Page 58 - ODUMar-Apr2019

The big lake near where I live still

had a lot of ice on it when I drove
by a few days ago, but it was
opening up near the shoreline.
But the smaller ponds in the area
have a lot of open water. In fact,
of friend of mine told me that a
friend of his had just caught a
nice bunch of crappies from the

open water in one of those
ponds. For many anglers, panfish
are how we kick off another
open water fishing season. Most
Get Bit By of us have a body of water

nearby that it is home to bluegills

and crappies and the like, and
they’re a great place for that first
Panfish Now fishing trip of the year. Here’s

how you do it.

By Bob Jensen One of the keys is finding the
warmest water in the lake or
pond you’ll be fishing. Warm water makes the fish more active

and more likely to eat your lure. The north side of a body of
water warms up faster, as do the bays and canals and areas like
that. Those are the areas where we’ll be concentrating our
efforts.

Panfish like to be near “stuff”. “Stuff” could be a tree that has
fallen into the water, a dock or boat lift, anything that provides

some cover for the panfish that’s in warm water and is close to
deeper water will probably be the hangout for some bluegills or
crappies.

A small jig under a slip-bobber is probably the best presentation
this time of year. If you’re after ‘gills or sunfish, go with a tiny jig.
Something in the 1/32nd or 1/64th size range will be good.

If crappies are the quarry, go a little larger, maybe a 1/16th
ounce jig. Crappies have a large mouth and can handle a bigger
jig. ‘Gills and sunfish have tiny mouths and prefer tiny meals.

By using a slip-bobber, you can suspend the jig right in the fishes
face. A slow presentation is best now, and the slip-bobber allows
for a slow presentation. Set the bobber stop so the bait is just a