Panfish Rod and Reel

[CMorg]

My buddy invited me to fish his moms pond. Said there were bass in it. There were , 4" worth.. anyway , he was catching some nice bluegills. So , I started thinking , I dont own any good panfish rod and reels. What basic set up do you all use ? I have seen alot of people use little 5'6" ultralights , with underspins or spinning reels. Maybe even the other type , like the zebco 33's but smaller. What kind of line do you recommend ? I may starting packing one of these around for those days when the bass wont cooperate , or my fry daddy gets hungry. Thanks again for the advice.

[66KingFisher]

I've been wanting some type of panfish setup myself....not your typical long pole crappie rod, but something that would work for bluegills, Warmouths, Crappie, but also use it for some light lure bass fishing. I never have cared much for the ultralight stuff....some of the rods might be ok, but to me, the reels are too small with tiny spools that seem to create alot of line memory problems.....at least more so then the larger "bass" sized reels.

I'm thinking of going with a 6 or 6.5ft light or med/light rod with a bass sized spinning reel....Sorry I don't know the reel series I'm refering to, but you probably know what I'm talking about.....I'd top it off with some 6# line and hopefully get ready for some fun...lol.

I"ve seen Jimmy Houston do alot of panfishing with simular setups and he swears by them over an ultralight.....light enough to cast small lures, and have fun catching smaller panfish, but stout enough to handle a nice sized largemouth when the time comes.

[1/4 stick]

For me, the zebco 33 is still the best for pan fishing and small bass. I always keep one or two rigged for nightcrawlers in the water while I'm shore fishing for bass with the bait caster. When I get on a bed of bream, I forget all about bass and have the tome of my life for awhile. Just the standard zebco combo is what I use with 2 to 4 lb test mono on it.

[walkeraviator]

Zebco 33, 5'6" Ultra Lite and 6# mono.

If you want some real fun... 5wt fly rod, some floating 5wt line and some 4-6# mono for a leader/tippet. Get some Bream Getters at wal-mart and have fun. Just get the thing to land anywhere near brushy cover and watch for it to get sucked under and pull.

[WaffleJaw]

Clint I built myself a 5'6'' ultra lite last year strictly for panfish and sand bass....I use the pflueger president micro spin on it (nice little reel)...with 6lb stren mono...But Im about to drop it to 4lb.....It is a fuuuuuun rod that I just recently started bringing along again..Sunfish dig and fight hard....Plus im really craving to fill the freezer!

My favorite technique is popping cork with a tiny,tiny jig.
Ive used lighter bass tackle for it as well and its fun,but something about the ultra lite gear is my go to!

[CMorg]

Originally Posted by WaffleJaw

Clint I built myself a 5'6'' ultra lite last year strictly for panfish and sand bass....I use the pflueger president micro spin on it (nice little reel)...with 6lb stren mono...But Im about to drop it to 4lb.....It is a fuuuuuun rod that I just recently started bringing along again..Sunfish dig and fight hard....Plus im really craving to fill the freezer!

My favorite technique is popping cork with a tiny,tiny jig.
Ive used lighter bass tackle for it as well and its fun,but something about the ultra lite gear is my go to!

Thanks to everyone for the input , Walker is that a one piece rod you built ? Most ultra lites seem to be 2 piece. I am thinking about doing what kingfisher suggested. I like the bigger rods too , I dont like the feeling of a snoopy type rod in my hands...lol. I know , I am probably missing the fight of my life...Well , maybe I will get both

[WaffleJaw]

Originally Posted by CMorg

Thanks to everyone for the input , Walker is that a one piece rod you built ? Most ultra lites seem to be 2 piece. I am thinking about doing what kingfisher suggested. I like the bigger rods too , I dont like the feeling of a snoopy type rod in my hands...lol. I know , I am probably missing the fight of my life...Well , maybe I will get both

Yes!..A one piece 5'6'' 2-4line 1/16-1/4 fast/light blank...Ultra light enough for me anyways.lol
It was a Blue CRB blank I got from mudhole..I think it was like a 15 dollar blank but it cast and holds up great!
I do alot of the ''dock shooting'' technique with it in the creeks because of all the over hangin limbs...Works nicely for that too!

What I like about it most is it isnt as slow/whippy as most UL blank...Its got a little backbone and a stiffer action to it....If I do enough panfishing this year,I may opt to build another one thats much longer.

Speaking of,have you had a chance to take the DS rod out yet?

[BigBassin144]

I either use my lighter bass spinning rods or an older 4'6" Quantum Super-UL. That little rod is a ton of fun!

BB

[CMorg]

Originally Posted by WaffleJaw

Yes!..A one piece 5'6'' 2-4line 1/16-1/4 fast/light blank...Ultra light enough for me anyways.lol
It was a Blue CRB blank I got from mudhole..I think it was like a 15 dollar blank but it cast and holds up great!
I do alot of the ''dock shooting'' technique with it in the creeks because of all the over hangin limbs...Works nicely for that too!

What I like about it most is it isnt as slow/whippy as most UL blank...Its got a little backbone and a stiffer action to it....If I do enough panfishing this year,I may opt to build another one thats much longer.

Speaking of,have you had a chance to take the DS rod out yet?

No , I havent. I fished two tournaments this year earlier. Then missed the last two because of my new baby... I will fish it though !!