After writing about my top 3 panfish flies earlier in the week (there is a link below), I got thinking about how I often fish them when I’m chasing the largest specimens in my local waters.
As much as I like loud, fast, and active presentations, I have to say that subtle is usually the key to bigger fish.
Below, I build off of my top 3 patterns and share my top three subtle presentations for big panfish. And the first and second are also some of my go-to techniques for slow or still-water trout. We sometimes lose sight of how cagey even the most common of fish – sunnies, bluegills, and pumpkinseed – can be when they get to be a certain age. If you want those fish, you’re going to have to do more than just show up.
Here’s some of my favorite ways to target big panfish:
Popper Dimpling
For most of us, casting a cup-faced popper entails stripping it back with jerks and spurts so that water is tossed and strikes are violent. I do it. You do it. Nothing is going to stop anyone from doing it. But sometimes, there’s a better way.
Finnicky fish like subtlety. Whether they’re weary from the spawn or angling pressure, a ripping popper retrieve might not entice big panfish. A fly rod is the ideal tool for imparting the most subtle action on poppers.
The desired result is a fly that simply creates dimples on the surface. Of course, underneath the water the feathers and rubber legs will be doing some dancing too. To achieve this, I lower my rod tip and create slack in the line. Then, I strip in only enough that the leader moves. The line straightens and comes back through the guides, and in doing so it causes the leader to slide to one side or another. Translated down the mono, it barely impacts the fly. Thus, the fly dimples the surface tension,
This technique is also excellent for hoppers and bushy dry flies.
Jig Dragging
Watch crawfish, sculpins, and hellgrammites move through water. Under normal conditions, they travel slow and low.
Streamers, like poppers, are usually stripped quickly. Fish will go after this, but they’ve got a split-second decision to make if you’re jerking a fly across their face or across their pool.
A bug that is worked across rocks or sand, along a weed bed or over a late-summer nest imitates protein-rich and easy to catch food. A jig hook ensures a snag-free retrieve. Marabou, or a similar material, allows the fly to fish itself even while you pause for what seems like too long. But as soon as that fish starts to turn away you twitch with the smallest of strips and make the fly irresistible.
Nymph Bouncing
I like sight fishing for big panfish. One of my favorite techniques is to drop a rubber-legged Copper John or Prince about two feet below a popper or dragonfly imitation. If a fish takes the big dry, great. But it is really used as a suspension point.
If I’m using a 9-foot rod, I can cast/flip my rig out to where I suspect fish are holding. A gaudy nymph will generally be visible in clearish water within 15 feet or so. After it sits for a few seconds, I’ll flip my rod tip such that the dry will jerk or even pop up. This will move the nymph quite a bit, causing it to rise up in the water column and descend again. That descent is what you’re looking for. A falling fly is an attractive fly.
However, it doesn’t move so much that a hard take won’t cause your dry to shimmy and key you in on a strike.
Interested in the flies I usually use to make these presentations happen? Check out that article here.