 |
 If
you’re looking to get “back to the
basics,” or if you’re in search of just plain fun,
and enjoy eating fish, visit your favorite panfish lake soon.
Concentrate on weed lines and bottom cover such as flooded timber or
brush piles.
Although bluegills and sunfish have many of the same habits as their
tasty cousins, the perch and crappie, each of these species has
different feeding habits. The successful panfisherman pays careful
attention to these subtle differences. Spinner fishing for bluegills
and sunfish can provide furious action all year long. These fish love
light line (2-4 pound test) and small Mepps. Cast to the weed line with
a #0 or #1 Mepps Aglia, Aglia Long or Thunder Bug. If
you’re an ultra lite enthusiast, the Mepps #00’s
with hackle dressed trebles or single hook wooly worms are deadly on
all panfish.
On overcast days, try working the weed line with a #0 Black Fury,
single hook Spin Fly, or #0 XD. All of these lures are irresistible to
hungry panfish. If fishing success changes because the school
of gills moves, stay close by. Panfish are homebodies and
seldom move great distances in any direction. So, look for a likely hot
spot just a short distance away.
While
perch thrive in Great Lakes waters, they are also abundant in
small, cool, clear water lakes as far south as Missouri. Their flesh is
pure white and slightly sweet. Perch will nail a small spinner with a
vengeance. Try #0 or #00 ultra lite Mepps Aglia Longs or Aglia Long
Spin Flies to reach schooling perch. In the winter, a #00 hot firetiger
or glo pink Mepps Syclops jigged through the ice can produce a pailful
of perch in no time at all.
Whatever
you do, don’t ignore the
Mepps Mino. These Mepps,in sizes #00, #0 & #1 are consistent
producers.
Mepps spinners have
always been a favorite lure of crappie anglers. Crappies have a large
delicate mouth, but spinners up to a size #3 can
be used, many times very successfully, for big slabsides. A #1 Aglia
Streamer or a #2 Mepps Mino worked through submerged trees or pilings
is dynamite. Black Furys, Thunder Bugs and single hook Aglias, up to
size #3, are also excellent choices. If you’re a finesse
fisherman, you’ll want to try a #0 Mepps Spin Fly. These
little single hook spinners are perfect for fishing over submerged
weeds or grasses.
Vertical jigging is a great way to consistently take big
crappie. Anchor your boat upwind and slightly to one side of your
target area. Work a #00 or #0 Bantam Syclops, or a 1/8 oz. SpinFlex
vertically by holding your rod tip low to the water. Shake the rod from
side to side lightly with an occasional short upward flip to get the
right action. This is very effective when you’re fishing
areas with lots of snags and big crappies.
Remember, you can get the best Mepps for panfishing in Mepps Panfisher
Kits, Pocket Pacs or Spinner Paks. There’s even a
Mepps Ultra Lite Kit available for lite line enthusiasts. And,
don’t forget the Mepps Crappie Kit; it has six proven Mepps
to nail ol’ slabside. These “programmed”
Mepps kits, hand-picked by the Mepps Pros, contain a selection of
proven Mepps lures that take the guesswork out of selecting the right
lure for the job.
|
|
Print This Page
E-mail This Page
