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Hello everyone, Has anyone heard anymore or have any info about the panfish rod that Dobyns is supposedly making for there colt series lineup? I've seen it vaguely mentioned in a couple articles such as the one linked here https://www.westernbass.com/article/colt-series-no-matter-technique-you-fishing-dobyns I recently picked up my first dobyns fury rod and love it and would be very interested in a panfish rod of the same quality -chandler

I have a story to tell, which all began a couple years ago. I was out fishing one day with a Keitech minnow on a Vtec jighead. All of a sudden I started catching crappie, each one bigger than my foot (I wear a size 13). I caught about six of these slabs and then they stopped. It was enough to get me hooked on pan fishing again, which I haven't done a lot of since I was a kid. Anyway, so I started chatting about this with some fishing buddies and they told me I should use something called a road runner. They said it was the cadillac of crappie baits. I searched high and low for these road runners and couldn't find anyone locally who carried them. I didn't even have any success looking online. So now let's fast forward to a couple days ago. I was at the tackle shop looking for an ultra light setup, because I was getting that urge again to fight some fish on a smaller setup. The tackle guy suggested this combo, which he said he used himself. The rod was really nice, but it had one of those cheap crappy reels on it. I found a Lew's Speed Spool 1000, which of course was more than the combo, but I knew it would go great on the rod that had that crappy reel on it. The guy took the combo down and was saying how great that reel was, then I handed him the Lew's and said 'try that.' He did and his eyes kind of lit up. He said 'wow'. Yeah, wow. So I bought the combo in order to get the rod. The next day I had to work so I'm driving around with the windows open. It was a windy day and as I was driving to another store (I'm a vendor) I rolled up the back windows and heard this crunch. I looked back and saw the end of the rod had been sticking out the window and was now just hanging there. I was devastated especially since now I couldn't take the rod back because the night before I had sold that crappy little reel to someone. Now I had to find another ultra light rod. Since I drive around the area a lot for my job I started looking for places I could find fishing rods. Meijer sucks for fishing stuff, so I tried Walmart, which is only a little better than Meijer. Unfortunately I don't live in an area that has great tackle shops like Cabela's or Bass Pro, so finally I saw a Dunhams Sport shop and pulled in there. I was shocked at the huge selection of fishing rods they had there. I searched through all of them and the only one that grabbed my eye was this ultra light Berkley Cherrywood. Now I'm not a big fan of two piece fishing rods, especially two piece ultra light fishing rods, but then this one was only twenty bucks so I thought what the heck. I was checking the guides to make sure they were all lined up and not bent or anything when I saw them.....road runners! There was one entire section of road runners on the opposite wall. I almost dropped the rod I was so shocked to see them. I'd looked high and low all over the place and here they were. It was almost like everything that happened that morning was leading me to them. Ha ha! I didn't go overboard, although I wanted to buy them all, so I just bought one to try it out and see if it was as great as everyone told me they were. That evening I picked up my buddy and we took the new setup out to the park. I told him the whole story and he said 'well, it sounds like fate'. I don't know about that, because I had no great confidence in the rod, or even the line (I was using 6lb Sufix Elite low vis green). I relayed all these misgivings to my buddy as I made the first cast and was reeling and giving the road runner little twitches then BAM! It was a four pound largemouth. He fought and pulled and jumped a couple times and then I lipped him out of the water and while we were both oogling his beautiful greeness I was honestly amazed how well the gear had performed. Next cast BAM! this time it was a 3 1/2 pound smallie. After fighting and a couple acrobatics I lipped him and now I was truly amazed. After that a huge slabsize sunfish and then a decent size rock bass. I was like, what the heck is going on, I'm catching one of each species - and large ones, too (large by ultra light standards anyway). After all this I reminisced about the day and how I had ended up here. Obviously the hype about the road runner was certainly true, but I was more amazed by how the rod and line had performed. Of course there's more fishing to come and only time will tell if these things hold up, but for right now I'm content and willing to give quarter to seemingly cheap two piece rods and line. Now if I can just remember to bring the dang GoPro next time....

Hello guys, this couple weeks I had a fried from Japan visited me and I got new disease from him, Called BFS fishing specially for trout and panfish(ive seen 16lb carp was caught on same set up). so first going to show you this YouTube video, thats the set up I got and waiting to arrive here. once here, I am going to hit the road, trout fishing in streams in morning and bass fishing in night. I am very exited about this and going to update you guys. Please let me know any suggestion you have.

Hey I bought a 1997 panfish that didn’t have a livewell. Been looking for a replacement mostly for the extra seat and the storage room, but to use for live bait and such. Does anyone know where I could get one

I’m looking for a good ultra light rod and reel combination to do some fishing out of a kayak. I’d be fishing mostly for bream/bluegill, crappie, and small bass, although the lakes I fish all have good numbers of bigger largemouth and spotted bass. I do most of my fishing now with a St. Croix Premier 6’-6’” MLF rod and a Pflueger President 30 reel, which have been great for bass fishing. Around here the fishing can be good almost any time of year, but I want an ultra light set up for those days where the bite is tough or I just want to catch some fish and have fun doing it. So I’m leaning towards another St. Croix/Pflueger combination, but there are a lot of choices out there, and I’m open to any suggestions. I don’t want to spend more than about $200 on the rod, although I’d prefer something more in the Premier price range, and no more than about $75 on the reel. I’ve looked closely at the St. Croix Premier, Panfish, and Avid series. I’m thinking I need at least a 6’-6” rod to be able to throw 1/32” lures, and probably a size 20 reel. I’m assuming it should be fast action, since most of the UL choices seem to be. I would like the rod to be sensitive enough for light bites from panfish. Any thoughts on the best rod and reel specs and recommendations? Thanks!

Hey so latelay I’ve been having trouble catching bass just after ice out. Some fellow members have recommended to me to try and target panfish and I might also catch some bass along the way. At this point I’ll be happy to catch anything but I’ve never rigged for panfish. Someone suggested ball head jigs and a grub trailer. My question for you guys is, what setups do you use for panfish?? How do you rig a float with a jig?? What size/kind of jigs do you use? Do you have to balance a float with a jig or does it not matter?? Do you need a float? I’ve NEVER fished specifically for panfish, so please, talk to me like I’m dumb so I get all the details lol. Thanks!

I'll be in Indianapolis this Fri/Sat at the Convention Center, coming from San Clemente, California. I'll have 3-4 hours to go fish somewhere, including travel time. Where can I go that is nearby (within 20-45 minutes drive in an Uber or BlueIndy)? I'll have an Okuma travel rod & plastics. Any kind of fishing. If it's something I won't find elsewhere, even better. But really anywhere I can get a fish to bite, except pet stores :). If there's a tackle shop I should stop at for the appropriate local jig or bait, that would be great too. Also any advice for fishing in the cold. I'll have a heavy jacket and gloves. Thanks!

I have seen some light braid in the 5-10 lb test range. I was wondering when to use braid vs mono when fishing for panfish. Braid seems to be better diameter wise. But is there a disadvantage in some situations?

Relatively new at fishing, been totally enjoying a successful ultralight setup for panfish, but when I land a small (fits in palm of my hand) bluegill, crappie, white perch many times they wiggle right off the hook, onto the ground, before I can get my hand on them. This also suggests I may be tearing their lips. I'm concerned about damage to the fish from both lip tear and flopping around on the ground after coming loose. Does this suggest the hook is the wrong size? Lure is a Trout Magnet (troutmagnet.com), I think it's a size 8 hook, 1/64 oz. Tried the slightly bigger Crappie Magnet (think it's a size #4, 1/16 oz) but not as many catches. What size hook might be best for these panfish (where "best" means ability to catch and release them with minimal damage to the fish)? Combo is St. Croix PS56ULF2 5'6" ultralight, fast action with Shimano Ultegra 1000 series spinning reel, 4 lb test mono. Reel feels a bit heavy for the rod but otherwise happy with this setup.

I am looking into getting in the world of custom rod building, and I am looking into starting with a ultra light rod. It is specifically a 5' Ultra Light with a moderate action. My question is, what will this rod excel at with a moderate action rather than a fast action?

Looking to fish some bluegill and shell crackers, small panfish, I have lots of small artificial hard baits etc. Can I use a snap or will the fish see them, oh and the baits sink if that means anything. Thanks, tight lines !

Starting to fish panfish, lol. Good starting poles and reels for catching artificial hardbaits? I'm not looking to spend lots of money, either. Ps;. can I just get a pen fishing rod? will that cast well? Tight lines!

I live in Minneapolis MN and would really love to get one more open water fishing trip in. Does anybody know of any places where I can catch any species of fish this time of year. thanks, charlie

Hey BR, What is a good UL spinning rod and a good UL spinning reel for panfish(smaller bass included)? Thanks, Big Fish Small Pond

Figured I would start a thread on catching, tips, pictures of crappie. What is working for you?

Hi there, I am a college student who attends the University of Indianapolis and am unfamiliar with the area because i am from MI. I have a rowboat, and am looking for any lakes, channels, bodies of water, etc. that are great fishing spots for my rowboat. I mainly fish for panfish, but love catching catfish, and bass. I am willing to drive up to 30 minutes for a great spot around the Indianapolis area. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hi. We have several pond with murky water around the area I live. I've been catching bluegill/sunfish/panfish in June, but not nothing bites. Any advice on tackle, rig, bait, location, etc., would be appreciated. P.S. I use black chartreuse grub with gold sparkles, red/chartreuse tubes, small artificial minnows (kind of like the fluke) - everithing is 1 1/2 inch. Some times I rig it with split shot, sometimes with jig or spinnerbait. And also I've tried powerbait.

I was looking at the St Croix panfish Series. Mainly the 6'9 and 7' versions. The 6'9 is ul fast and the 7' is l xfast. Is there really a difference. I will be casting and reeling jigs with plastics mainly and maybe catching an occasional bass. I want to know which rod would be better for me. Is the ultralight too light for bass and is the light too heavy for panfish? Is there a difference in sensitivity between the two?

Hey all, I was wondering I anybody could recommend gear to stock a Plano six-tray tackle box. Man, those things are huge! I already have some stuff in there, like: Catfish hooks and bottom rigs and floats 4 and 10 inch Powerbait Worms, Creme pre-rigged worms, Zoom lizards, Zoom Craws, and Powerbait Rib Snakes Livetarget and SPRO Frogs Livetarget mice Storm Arashi squarebills, Livetarget squarebills, Bass Pro Shops squarebills, Chatterbaits, bitsy bugs, A.T. Tackle jigs, 4x4 T-Roy swim jigs, Heddon torpedos, Rebel Pop-rs, Spooks, Lucky Craft Sammys, Livetarget poppers Bass Pro Shops panfish baits and beetle spins Worm hooks and weights and other carolina rig gear Storm swimbaits Spare trebles.split rings Fish grip, pliers, knife, hemos Booyah Pond Magic spinnerbaits, Cavitron buzzbaits Panfish flies Spare line for my panfish rod, medium rod, and froggin' rod So, I was wondering if you guys could suggest some other baits and terminal and stuff to throw in there. I have the opportunity to fish for bass, panfish, catfish, and pickerel every day. I also get the chance to fish for snakehead, trout, stripers, and the occasional smallie/walleye whenever I go up to Maryland. Please don't just say to stock it with only one bait. Thanks!

I have been looking at the daiwa spinmatic ultralight rods in either 6 or 6 1/2 foot 2 piece. I'll use it mainly for trout in rivers and streams, and panfish or trout in ponds every once in a while. Right now a have a 5 foot shimano that can barely get my spinner across a 10 foot wide stream, so I want a longer rod, which I can also use in lakes, ponds, or larger rivers. are these rods any good, which length should I get, or is there a better rod for a comparable price?

What fly rod/reel would you all recommend for targeting big bream and panfish?

What are the best ultralight lures you have ever used? When i say ultralight, i mean small enough for bluegill to bite, not just crappie. Please suggest hard-baits too! I really want to get a micro sized topwater