Gravy Master

Alrighty, So I got my rig together this afternoon to go out for the first time in my life and try to catch (gasp!) something other than a bass! There are some lakes in my area that have panfish such as perch, black crappie, and bluegills, and also some rainbow trout. So could you guys and gals give me a brief crash course on how to find these little buggers? To be more specific, if somebody who had never fished for bass before asked me for the same thing I would say something like: Fish around vegetation, lily pads, brush, and timber - basically anything that is not plain open water because they like cover and structure In the mornings and evenings they tend to head into the shallows to feed, and during the day hang out in deeper water where it is cooler and more stable Set yourself up on points and in coves because those tend to have a higher concentration of bass So yeah, basically that kind of thing except for trout and panfish. I'll be going to the exact same lakes I normally go to for bass, so is my approach any different? Mid-day versus morning or evening have any different strategies? I got a bunch of 1/8 ounce lures - no live bait. A couple of rooster tails, a few Beetle Spins, and an Acme spoon.

"Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after." ~Henry David Thoreau

The weight is your problem in that situation, and the fluorocarbon to a lesser extent. If you cast that worm weighted it's going to torpedo through the water and wrap itself around the stems of the pads which are VERY heavy and strong. Just toss it weightless. I keep my rod tip up a little bit and just kind of twitch it and let it wriggle over the tops of the pads. Any little openings in the pads I let it slowly sink a little bit, then pull it back up and over. Also using braid helps a lot - I use 30#. If you do get snagged you can yank pretty hard and the braid will literally just slice the pad/stem in half and go right through it.

Are you fishing in the right areas of the lake? Just because it's nighttime, all the same rules for bass still apply: cover, structure, coves, points - all that good stuff. If you're not getting any action after a half hour or so I would suggest trying a different area.

I understand that whatever I mention here and what gets discussed are not ideal scenarios - believe me I completely get it. If I wasn't so tight on cash then I would just buy a super lightweight setup and be done with it. I typically fish for largemouths and ony largemouths, but there are some lakes and rivers in my area that have trout, crappie, perch, and other panfish and I have never fished for anything like that in my life and think it would be awesome to try it once in a while. So here is what I have for a current setup and what I'm wondering if I can do or not: 7 ft Medium Heavy, Fast Action Rod (Fenwick Eagle) Daiwa BG3000 Spinning Reel 30# Braid (Moss Green Color) So...the million dollar question: Can I tie on a few feet of 6# fluoro as a leader and then toss out some lightweight lures like spoons, rooster tails, and maybe small Rapala minnows and maybe catch me a trout or crappie? If the answer is no, then why not exactly?

Colorado blades provide two main things: vibration and lift. They will do the following to your spinnerbait: Make it run a little bit slower Make it run a little bit louder (more vibration) Make it run a little higher up in the water column Willow blades provide two main things: speed and flash. They will do the following to your spinnerbait: Make a run a little bit faster Give off a little more flash Make it run a little lower in the water column

Yeah - 15 should be perfectly fine. You could easily do 20 as well but I don't think I'd go above that.