Panfish fishing basics
One of the most popular fishing is panfish fishing.
The first thing to get us started is a trip down to walmart or a government agency for the state panfish fishing regulations. Or we could venture over to huntnfishregs.com were with internet connection we can get fishing maps, fishing reports, and all 50 states fishing regulations guidebooks. you can print them out save them to file or just browse them on the computer. pretty cool huh !
Now we know the laws, and rules lets go fishing.
The smallest fish are called panfish, because they can fit in a normal cooking pan. Examples are crappies, perch, rock bass, bluegill and sunfish.
Panfish are easy to catch. As prolific spawners they repopulate the waters as fast as they are harvested. A common problem in managing panfish waters is that the waters are under fished causing panfish to overpopulate. As a result tend, they to stay small in size due to competition for the natural food source.
Fly fishing for panfish makes for an excellent outing. Panfish will rise to take a dry fly or attack most flies presented to them at varying depths. This presents a great opportunity to teach fishing skills to a beginner and fly fishing techniques at the same time.
Panfish are exactly what their name implies -- fish small enough to fit in a pan -- a frying pan, that is. Among these are such beloved species as bluegills, crappie, redear sunfish, redbreast sunfish and white bass, and lesser-known yet locally popular fish like yellow bass, rock bass, warmouths, longears, spotted sunfish and green sunfish. None of these fish gets very big -- a few pounds tops, usually only a few ounces. But as a group, they're among the most popular, most commonly caught fishes in the U.S.

The list of panfish is comprised of many fishes each called by a variety of names. The bluegill tops the list and is the most common.
Bluegill
Lepomis macrochirus
Other names for bluegills include common yellow perch, sunfish, red-breasted bream, red-spotted sunfish, long-eared sunfish, white bass as well as a host of variations and cross breeds. These fish tend to run in schools and congregate near their food supply. Panfish can be found in depths of 35 feet or more and all the way up to the surface depending on time of day and weather conditions. Bluegill spend the majority of their active time in 1 to 10 foot depths.
Crappie are also considered panfish.
Crappie are actually a member of the sunfish family and can be found in all the continental states. They are known by many different names, typically based on geographic location. Paper mouth, goggleye, bridge perch and speckled perch, just to name a few.
Biologists categorize the many varieties of this specie into two main categories. Both have been introduced in many waters both north and south and they tend to adapt to most environments.
Black Crappie
Promoxis nigro-maculatus
The black crappie is darker, has seven or eight dorsal spines, has spotted sides and is typically found more in the northern states. The black prefers larger, deeper impoundments.
White Crappie
Promoxis annularis
The white crappie which is light in color, has six dorsal spines, has eight or nine vertical bands on its sides and is found primarily in the southern states and prefers quiet backwaters.
Both the black and white crappie grow to over five pounds while three quarters of a pound to a pound is more typical.
Crappie are school fish and can be caught by still-fishing, casting, trolling or drifting. Spring is the best time to catch crappie as they are involved in their spawning runs. They love cover, so locate brush, stumps or artificial cover at appropriate depths and you are likely to find crappie. At dawn you may find them close to the surface. As the sun hits the water they drop to 5 or 10 feet deep depending on water clarity. As the sun gets higher in the sky they may retreat to deeper water, 25 feet or more. As the sun begins to set they will move back up to the shallows and finish the day at the surface as dusk turns to darkness. Typically they return to deeper water for the night and may occasionally do some feeding during the dark hours.
Baits which imitate minnows, insects, worms or small crustaceans will attract crappie. The more aggressive the crappie are, the faster you can move the bait to cover more water.
Perch Fishing
Few species rile up ice anglers like yellow perch. When the bite's hot, these schooling fish can deliver days of non-stop action. Yet, nothing's guaranteed when looking for perch, and their roaming tendencies can challenge even experienced anglers. To help you crack the perch code this winter, heed the following tips on winter locations and top baits.
Perch are one of winter's best sport fish. Be sure to keep moving until you find them, employing aggressive jigging tactics at first to get active fish to bite. If this doesn't work, switch to a finesse approach to coax hits. Remember, if you can't get one school to go, odds are you can find another group that are hungry.
Before you head to the lake or over to your favorite stream swing by huntnfishregs.com for a look.
Thanks happy Panfish fishing