Now, I know that panfish don't count for many that are strictly bass anglers, but ultralight tackle dictates that all species will be caught once found. I used to strictly fish for bass but decided more is better when it comes to many strikes vs maybe 24 or less. That day we caught bass (largest was 2 lbs.), pickerel (3 that were 24" - 3' long), sunfish (3 species, some larger than your hand), yellow and white perch and crappie (a few 13-14").
ex. of my buds pick.
IMG_4841.JPG
He wasn't familiar with ultralight fishing in general:
the use of light action 6' rods,
ball head jigs 1/16 oz or lighter,
8# test braid on spinning and spincast reels,
and soft plastics 3" or smaller
The day was perfect: 0 wind to 10 mph. Cloudy at first and then partly cloudy by 12 pm.
The Tracker 40 hp and 55 lb thrust Minn Kota did fine (the 40 hp needed work done the week before).
Key was using the sonar to stay on the 5' deep flats at north and south ends of the lake and after a bunch of fish was caught, go a bit deeper off the flat edges in 6' to find baitfish and mini-humps.
Another key to our success: once a few fish were caught, anchoring and fan casting schools found in one direction from the boat resulting in fish after fish. When crappie, sunfish and perch school, you inevitably catch nearby food-chain bass and pickerel.
As many have seen from my posts, I make many soft plastic shapes/actions using a candle flame to melt parts of different lures together. Fish slammed every one of them! Each had a subtle action that could be worked super slow mid-depth. The only lure I didn't make was Mann's Shadow Minnow. It looks and moves just like a minnow and fish clobber it.
cxrappie on Mann Shadow1.jpg
The other non-hybrid lure is one I pour into an aluminum mold called Mo Magic:
Mo Magic and Craw injection molds.jpg white thin tail crappie.JPG
As usual, color doesn't matter when it comes to small soft plastic lures as long as fish can see the lure from a distance of 10' in semi-clear water.
Earlier this year, another bud and I caught over 180 fish in 7 hours - everything the same. Now that the spawn of various species is done, a new pattern will have to be discovered. Hey, it was nice while it lasted!
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