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Part 3
Small jigs can be dynamite for panfish.
For more than 35 years I lived right on the shore on the best bass and panfish lake in Western Washington State. I wish I had a couple of bucks for every crappie and bluegill I took out of Silver Lake in Cowlitz Country during the time I lived there.
If you’re familiar with Silver Lake, you’re aware it’s located six miles east of Interstate 5 near the community of Castle Rock and about 40 miles as the crow flies west of Mt. St. Helens. The lake is like a big lily pad fringed shallow bowl. You won’t find water any deeper than 12-feet.
I learned early on the right panfish jig was as dependable as anything you could tie on a fishing line for crappies. If you were successful in finding where crappie schools were located, then getting your jig down to where the school was holding, you were caught fish.
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| Jigs come in a variety of shapes and styles. Don't hesitate to use a Smile Blade along with any of the jigs you try. You may be in for a surprise. |
That’s not, of course, as simple as it sounds. For one thing, to really be effective your jigs had to be just the right weight. If the fish were up shallow, using heavy jigs wouldn’t work. The lure sank too fast for crappies to get to it. At Silver Lake I wound up using a 1/32nd-ounce jig more often than anything else.
Even if the fish were deeper the lighter jigs were still by far the best most of the time. Why? Because another of the primary keys to successful crappie fishing is an extremely slow retrieve. You simply can’t do that with heavier jigs.
I’ve caught my share of most of our popular game fish. Even so, I still enjoy catching panfish as much today as an old guy as I did when I was just getting started as a kid. It’s flat out fun to figure out where they are and then invite a few to join me for dinner.
Crappies aren’t the only panfish that smack jigs. Bluegills do and so will perch. You might have to use a slightly different approach for each species.
Some of the skilled perch anglers I’ve known used small jigs but they tipped them with a tiny piece of worm. Others did much the same but instead of using a piece of a nightcrawler they used some of the prepared products that are available for this purpose. Berkley markets some good ones.
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Jigs like those pictured here provide a super method of catching, crappies, bluegills and other panfish.
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As far as I’m concerned few freshwater fish do credit to a frying pan more than freshly caught panfish. I recall a trip I made years ago with a friend to one of the lakes in Northern California. We were fishing for bass, but those fickle critters weren’t cooperating worth a toot. We’d heard that the lake we were on had a good population of yellow perch. We decided to see if we could catch some for dinner.
My partner and I rigged our spinning outfits with a couple of small marabou jigs. We didn’t have worms to attach to the jigs but that didn’t turn out to be a problem. That lake was indeed loaded with yellow perch. Overloaded might be a more accurate term.
We stood right on the boat dock and caught half a hundred of the little buggers. We cleaned our catch and it wasn’t long before my wife had them in the frying pan. I still remember just how darn good those fish tasted.
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Crappies like this gal is holding are fun to catch. They also provide their share of enjoyment at dinner time. Small jigs are one of the best of all panfish lures.
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And that reminds me of a fishing trip I made once on Lake Michigan. After a day of salmon fishing I was invited to a fish feed that a local outdoor club was having. The main course consisted of two types of fish. There was a big Lake Michigan salmon on one platter and a large container filled with freshly fried perch on another.
Which of those fish do you think was most favored? It sure as heck wasn’t the Lake Michigan salmon. It was hardly touched. The hungry diners eventually completely cleaned out the large pan full of perch. I mention this because it’s another good reason for learning how to use jigs for panfish.
Walleyes are also highly regarded as table fare. That figures. I’ve already mentioned how good perch are fresh out of the frying pan. I continue to run into folks in various parts of the country who still fail to realize that the walleye is actually a member of the perch family. It’s not a pike although you still hear the species called “walleyed pike” in some areas.
In winding up this three column series on jigs I’d like to again mention the new jig designed especially for walleyes that’s been added to the Mack’s Lure jig lineup. It’s called the Smile Blade UV jig. I’ve not had a chance to try this new jig yet myself but I’m looking forward to doing so.
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Don't hesitate to use a small Smile Blade along with fly like the one pictured here for crappies. Sometimes it works best if you position the Smile Blade a foot or two ahead of the fly instead of right in front of it as is shown here. Hang a white fly rod sized pork rind strip on the fly's hook.
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You can, of course, use a Smile Blade along with any of the jigs you already have in your tackle box. You don’t have to take time to do that with the new Mack’s UV jigs. They’re already to go. All you need is do add your bait and then get them down there where the fish are.
As I’ve attempted to point out in my last three columns, jigs really are great fish catchers. Certain other lures are easier to learn how to use, but don’t let that stop you. Stick with it until you get a handle on jig fishing. Doing so is something you’re not likely to regret.
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