot. Also pick up some little cheap trout flies. I'll post some pics of my main panfish rigs and how I set them up soon, probably tomorrow...spinning with flies, Gulp baits, hair jigs etc.

Cast and retrieve at different speeds and depths to find some active Bluegill, Rock Bass, etc. I attach the split tail Beetlespin bodies to higher quality micro spinnerbait wire/heads/hooks (in the pic it's the yellow/black). The other is one of my SK Mini-Kings, 1/8oz, (the largest bait in the picture). I use them as search baits, just like for bass. But I'm guilty of occasionally falling into the trap of fishing inlines and spinnerbaits and even little spoons like the Kastmaster (top center in the pic) to the exclusion of other lures because it's fun My best Bluegill have been landed on more subtle float fishing techniques.

For Crappie in a lake or pond yellow or yellowish-orange is always a good choice. But if you ever check out Crappie-specific lures (and there are many hundreds of them) you'll see thousands of crazy colors.... When looking through my own lures though I tend to keep things a bit more simple when color comes into play. Having 50 different color combinations of the same exact 1" Crappie tube, for example, seems kind of ridiculous to me. Keep in mind I'm no expert on Crappie though.

Oh man that sucks, I'm glad you're ok. I've hooked myself pretty good but never quite that bad yet...it's only a matter of time though I'm sure.

I've fished for bass UL and L for pretty much my entire angling "career" Indeed a true UL rod can easily hook a good bass, either that or my UL rods and the bass I catch are lying about their true power ...but the problem comes when a rig has the hook buried in a soft plastic, as it will snap the line on a hard hookset. So to compensate for that I learned to "texpose" my senkos and worms, etc. For me now that's the only way to rig those baits with 4-6 lb mono line. I had a very good 6'6" Quantum UL that was my primary rod for a long time. Unfortunately it was stolen during my time off from fishing. So this year I decided to see what's out their in the UL world, and ended up buying two...a 7'6" and a 6'6" BPS Micro Lite Glass (not graphite) rods. A good test of a UL is to see how far you can cast a 1/64oz jig on 4 lb mono. Both of my Micro Lite Glass rods cast them much further than my late great Quantum ever did (which was graphite). They are stunningly great rods for $20 each. The 7'6" is my primary float rod, the 6'6" my general purpose UL. I had ignored the potential of fiberglass rods in the past...but they excel when throwing tiny lures. They sacrifice sensitivity compared to graphite, but once I adjusted my casting to the glass it's now silly how far they'll toss the tiniest lures I own. Good luck my friend. Bass can't be beat on UL tackle...tons and tons of fun.

Yeah it depends on the depth the Crappie happen to be. If blind fishing an area I'll let the jig drop more and more on each cast, count it down...but most of the time I'd just use an Inline spinner to locate them, but also let it fall progressively deeper each cast before retrieving. And a cool thing about jigs under a float is you can set it at any depth...even just off the bottom of the lake if necessary. Slip floats are a must for Crappie fishing in my opinion.

A little sampling of my panfish tray There are more but I tried to lay out my most used lures and floats.

Yeah Rock Bass are very numerous at my favorite local spot on the Shenandoah. Extremely aggressive little fish and like you said will usually hit bass lures. They love spinnerbaits for sure I really need to get a new fly rod. My budget is a bit tight at the moment, but I have very fond memories of catching Bluegills just as you described...poppers along the shore under trees. Fun times.

Hey there Jacob For rod and reel I'd go with 6' (minimum) light or ultra light spinning rod. A reel spooled with 2-6 lb test line (for mono), 4 pound test is a good all around size line. I do drop down to 2 lb test though sometimes when fishing for bluegill in relatively snag-less water. For terminal tackle: BB and B sized split shot will come in handy. Hook sizes will vary...larger for Crappie, smaller for Bluegill. I use sizes 2 down to 10 aberdeen hooks for most situations, but there are many other styles. Floats/bobbers. Ignore those old large red and white globes I like the smallest and thinnest floats possible to suspend my jigs and bait. I recommend Thill gold medal balsa floats and Trout Magnet foam floats. Can't go wrong with either brand. Lures: 1/32 - 1/8 oz inline spinners are great for finding active panfish (and pretty much any other fish as well). Hair jigs and shad dart type lures are great when drifted under a float, or even just reeled in with various retrieves. Panfish love small crankbaits as well. Rebel's crickhopper is my favorite when twitched on top. Flies meant for fly fishing for trout will produce big Bluegill and Crappie. And you don't need a fly rod to use them There are cheap clear "casting" bobbers that can be filled with water to cast tiny flies. I use them frequently. Also there are some nice panfish poppers and small bass bugs that work very well. For bait, as opposed to lures/flies, Berkley Gulp is amazing. The Gulp Maggots are arguably my number 1 Bluegill bait when rigged on a small jig head. I'll usually fish these under a Thill mini- shy bite float. Cast out and use a stop and go retreive, or if you're just relaxing...let it sit out there and something will find it Berkley Gulp are indispensable baits and I buy mine at Walmart. Well, that's my very short to the point, little intro to panfishing haha If you need more let me know. Panfishing can become just as involved and detailed as bass fishing, or kept very simple. Either way, it's tons of fun and Bluegill are pound for pound one of the top fighters in fresh water.

"God never did make a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling" - Izaak Walton. "I am, Sir, a brother of the angle" - Izaak Walton (1653) Good stuff I could quote the good Piscator all day long.

Awesome. I read Izaak Walton's "Compleat Angler" once every few years...sometimes dull, sometimes cool but always a good read Oh and don't forget Charles Cotton....the fly angler to Izaak's live-bait style.

Yeah very early morning is the perfect time for me as well. Everyone's still in dream land and we can cast our lines in a peaceful setting I love fishing early, such a great escape and does wonders for health as well.

For me it's health, I suppose. I've been dealing with chronic illness since before I first started fishing almost 20 years ago. It has cost me a few years of fishing, but I don't care anymore and will fish as much as I can. My routine right now is at the river by 5am, back home by 9am every other day if weather permits.

I love those Rebel cranks...the craw, frog, etc. Some of the few cranks I have confidence in. I don't really hear much about them these days, but they're great. I rarely start a morning of Smallmouth fishing on the river without tossing a Rebel crank or topwater (CrickPopper or Hopper)....kind of a "secret" weapon for me I suppose.

Crazy stuff. (hides my 3" bass baits)

Definitely check out the "Other Species" forum here on BR and ask away with any question about panfish A few BR members have recently caught some massive Bluegill.

Oh definitely, I'll be fishing for trout Looks like I'll be moving to Col. sooner than I thought..probably October 1st now.

That's awesome. And props to you for rescuing the kitten...wow 3 weeks was so young. I bet he's a cool cat. I have 3 here with me and they always know when I'm going fishing...they won't let me set out my tackle without trying to attack the line, rods, etc Those jigs look great. Hair jigs are so deadly for panfish, and I love the darter heads.

Haha you beat me to it my friend Yeah those Gulp Maggots are great.

The Berkley Gulp baits are amazing. I've been using the little jar of Gulp Maggots for bluegill over here and they seem to love it. I like to rig them onto a tiny shad dart hair jig, as well as on tiny homemade plain jigs so that they remain horizontal and natural looking in the water under the float. With those little Crappie Nibble pellets I used to stuff them into mini tube jigs just to add some scent. On their own the pellets didn't really work for me. I noticed recently Berkley has expanded their Gulp panfish baits quite a bit. Tons of experiments upcoming Also try to use the smallest possible floats/bobbers you can find. Thill mini-shy bite floats (fixed but adjustable) and Center Sliders (for a slip float) are what I often use.