Panfish Lures and Accessories for Summer Fishing
We’re going to break down a few panfish lures that will help you catch more fish this summer. You want a number of different baits, including insect profiles and minnow profiles. These selections should cover the gambit:
VMC Boot Tail Jig
You typically see these boot tail style plastics in the walleye or bass fishing world, but they work for panfish, too. The VMC Boot Tail Jig is one of the best options available today.
Johnson Beetle Spin
The Johnson Beetle Spin is an old school option that’s still catching fish. It has a spinning blade above and a beetle profile plastic below – it’s a true mainstay in the panfish lures category.
Northland Thump Crappie King
The Northland Thump Crappie King has a fairly large profile and an underspin blade below the head of the jig that adds a little flash and vibration to the overall package.
Kalins Crappie Scrub
Kalins has a great variety of plastics for panfish and one of their newer offerings is the Crappie Scrub. It almost looks like a frog-style design with it’s two little paddle legs dangling from the back.
Northland Impulse Mini Smelt
For downsizing your presentation, the Northland Impulse Mini Smelt is a great option. They are very small and lean with a light jig head, giving you an excellent finesse profile. You can cast and swim or fish it below a bobber.
Rapala Slab Rap
Hard baits have really grown in popularity for panfish in recent years and one of the best options on the market is the Rapala Slab Rap. You can cast it out and swim it back the boat or fish it vertically in deep water.
Rapala Ultra Light Rippin’ Rap
When you think about the Ultra Light Rippin’ Rap, you probably think about walleye fishing or bass fishing, but they have smaller panfish-sized options, too. They pair internal rattles and lots of vibration with some excellent UV colors and overall great fishability.
Northland Bionic Panfish Fishing Line
Panfish aren’t too big, so you don’t need extra heavy duty line, but you want to have something you can trust fishing around cover like weeds and wood. 6lb Northland Bionic Panfish Line is an excellent choice. It’s abrasion resistant and has great castability. Downsize to 3lb test if you’re having problems getting bites.
St. Croix Triumph Rods
If you’re looking for a good panfish rod, check out the 6’6″ Lite Power, Fast Action St. Croix Triumph rod. It’s great for casting light baits a long ways and it has enough backbone to set the hook if you hook a fish far away from the boat.
Clam Fortis Net
New to the market, the Clam Fortis Nets are high quality and come in a number of sizes, including a panfish option. It has a nice soft plastic mesh that doesn’t get snagged up with hooks, a glide lock handle that extends 65 inches and a built in net for measuring your catch.
All the panfish lures and accessories listed above are available at fleetfarm.com or your local Fleet Farm store.
Bold North Portable Power Station 100
One last item that isn’t available at Fleet Farm is the Bold North Portable Power Station. It has a power indicator, flash light, UV light, USB ports, 12v power jack and a pair of terminals. Great for powering your electronics and glowing up jigs.