Catching Panfish?

[flyfisher]

Small pieces of nightcrawlers for bluegills and sunnies. Crappies will take a larger piece of nightcrawler if it's moving, but they much prefer minnows. If the bass have spawned by you, the bluegills spawn immediately afterwards. The bull males on beds become very aggressive and will hit everything at this time. Small jigs tipped with 1.5" Gulp minnows, or any other small plastic like a nail tail or twister tail in natural colors will work as well. 

 

This is a great time to get someone involved in fly fishing.  Last year i went out while they were spawning and on one stretch I caught 45 sunnies on consecutive casts and many were the same fish multiple times.

[fishva]

Well, the trip was a huge success. We had a camping spot right on the water, so we cast out and watched our bobbers while we played board games and things. He caught about 30 bluegill and a couple crappie.

The first morning we were there, he woke me up at 6:30 and asked if we could start fishing. Second morning we slept later, but again, he wanted a line in the water the moment he woke up.

By the end, he was casting his spinning rod with confidence (and giving me a pretty good ribbing about catching more fish than me).

Thanks, guys -- we had a blast.

[HeavyDluxe]

Aberdeen hooks and whatever you want on them... when they are feeding aggressively/competitively, they'll bite an empty hook.  One of the best baits we used last year, honestly, was small chunks/strips cut from old, discarded senkos I used for bass fishing.

 

Worms, crickets, bread, hotdog bits, whatever...  The big thing is the longer-shank (aberdeen) hooks so you can unhook 'em.

[Lund Explorer]

Well, the trip was a huge success. We had a camping spot right on the water, so we cast out and watched our bobbers while we played board games and things. He caught about 30 bluegill and a couple crappie.

The first morning we were there, he woke me up at 6:30 and asked if we could start fishing. Second morning we slept later, but again, he wanted a line in the water the moment he woke up.

By the end, he was casting his spinning rod with confidence (and giving me a pretty good ribbing about catching more fish than me).

Thanks, guys -- we had a blast.

 

Congratulations on what sounds like a very successful trip.

 

You've created memories that will last a lifetime for both of you.

[blongfishing]

Rooster tails!