My current panfish rig is a Daiwa Regal LT 2500 and Okuma Stratus 7 rod with 8 lb mono. It works great but I am going to get myself a higher quality rig for no other reason than I like fishing a little more with better quality gear when I can and Father's Day is coming up.

I never really looked that closely at panfishing gear, but I used to live in good trout country and in the past have had good rigs for trout. My general google look at gear gives me the impression that folks spend less on panfish than on trout. Why?

Trout can get bigger, but most trout caught by most people are not larger than good size panfish. I don't think they fight any harder, just differently. I don't think they taste any better, just differently. Is it just that trout are aristocrats and panfish are blue collar?

Anyway, I'll quit rambling and just ask my question. What would be a good rod and reel for panfish that would be a noticeable step up in quality from what I have now?

The most fun you can have catching panfish is with a 4 or 5 wt. fly rod and little foam spiders or poppers.

Trout have better marketing.

No, seriously. Trout live in beautiful streams that allow people to get away from it all. They are also stocked in marginal streams across dozens of states to give millions of people access to them. The popularity is there so manufacturers have a broader audience to sell to. That makes for a broader range of gear. Consider that some fly rods are in the $1k bucket now (which is absolutely stupid), that makes for a high end market. So the like of St Croix and others have created high end trout rods to fill that niche.

To your question- if you have good trout gear then just use it for panfish if you still have it. A light power spinning rod in the 7' range with a 2500 reel and 4-6lb mono is a great choice that will catch a lot of fish (as you're seeing). If you're going specialized like jigging bushes for crappie or targeting dinner plate bream in 20' of water then you might need something different but if you just want to catch fish you don't need anything more specialized for weight and length. In that case, you are just looking for lighter, more responsive, etc. I don't know your price range, but something like the St Croix 7' light in the panfish series is a great rod at $150. If you step up to the Avid budget at $250 they have the same 7' light and I've built a couple of those over the years. Great rod.

Reel-wise, you can go light, but I still like a 2500 size. A JDM miravel for $100 with the shallow 2500 spool? Put that on the 7' light st croix and that's a sweet setup.

Casts-By-Fly, I no longer have my old trout gear. I have a St Croix bass rod that I like a lot so that idea appeals to me. I had not previously heard of JDM Miravel. I have a Shimano Miravel 3000 but want something smaller and lighter so the JDM sounds good. What is the difference between the JDM and the Shimano? Is it the same but JDM offers better pricing?

Never mind, I looked it up on google and see its part of the normal Shimano lineup. Thanks for the tip, it looks like just what I need.

I agree on all the recommendations. St. Croix + decent reel + 4 lbs mono = fun.

If you've not tried them, look into Trout Magnet 1/64 oz jigheads and bodies. I use those pretty much exclusively on my light and ultralight panfish setups. Panfish can't resist them. Try the gold jighead with a bison body combo. That works great for me.

I have a St. Croix Avid 8’ panfish rod that’s fun. I was wailing on nice bluegills just today on gulp minnows…not much more fun than 8”+ gills!

here in minnesota the bluegills pull like a mack truck going in circles and most times pull my drag.

3 hours ago, JonB2 said:

I have a St. Croix Avid 8’ panfish rod that’s fun. I was wailing on nice bluegills just today on gulp minnows…not much more fun than 8”+ gills!

I mean, 10-12” gills are more fun…

But 8” gills are the fillet size so…

7 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

I mean, 10-12” gills are more fun…

But 8” gills are the fillet size so…

Well yeah, that’s why I put “8+”…