Trout Whisperer posted on March 01, 2010 08:14 :: 1974 Views
We're lucky in Minnesota for many reasons and one of them is that at regular intervals throughout the year some season or another is always closing. Deer, duck and grouse are done, while rabbit season is closing shortly. In no time at all walleyes and northern pike along with stream trout in lakes will have the legal lid screwed tight on the jar until mid may when we can finally open a new season along with a fresh can of worms.
So, to keep the addicts of fishing from becoming poachers, the state left a small door open called panfishing. Panfish, usually don’t make the headlines. Panfishing, from my point of view has been generally termed cute or for kids. Panfish consist of perch, crappies bluegills and my personal favorite, red eared sunfish not that green sunfish don’t taste the same, I just like the red eared bit.
Red eared sunfish seem like a good omen to me when I’m fishing. I like the bright color and the flash of red slashed across their face. Red ears school and so do crappies but red ears schools don’t swim off. You hit one; you’re into it until you’re done. They may be small, but they smack bait. I like that.
Another little bit of luck, of late, is the lengthening of daylight in a day. Late February it actually starts to warm up on the ice covered lakes. Sunshine feels warm on my back while I sit atop a bucket. When panfishing gets really good, I don’t need the shelter anymore and the first hint for me is when I drill an augured hole in the ice and the water gushes up like a geyser.
Last week the water didn’t come up the hole spurting just yet but the sunnies and perch sure did. Two of us set up in nine feet of water. We drilled through 22 inches of ice. The jigs were small and tipped with nothing more than Waxies. Maybe it was dumb luck but we plucked pannies for better than three hours. It was so simple and way to much fun.
Fun, can draw a crowd and before to long we had five other folks plopped right down next to us and it was a fish fest. After a winter of a bite here, and a bite there, this was drop the jig; set the hook one after another reel winding of catching fish. Total strangers for the first hour, but good friends by the time the fishing fillet day came to end.
We piled up the perch and the bluegills. Crappies, not quite slabs were somehow the prized or coveted caveat catch of the day. Seven of us, with seven limits and we agreed that was good number. . The snow was scattered with success. It was an impressive pile of panfish looking like sugar coated popsicles so when we took the on ice photo every ones ungloved fingers had papermouth’s in hand, all except me, I had to have my red eared lucky charm.
The trout whisperer
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