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4/26/2002
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Article/Press
Release
Panfish on Floats: Spring, Summer
and Fall
By Noel Vick with Fishing the Wildside
We all grew up with ‘em.
Ah yes, those glistening oversized red and white bobbers. They
were a better match for Orca than nearby sunfish, buoyant as a
“no-wake” marker and nearly as large. Never once did a tugging
fish submerge it.
 Since
then, our use of floats has matured, to say the least. But let’s
first clarify some verbiage… Floats are sophisticated. Bobbers are
Huck Finnish. Alright, that’s a taste over oversimplified and
prudish. To clarify: Bobbers are those straightforward and
old-fashioned buoyancy agents, which clip to the line and hold
bait at a fixed depth. Floats are part of a greater tactic,
entailing precision, finesse, and balance. They can be pegged to
fish shallow, or rigged as a slip-float, enabling the user to fish
deep and at specific points throughout the water column. The best
floats are constructed of balsa, an exceptionally buoyant and
lightweight wood.
Given the correct
circumstances, there aren’t any species that cannot be taken on a
float system. Walleyes, panfish, pike, muskies, trout, perch, and
bass are easily engaged with a float and bait. But fin to fin,
panfish are the best synchronized to float-fishing. Shallow bays
in the spring, summer on the weedline, wintering holes and so on –
floats perform splendidly on our elliptically-shaped friends.
Speaking of springtime,
it’s during this glorious awakening that we begin. Rejuvenation
occurs off the frozen heels of what many consider oppressiveness,
winter. Let it be known, though, that Fishing the Wildside
passionately endorses ice, snow, and winter, and showcases that
support as On Ice Tour (www.onicetour.com).
Spring Float Systems
You know where to find
‘em…that sacred black-bottomed bay with the cattail trimmings and
emerging lily pads. I won’t belabor the topic of locating ice-out
crappies, reserving that for its own discussion, instead, I’m
talking tactical – the right rigging to persuade plump panfish
into biting.
Here’s the deal. This
spring, don’t store your ice fishing tackle in the rafters with
the Fish Trap and StrikeMaster. Those itty bitty flies and jigs
are as effective in April and May as they were through the winter.
In fact, you can replicate an ice fishing float-rig on a summer
rod and reel. Essentially, bobber, lure, and bait remain the same.
Think small. Think slow.
Both are contributing components to rolling spring panfish. The
lures we call “crossover baits”, ones that don’t pay any attention
to what the calendar reports. Lindy’s Frostee Jig – new for the
2001 ice fishing season – is wicked on springtime crappies. In
shallow backwaters, it matches well with a Thill Mini-Stealth
balsa float. With the float “pegged” to the line, versus setup to
slip – the Mini-Stealth does either – you’re armed for water less
than six feet deep and encounters with shy biters.
For example, say the water
in question is four feet deep. Space the Frostee and float two
feet apart. This same midway policy holds in most depths under 10
feet, but occasionally, it pays to set the bait just a foot or two
down. Assertive panfish will forage just beneath the surface, as
well, warmer, more panfish-friendly water stratify nearer the
surface. If winds impede casting distance, or targets are distant
and acute, switch to a weighted float, like the ¾” Thill Premium
Steelhead Float.
Balancing is something
else that needs to be understood. In the aforesaid illustration,
the jig was fished alone, without weighting. That’s fine when fish
strike with militant fervor. But equally as often, the resistance
of the float alone can incite a tugging fish to drop the bait. To
counteract, either match jig weight to the float’s buoyancy, or
add lead shot until the float, and bait too, can scarcely stay
atop. It’s called neutral buoyancy. Now, the slightest tow will
dunk the float, displaying a visible strike, but not dissuading
the fish from hanging on. A perfectly balanced float also reveals
“lift bites”, or an upwardly feeding fish, which causes the float
to rise, sometimes tilting sideways.
Fishing the Wildside
cofounder, Chip Leer is an accomplished guide and genuine panfish
hound. Leer enjoys nipping a crappie or two at ice-out and his top
crossover bait is the Northland Forage Minnow Fry. Designed to
impersonate fish fry, these meticulously patterned creatures
perform summer and winter. Leer assembles his float-rig with a
Northland Lite-Bite Slip Bobber, in anticipation of exploring
depths beyond six or eight feet.
Bait? Leer and his partner
Tommy Skarlis tote an assortment of goodies, which include both
live bait and Berkley Power Bait. From the living side, squirming
maggots are nearly unbeatable on springtime crappies and
bluegills, only bettered when fused with Power Bait. Stick two,
maybe three grubs on the hook, hung by their tails, preceded by a
Power Wiggler, which is thread-on, lengthwise. Wax worms are the
next most accepted morsel, and more widely available. With these,
it works to use a pair, threading the first one on – covering the
hook shank – and tail hooking a second. The complimentary,
outstretched and waving waxy plays the role of enticer.
Minnows get the call in
head to head competition with crappies alone. Big crappies tend to
prefer fins and flesh over wiggles. But it’s fair to mention that
both Leer and Skarlis slip one or two Crappie Nibbles onto the
shank before impaling a minnow, adding scent and durability.
But instances arrive when
the bait bucket’s empty or you want to cast for an hour after work
but aren’t able to hit a bait shop. Opportunely, in this era of
drive-up Extra Value Meals and Star Wars defense systems, live
bait is now emulated to where it looks, feels, tastes, and smells
like the real McCoy. The wizards at Berkley have produced Power
Bait Micros. Take your pick. We’ve pinched panfish on every single
variety, but bluegills seem to fancy Micro Power Crawlers, and
crappies, Micro Power Tubes. In lakes where freshwater shrimp
(scuds) are dietary staples, Leer always begins with a Micro Power
Craw.
Regardless of your choice
in float, jig, and bait, the speed of the retrieve, or
non-retrieve, comes under scrutiny. Again, slow is where it’s at.
Wing it out there, let it sit – maybe even up to a minute – then
begin a sluggish, and yes, time-consuming retrieve. Patience will
payoff. Occasionally, though, if dawdling isn’t doing it,
integrate a few jerks and pops for stimulation purposes.
Some if by Day…but a
whole lot more by Dusk
Summer’s arrived. Formerly
bountiful bays and backwaters are clogged with vegetation,
perilously warm, and devoid of panfish, aside from a few chips
ducking under lily pads. Schools of crappies and sunfish busted
for the big water, taking to deep weedlines, flats, rock piles,
and miscellaneous formations. In the case of panfish, summertime,
the period which bridges spring-flings with fall-frolics, is often
disregarded by the fishing crowd. A combination of mystery and
frustration keep folks from tailing ‘em. Understandable. But we
want to lay at least one option on the table. Call it a bone from
us to you.
Our good buddy Bro, that
is Brian “Bro” Brosdahl, a guiding machine, bags an awful lot of
panfish in the dead of summer. He doesn’t consume every waking
hour fishing pans, though, rather jumping ‘em during peak morning
and evening grubbing sessions.
By day, Bro’s panfish
school over fairly deep water, say 20 to 30 feet, and they’re
challenging to pinpoint, not to mention trigger. So instead of
exasperating energy beneath a sweltering sun, Bro merely pokes
around long enough to find fish, related structure, and departs
for cool beverages on the beach – all of his visual searching
accomplished with a flasher and Aqua-Vu Underwater Camera.
Structure is the key to
Bro’s evening bite. Typically, panfish rise from daytime hideaways
and ramp up adjacent structure, such as a shoreline break, bar, or
rock hump. Bro’s favorite zones fuse an abrupt break with a deep
weedline, and ideally some boulders. Imagine a flat that wallows
at 24 feet, then shoots up a wall, through a weedline, and settles
at eight feet – perfect setting for evening invasions.
Bro would begin by
fan-casting the entire grade, working back and forth from eight to
24 feet. His weapon: a 1/16th-ounce Northland Gypsi Jig
and crappie minnow. So he casts and jigs, all the while motoring,
electrically, until contacting fish. At which time, Bro comes to
roost. Fearing not the negative stereotypes often associated with
anchoring, Bro drops the metal, confident that he’ll catch more
fish by holding tight than trolling. Camping on a spot requires a
change in presentation, though. This time, Bro fixes up the same
jig with a slip-bobber. His newfound rookery is right at the eight
foot lip – it’s looking like a blend of ‘gills and slabs. So he
sets the float to seven feet and pitches it toward deeper water.
Incoming, schooled, and
ravenous, Bro’s fish will arrive hot, and likely suspended. Bro
believes that the higher the fish are in the water column, the
hungrier they are – a notion verified time and time again.
Nearer actual sundown, as
Bro strains to see the float, he changes over to a Thill Nite
Brite float. Nite Brites are startlingly brilliant and operate
like a traditional slip-bobber. Another trick Bro employs nearer
absolute dusk is what he calls “chugging”. Chugging refers to the
action imparted while drawing the float it in. According to him,
the blurbs of water beckon swarming panfish. They flock to examine
the commotion, eventually finding his jig and minnow. During the
chugging stage, Bro shallows his bait up to two or three feet,
understanding that entire food chains – insects, minnows, fish,
etc. – ascend before dark.
Tapping into
Wintering Holes
The autumn of 2001 was
perfect for probing panfish wintering holes. It wasn’t that long
ago. Remember? Sitting around the garage, staring at the ice
fishing stuff and cursing the thermometer. Ice came late. Don’t
take it so hard next time… Go fish.
In late fall, panfish
hunker in regular wintering holes, regardless if there’s hardwater
overhead or not. Wintering holes, as they’re so dubbed, are best
described as large, deep, and food-filled flats that generally
butt-up to sheer breaks, be it an island, hump, point, etc. Most
flats are soft to sticky in nature, composed of marl, clay, and
sometimes gravel. Usually, panfish linger near the lake floor and
aren’t overly active, but will swoop on the proper presentation.
The attack is elementary.
Fish are stacked, but lethargic, so we hit ‘em with a slip-float
and slow moving object. Imagine that you’ve discovered a mat of
crappies in 32 feet and they’re bellies to the floor. Set your
slip-float to dangle bait at about 31 feet and give it a hurl.
Retrieve it slowly, almost cautiously, pausing every now and then.
On the business end use a
jig that’s heavy for its size, because with fish being so deep,
heaped on the bottom, and unlikely to rise, it’s best to get right
in their faces. Lindy’s Genz Worm, an ice fishing favorite, is a
superlative choice. The buggy-looking oddity sinks faster than the
Edmund Fitzgerald, and wow, do crappies and bluegills gobble ‘em
up. Tip it with a small minnow, lip hooked to be sure.
That friends, crosses the
“t” in floats and takes the red and white out of breakable
bobbers. We use floats for panfish year round, sometimes fixed,
and sometimes geared to slip, but always on hand. And this brief
discussion is only the first tray in the tackle box of
float-fishing knowledge.
Fishing the WildSide –
cofounded by Chip Leer and Tommy Skarlis – is an intensive effort
aimed at expanding freshwater fishing through instructional
articles, seminars, in-store appearances, and one on one exchanges
with the public. Learn more about Fishing the WildSide at
www.fishingthewildside.com |
