Whoever said thatpanfishing was for kids? That might be true if you include every "kid" up to the age of 90. Regardless of what species of panfish you choose to fish for - bluegill, pumpkinseed, perch, rock bass, crappie or bullhead – few brands of angling yield the enjoyment and steady action these little gamesters offer. And summer is a great time to fish for them since fishing for the more traditional gamefish species like trout, walleye and bass is often slow now.
There's hardly a water in our area that doesn't offer at least one species of panfish. Pumpkinseed and bullhead are the most common, but yellow perch and bluegill are also present in several waters, as are rock bass, particularly in our rivers. Although they're not considered panfish, I'd be tempted to add pickerel to this list since they are also very common in many waters and can provide good action during the summer months.
Just as you wouldn't use an elephant gun to hunt squirrels, adapting your fishing tackle to the fish being sought is the key to truly enjoying panfishing. An ultralight spinning rod and reel loaded with not more than 4-lb. test line is the perfect ticket. Although many anglers don't own a selection of various weight fly rods, those who want to use one on panfish might consider getting a 3- or 4-weight rod and matching reel and line. Armed with either of these outfits, any panfish caught will make a good accounting of itself, much to the enjoyment of the angler.
Small spinners and tiny jigs will entice most panfish, but so will live bait. The problem with the latter is anglers may wait too long to set the hook, and the fish may then have swallowed the bait and hook so releasing them isn't an option. That said, most panfish are good eating, so keeping a few isn't a bad thing. They're also prolific, so removing some helps the entire population and avoids stunting because they become overabundant.
One of my favorite panfishing lures – especially for sunfish, perch and crappie - is a small teardrop jig, the type normally associated with icefishing. By placing a small piece of worm or small grub (mealworm, mousee, etc.) on the hook, the angler is offering the best of both worlds to the fish – an attractive lure together with the scent and sight appeal of natural bait. Because these are too light to cast by themselves, it's necessary to add a split shot or two to the line about 10 inches above the jig. Another option with these is suspending them about 3-4 feet below a small bobber, just large enough to stay afloat. This rig works great when fishing over snags and weedy bottoms. It can also be fished very slowly, in a technique called "creeping," which is especially effective for suspended species like crappie. In spite of their diminutive size, members of the panfish family are hard fighters when hooked, especially bluegills and pumpkinseeds. Perch, crappie and rock bass are "hard strikers," but tire rather quickly. Keep in mind that largemouth and smallmouth bass, noted for their excellent fighting abilities, are actually members of the sunfish family. As has been noted more than once, "If a sunfish grew to be 20 pounds, it would be heralded as the fightingest fish that swims." So, pound for pound, sunfish deserve more recognition for their "fun-to-catch" factor.
Growing up, the main fish in my life were sunfish, perch, bullhead and pickerel. The latter, although not highly popular with bass fishing addicts, were the "big game fish" of my boyhood years. My dad would cart me to White's Pond, where we'd rent a rowboat and then spend the day fishing live shiners for pickerel. To a boy of eight, a pickerel of over 20 inches long was a behemoth. We'd also often join Francis "Fizzy" Welch, a friend of the family, trolling for pickerel at Plymouth Reservoir, where Fizzy owned a camp. We seldom kept many pickerel because of their numerous bones (Y-bones), but the ones we did were filleted and ground into "pickerel burgers," which, by the way, are delicious when combined with shopped onion, breaded with cracker crumbs and fried.
Once I was old enough to drive and owned my own car, my panfishing expeditions expanded. One thing I discovered that was fun and effective was fly fishing for them. Sunfish and perch will readily strike the same flies used for trout. For sunfish, the brighter colored patterns, such as the Royal Coachman, work very well, fished either dry or wet. Perch seem to prefer the darker patterns, such as the Black Gnat. For some real excitement, try fishing medium-size poppers along a weedy shore at dawn. Pickerel will hammer them. Rock bass will strike just about anything that resembles food, but are fun to catch on small poppers fished near shore over rocky bottoms.
Another fun summer fishing technique I discovered was fly fishing the Chenango and Unadilla rivers for big fallfish (sometimes called whitefish, but actually a large member of the minnow family), These oversized shiners inhabit the slower and shallow sections of the river, especially the head- and tail-waters of modestly currented pools and also straight flat-water runs of three to five feet deep. They'll strike anything that resembles a small minnow or crayfish. I've also caught many of them on spinner flies and sponge-rubber spider flies. Having a 16-inch fallfish whack your offering is almost as good as nailing a good trout, despite fallfish being not good to eat.
The beauty of panfishing, especially in summer, is it really doesn't require a craft to reach and catch fish, since the majority tend to hang out closer to shore. Heck, you don't even need waders because the water's warm and the air is even warmer. Just don some old shorts or pants, sneakers, and wade along while you fish. Best of all, you'll probably do as much catching as you do casting. And isn't that what good fishing is all about?

Visit the conservation area at the fair
The Chenango County Fair is fast approaching, and there'll be plenty to see and do there. One must-visit attraction will be the Federation of Sportsmen's Club's Conservation Area, just off Gate One. Members have put a lot of work and effort into this special area, showcasing many aspects of our county's natural resources and outdoor recreational opportunities. Be sure to stop by.