# panfish?



## Guest (Mar 9, 2011)

my fly rod dealings with panfish has always had a popper or terrestial involved. can someone explain to me how best to use a nymph when fishing for panfish? is an indicator used?

thanks for any help.


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## Jitterbug52 (Jan 27, 2011)

rapman...when I fish for panfish, I almost exclusively use nymphs and wet flys, my favorite being the Black Gnat Wet Fly. Depending on the depth of the water, the one thing you need to do is make sure you get the fly into the zone where the fish will be. Often sunfish and crappies tend to suspend, so they are not always on the bottom.

Keep your line tight, and retrieve the fly with short twitches and occasional pauses. Keep watching your line for any type of movement, jerking or twitching that is not normal. In time...you will not only be able to detect the slightest movement of your line...but you will develop the ability to anticipate the moment when a fish will strike.

It's all part of a learning curve...but getting out there and spending time o the water is the best way to learn.

One other thing...I have never used strike indicators, but for some they are very helpful. I'm sure others here will have some very useful tips as well.
Good luck!
Ed


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## Andrew S. (May 22, 2010)

I'd think a bobber would be particularly unnecessary on still water - on a stream, maybe it would useful. I'll echo the last poster's comments. I have done well getting large bluegills and sunfish out of ponds on subsurface wets (I like the McGinty best, but a black gnat is up on the list as well) when surface poppers and foam spiders only got the small fish.

That said, they're more fun on top (to me), so I tend to go subsurface when I'm trying to fill a frying pan. Otherwise, I like the topwater stuff.


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## Guest (Mar 10, 2011)

excellent advice, guys. i appreciate the help. when fishing wets that are not weighted, do you use micro-shot or do you just let the flies sink slowly? do you use a floating line?

also, which weight rod do you use?


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## Jitterbug52 (Jan 27, 2011)

when fishing sub surface, I usually use a floating line if I'm not fishing deeper than 6 - 8 feet. I will use a sinking line when fishing deeper...although I believe allowing the fly to sink naturally without any type of weighted line or added shots can be deadly...watch your line, and keep it tight as the fly descends...often you will get a strike as the fly drops.

I have a 6 foot (Clear Creek - from Cabelas) It is a 5 wt and I have even caught carp on it...biggest was a 32" - so keep that in mind when the 'gills are fussy...and there are carp around...okay sorry...didn't mean to get oof track here!
Again...good luck and have fun!
Ed


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## Guest (Mar 10, 2011)

awesome, ed. i have only fished for carp once with a fly rod, but i think i smiled the whole afternoon. what a blast. i appreciate the help, guy.


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## Flyfish Dog (Nov 6, 2007)

Bigger bluegills will hit on top It is no fun watching if its not on top. I have gotten my top three 14.5" - 13" bluegill on a small dragonfly of mine and I see no reason to nymph fish much. If I do then I tie off a piece of tippet off a popper as a dropper.


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## Guest (Mar 10, 2011)

there are times when i cannot get a rise on top, and have read and heard about the great possibilities of nymphs and wet flies, so i thought i would enjoy trying something new.


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## Andrew S. (May 22, 2010)

Flyfish Dog said:


> Bigger bluegills will hit on top It is no fun watching if its not on top. I have gotten my top three 14.5" - 13" bluegill on a small dragonfly of mine and I see no reason to nymph fish much. If I do then I tie off a piece of tippet off a popper as a dropper.


I never said or suggested big bluegills won't take surface flies. I simply explained that in the pond I used to fish a lot, the average size of the bluegills and sunnies I got subsurface was much greater than the ones I got on top. Some of the largest took bass poppers on top, but when I wanted to fill a stringer for the dinner table in short order, I did better subsurface. Your results may vary.


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## TheCream (Mar 19, 2009)

Reading this and going from my own experience, it seems like black subsurface flies, or flies with black in them, seem to do very well. Yellow is another great color. Some of my top subsurface flies have been the black hare's ear nymph, black birds nest nymph, the McGinty (as mentioned above), and the yellow wooly worm. I've got no real explanation for why black seems to be so effective, but I see it from all the ponds and lakes where I have chased panfish. Sometimes I will use an indicator, sometimes I won't, it really depends on the conditions and time of year I am fishing. I am more likely to use an indicator early in the year when strikes seem to be a little more subtle.

As for topwater, in my experience I don't see a definite pattern for size. The size pattern I notice most is that where I catch small panfish, that seems to be all I catch, and where I find bigger fish I catch very few smaller fish. Like they group and school by size, somewhat. My biggest gill of the 40-50 I have caught so far this spring came on a yellow/black popper in a pond on a cold, rainy day.


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## fallen513 (Jan 5, 2010)

TheCream said:


> Reading this and going from my own experience, it seems like black subsurface flies, or flies with black in them, seem to do very well. Some of my top subsurface flies have been the black hare's ear nymph, black birds nest nymph, the McGinty (as mentioned above), and the yellow wooly worm. I've got no real explanation for why black seems to be so effective, but I see it from all the ponds and lakes where I have chased panfish.



Black offers the most contrast & represents the color most commonly found in nature & more specifically, their food. Ants, flies, invertebrates... 

I was shocked too when I found that black was the best producer. How in the world can they see a size 16 ant in black? I can't answer that one, but boy can they see it!


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## rickerd (Jul 16, 2008)

I use a dry fly or popper as my indicator. Sometimes the top gets hit, sometimes the subsurface. I have found using size 4 hooks, keep them from being able to swallow the fly. Except maybe one time. I don't see any size difference between top or bottom. Once I caught a 9 inch gill on my grasshopper and a 14 inch bass grabbed my crayfish on the way in. That was a treat.

As stated earlier, black shows the best profile against a daylight sky, if the fish are feeding from below. 
Rickerd


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## Guest (Mar 10, 2011)

rickerd, how long a leader from the popper to your dropper?

btw, i once hooked a 15 inch largemouth and a 14 inch smallmouth on the same size 11 rapala. talk about a crazy fight. one wanted to jump, one wanted to bulldog.


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## rickerd (Jul 16, 2008)

Distance from hopper to dropper is about 24 inches in the spring say april, may, then move to 36 inches by end of may, then down to 48 inches in August through Nov. I mostly fish ponds. Rivers may be different because of currents. You may need more or less to get to the zone. I think 36 inches is a good starting point in rivers. Another thing, I tie my own crayfish patterns and use weightless ones for ponds. It keeps the hopper floating longer. In rivers, you may need to add weight to get it down below the current. I try to get it right on the seam between the moving water on top and the slower water down low. Makes it look like a crayfish caught in the current.

Funny thing I found out a couple years ago with some friends. I was fishing a pond with 3 other guys, 2 using my flies and one other using a worm on a jig. The pond is about 1/3 an acre but had bass up to 18 inches and many big gills. I could not get much to go on our flies and we were surrounding the pond in May. The guy with the worm is getting bit all the time and only hooking up once in a while. After 25 mins I start casting my flies within 3 feet of the worm. Still no action. Then I talked the worm guy into fishing with my flies. When we took the worm out of the pond, the fish found our flies on a regular basis. I know it makes sense but never had seen it play out so predominantly.
Rickerd


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## wabi (Jun 14, 2008)

This time of year most of my fishing is done with a nymph in small lakes & ponds. I usually have my best success on the North/East shallows where the prevailing winds push the food, and the sun heats the water. 

Perhaps not the best method, but I use a WF-floating line with a furled mono leader & flouro tippet. The flouro tippet (usually 24-30") allows the nymph to get down a little bit quickly, then the mono leader will slow it's decent. I watch the leader/line very closely, and at the slightest unusual movement strip-set the hook. 

Takes are very light/subtle in the cool water this early in the year, and the fish won't go far to get the offering, so it takes some experimenting to find where they are at. I also tend to catch a fair amount of brush, cattails, and weeds, and even landed a nice plastic bag yesterday.


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## Rod Hawg (Jan 13, 2011)

Never use Indicators. I use just a Dragon Fly Nymph. Work it off of the weeds. Buy my favorite is a tiny Whooly Bugger with a Copper Head. I also love Deer Hair Caddis( A Elk Hair Caddis with Deer Hair). Both Flies that produce big fish.


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## Flyfish Dog (Nov 6, 2007)

Went out yesterday with my 2wt Loomis, #14 black popper and a Mcginty off the back. It wasd cold as **** but 3rd casts I got a nice 8" gill before I got called out. Fished for about 45 more min but that damn cold wind. Ugh!


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