One of the easy and simple ways to catch panfish is with bait. Whether you are using minnows, worms, or crickets you need a good bait fishing rig to bring in the most amount of fish. Here are three that are simple and effective.

1) Bobber Rig – The most basic and popular of all the bait fishing rigs is the bobber rig. To make this rig, you simply attach a hook to the end of your line and then attach a fishing float 24 to 48 inches above the hook. You can also add a split shot weight about a foot from the hook to help the bait sink faster. The bobber is used as a strike indicator. When you see it “bobbing” or when it goes underwater, it’s time to set the hook.

2) Free Floating Rig – This is a super simple rig that can be very effective in catching panfish. It’s just a hook connected to the end of your line and nothing else. You use the weight of the bait on the hook to cast it out. Then wait for it to sink to the desired depth and slowly retrieve. Great rig for finicky fish.

3) Drop Shot Rig – Known as a rig to catch bass with soft plastic worms. It’s also a great bait fishing rig for catching panfish. First you tie on the hook. Make sure you leave about a 24 inch tag end of line. Feed the tag end through the top of the hook eye so that the hook is pointed straight up. Then pinch on a split shot sinker to the end of the line. There you have it! Instead of using soft plastics you can use your choice of bait(s).

Now go and catch yourself some panfish.

                          

1. Spinner: Mepps Aglia Ultra Lite
2. Lure: Jensen Hot Shot
3. Jig: The Perfect Crappie Jig
4. Soft Plastic: Bass Pro Tripple Ripple Grub
5. Black Crappie Lure: Standard Slender Grub

When you want to get into a mess of huge crappie turn to any of the above-listed fishing lures for that job! When you go black crappie fishing and feel that today is the day that you are going to pull up that 2.5 pound slab, you need to know what the big-boy wants to pounce on. One of my all-time favorite crappie fishing lures is the Mepps Aglia Ultra light spinner. The gold and silver blades are wonderful to entice a huge crappie and this color combination seems to really attract the largest member of the school! I have used all of the above fishing lures for catching crappie and they all seem to work Great!

I like to string-up a yellow or orange soft plastic Bass pro Tripple Ripple Grub when I am tossing the lure into deep water. There just seems to be something about this crappie lure that turns the crappie on and within minutes I find my bucket full of slabs! Please recall that the bottom-line for all artificial lures is to entice the fish into accepting the imitation of what they normally feed on naturally. Since this can change, and will change from pond to pond it is important that you carry with you in the lure box a good variety of the above listed artificials. You will never know what you can discover with the feeding habits of huge crappie if you do not experiment a little each and every time you head out to Lake! Good luck and hope you bring back a pile of crappie!