How to Catch Panfish

Of all the fresh-water fishes, yellow perch and bluegills are probably accountable for more pleasurable hours of fishing than any others. Of course those deriving this pleasure are not the rabid trout and bass fishermen, but the large numbers of anglers who fish mostly for relaxation and for food, and who are satisfied to associate with the lesser lights of fishing society.

Generally speaking, perch and bluegills are easy to catch, except when it comes to getting big ones. Because of this, people who fish for them are often looked upon by trout and bass anglers as lowbrow fishermen.

The odd thing about this is that many of the anglers who don't do so well with trout and bass are the ones who are most likely to act superior toward the pan-fisherman. And while they may themselves have an urge to catch some of these common fish, they don't give it a try because they're afraid of being scorned by the elite, the stars of the trout and bass world.

In my opinion fishing should not be competitive or comparative. Rather, it should be contemplative - a sport to build up your soul and refresh your mind. So that after a day or more on a lake or stream you can go back to the job of making a living with renewed vigor and new ideas.

For this purpose panfish serve just as well as the more popular gamefishes. If you get skillful enough to locate and fool large perch or bluegill, you can feel just as proud as the angler who catches a two-pound trout in water where a pound fish is considered big.

Yellow perch were once restricted to southern Canada, New England, and the northern Midwest states. Now, as the result of stocking, they're found in all states. Since they're wolfish killers of other fish - to the limit of their size and physical powers - these perch are seldom protected by closed seasons and bag limits.

While yellow perch prefer a diet of minnows or other small fish, they also feed on, insects and crustaceans. With an adequate food supply they may run to a good size and sometimes be rather difficult to catch. However, it's rare to find them running better than about half a pound. Under ideal conditions they can grow to a weight of four pounds or more, but if you ever catch a two-pounder or better, you're entitled to a little bragging.

As a rule, yellow perch are found in large quiet streams and in ponds and lakes. Their tendency is to seek deep water, even to 30 feet or more, although the smaller ones usually stay in the shallows near vegetation. However, I've caught large ones while trolling in shallow water for bass and pickerel.

Good spots to try are areas off weed beds where the water breaks abruptly to greater depth and to a bottom of gravel, rock, or sand. It also pays to investigate water of good depth near pilings, docks, bridges, etc. Large perch will usually be in the vicinity of forage fish, or where they can grab the unprotected fry of bass and other gamefishes.

Perch schools usually number from one to three dozen fish. In each group the size of the individual fish will be fairly uniform, any difference of more than two inches in length between the largest and the smallest being uncommon. Perch are spring spawners; sometimes spent females are observed before winter ice has disappeared.
One time while fishing a smallmouth bass lake with chub minnows, my companion and I consistently took as many perch as bass, with the perch running heavier. Sometime later, fishing with 5/8-oz. plugs in the same water we took only one large perch to each eight smallmouths. However, we had many misses which I suspected were yellow perch.

I felt sure that the missed strikes were mostly from perch that couldn't handle our bass-size lures. Later on I went back to test this theory. Using smaller minnows and small spinners on a fly rod, I brought my yellow-perch score up to four for each smallmouth. In subsequent experiences with yellow perch, I always did better when using small bait.

Another time a couple of us were fishing for pike in a northeastern lake. Ordinarily pike are ready strikers, but on this occasion we couldn't seem to find them. We searched the depths (some 30 feet of water) and experienced many “bunts,” or a feeling of something tugging at our lures, but we couldn't connect.

Experience told me to try a smaller lure, so I weighted a very small one to get the proper depth. The bunts then became hooked fish - yellow perch averaging about a pound each, with an occasional larger specimen adding an extra thrill.

I've had many pleasant hours of fishing for bluegills with wet flies and nymphs. These fish seem to prefer dull patterns, as a rule, such as March Brown, Blue Dun or Blue Quill, Cahill, Ginger Quill, Alder, and Gold-Rib Hare's Ear. As for hook size, No. 10 has served me best.

Among the fancy flies I have found Alexandra, McGinty or Bee, and Royal Coachman all excellent. Any dull nymph will do. As a rule, fishing the fly slowly with slight jerks is good practice. So is fishing them at different depths. Start by working the fly just beneath the surface, and then gradually let it go deeper before retrieving. Often a split shot above the fly will be needed to get the proper depth.

Among natural baits on a spinning rod, worms top the list, but grubs, beetles, and any other small bait that may be impaled on a hook will do the job. Remember that although these fish are good little scrappers, they have small mouths, so that unless you use small baits and suitable hooks - not larger than No.8 - you'll miss lots of takes.

While you may take bluegills with a rod and reel that you use for bass, the lighter the tackle, the more fun you'll have. I prefer very light fly or spinning tackle. One of my pet bluegill rods is an eight-foot split bamboo weighing two ounces. It's extremely limber, but what fun it gives me when I catch a fish.

Don't overlook perch and bluegills.

Both can provide you with good sport and good eating.