Take Your Early Season Success To New Heights!
May 5th, 2016 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified May 5th, 2016 at 12:00 AM
THE LATEST NEWS – BY CHIP LEER
Take Your Early Season Success To New Heights!
Spring means reliable panfish action, as schools of winter-weary sunfish and crappies move into fast-warming shallows to feed. In fact, the places spring panfish prefer are so predictable, it’s tempting to get stuck in a rut and fish the same spots year after year.
That’s fine if you’re totally satisfied with the results. But if you’d like faster action and bigger fish, it’s smart to step outside your comfort zone and look for slabs the masses miss.
In my book, the best way to find the hottest bite on the lake is to be the first one there. Fortunately, overlooked pockets of panfish exist in fisheries around the Midwest, which means a new sweet spot doesn’t have to be across the country or in a remote area. It could be waiting just down the bank or in a lake across the road.
To find such honeyholes, try to duplicate a spot you already know holds fish. Look for areas offering the same kind of structure or cover, water depth, water temperature, bottom content and other fish-attracting characteristics. A variety of electronic tools can speed the process, including sonar, GPS mapping, mobile devices and even your home computer.
When you identify a potential hotspot, you still need to verify the presence of fish. In clear, shallow water, cruising along with your trolling motor and watching for telltale swirls and fish darting away from the boat is a great way to quickly confirm panfish are using an area. Give the spot a few hours to calm down, then come back to hook up with its residents.
In darker or deeper water, use search presentations to make contact. I work the water column from the top down, using a small float and jig to ply the upper three feet, and a dropshot rig to cover the lower zone. Small spin jigs like Northland Tackle’s Mimic Minnow Spin are also deadly for covering water fast.
For convenience and efficiency, I rarely use live bait in search mode. Small artificial softbaits such as Northland’s lineup of panfish-sized Impulse plastics are perfect for attracting attention and triggering strikes from the most active fish in the school. Once these active fish betray the presence of overlooked panfish, you can always slow down to tempt their schoolmates.