Every now and then I see people posting questions about panfishing. I have never targeted panfish in the Boundary Waters or Quetico. Just curious, how many people on this board panfish up there? What panfish do you normally target? What presentations do you use?

Saganaga now has a fishable population of crappies and has been producing some nice sized fish. I'm not sure where they came from but crappies might become a lot more common in the coming decades in canoe country.

If I did it would be perch. Loved those all you could eat perch at bars and taverns growing up.

I saw a guy coming back from Basswood one day with the biggest stringer of big perch I had ever seen in my life. The guy knew where to go and how to catch them for sure.

Wow, big perch......is there a finer eating fish? Maybe but they would certainly be right up there. I want to do a largemouth / panfish trip some day.

We've been known to target crappies

Basswood lake now has a very abundant crappie population now,whereas in the past they were not that abundant.
Things are changing.

quote mr.barley: " We've been known to target crappies"

Very nice! Thanks for sharing!

Nice mixed bag...
MAN I LOVE SLAB CRAPPIES

When I was a kid we used to catch Perch on little spinners in the river behind our house. I know they are in most bodies of water in the Q... How would you target them? Would love to fillet a few for dinner one day!

Seems to be fewer pan-fishing people on this forum than I assumed. If any of you pan-fishing people want to chime in, I'm willing to listen and learn :)

Love them panfish

quote Basspro69: " Love them panfish"

Did you catch those in the BW?

I haven't caught a lot of panfish in the boundry waters but when I have locked into crappies on several occasions it has been between sunset and dark when the bugs are trying to carry you away... When you do find them they are willing biters on little tube jigs below a bobber in shallow water.

I have not specifically planned a trip around panfish, but changed to fishing for them when I found massive bluegills in Basswood. We were trolling leeches and crawlers for walleye. It was off a weed edge in about 8 feet of water that sloped down to about 12. They were grabbing the bait on the drop before it got down to wally's territory. I caught 3-4 in a row that seemed like they were the size of a dinner plate, anchored up, and started using a bobber and small tube jig, or a small piece of live bait.

No real luck with Perch, but would love to find a school of big ones!

We don't target them but if we run into them I stop and usually tie on a Popeye jjig maybe tipped with a tiny twistertail. Usually crappie, only once nice perch. The occasional big bluegill; but not stopped for. Some very fine eating!

Not a fan of catching average size panfish but big ones rate very highly with me. One day I just have to take a trip and just target them. Big ones on ultra light can be quite the tussle and often challenging to find and catch.

Jigs and minnows in Hoist Bay on Basswood . Many moons ago.

Sept. 24 1991

quote blutofish1: " Jigs and minnows in Hoist Bay on Basswood . Many moons ago.

Sept. 24 1991"

Nice haul!

We targeted midsummer crappies on Gabbro a couple years ago and struck out. We have managed some decent gills on purpose here and there.

Seems to me crappie prefer the lighter colored lures/baits. Minnows/shiners or white twisters worked for me. We got into a mess of them below the Pictographs down from lower basswood falls. Unfortunately they were deep and bladders were an issue so we stopped after catching three or four in less than a minute.

You go back 30 years ago and it was a rarity to catch a crappie in the BWCA.

camp site 1148 on the top right corner of the Kawishiwi Triangle. Kids were soaking leeches off the west side and picked up a big Gill. We down sized everything and caught a nice mess of some big ones.

Anyone ever catch panfish in Kawnipi?

quote Captn Tony: "Anyone ever catch panfish in Kawnipi?"

That would really surprise me. perch yes,but that is it.

quote QueticoMike: "

quote Basspro69: " Love them panfish"

Did you catch those in the BW?"

Yes

quote Pinetree: "You go back 30 years ago and it was a rarity to catch a crappie in the BWCA. "

Really? I thought Basswood and other lakes always produced decent crappie. They are a native fish in Quetico/BWCA, with smallmouth being introduced pushed them and largemouth out of some lakes. I've seen a few photos of nice crappie catches from 30-40 years ago. Maybe they are in more lakes now? I don't know, don't target them.

T

quote timatkn: "

quote Pinetree: "You go back 30 years ago and it was a rarity to catch a crappie in the BWCA. "

Really? I thought Basswood and other lakes always produced decent crappie. They are a native fish in Quetico/BWCA, with smallmouth being introduced pushed them and largemouth out of some lakes. I've seen a few photos of nice crappie catches from 30-40 years ago. Maybe they are in more lakes now? I don't know, don't target them.


T"

Basswood had some and Bass lake west of Ely,and of coarse White Iron has had crappies for a very long time. But Basswood right now has 10 times the crappies now than they did in the mid 80's. Right now there must be some huge year classes. Maybe the population will drop back down in time.
You can name numerous lakes where numbers have really came up or lakes they are in now. Kind of like the smallmouth bass populations showing everywhere,but not as pronounced. Longer ice free periods may have helped?

Our group caught these beauties on Boot Lake this past week, we probably threw back almost as many.

quote Pinetree: "

quote timatkn: "

quote Pinetree: "You go back 30 years ago and it was a rarity to catch a crappie in the BWCA. "

Really? I thought Basswood and other lakes always produced decent crappie. They are a native fish in Quetico/BWCA, with smallmouth being introduced pushed them and largemouth out of some lakes. I've seen a few photos of nice crappie catches from 30-40 years ago. Maybe they are in more lakes now? I don't know, don't target them.



T"

Longer ice free periods may have helped?"

See, who says global warming is a bad thing? ;-)

More time to enjoy the pool, longer growing seasons, more and bigger crappie and of course if you want to sled across one of the poles like Scott did think of how much shorter the trip will be. It's all about perspective......

quote dzander7: "


Our group caught these beauties on Boot Lake this past week, we probably threw back almost as many."

Nice stringer!

I prefer to eat sunfish so I have fished for them quite a few times. Usually spring time on basswood in hoist or back bay. If you hit it right you can get crappies and sunfish together.

I have caught Rock Bass a few times right at dark in Basswood Lake.

quote BigMac66: "I have caught Rock Bass a few times right at dark in Basswood Lake."

Did you eat them? Most Minnesota people don't. But they should be fine. Some times they are full of grubs-worms in there flesh.

quote Pinetree: "

quote BigMac66: "I have caught Rock Bass a few times right at dark in Basswood Lake."

Did you eat them? Most Minnesota people don't. But they should be fine. Some times they are full of grubs-worms in there flesh."

I know people in Minnesota who hate rock bass even more than smallmouth.

quote QueticoMike: "

quote Pinetree: "

quote BigMac66: "I have caught Rock Bass a few times right at dark in Basswood Lake."

Did you eat them? Most Minnesota people don't. But they should be fine. Some times they are full of grubs-worms in there flesh."

I know people in Minnesota who hate rock bass even more than smallmouth. "

There is a lot of rock bass haters who despise the fish, besides not ever thinking or try eating one.

quote Basspro69: "

quote QueticoMike: "

quote Basspro69: " Love them panfish"

Did you catch those in the BW?"

Yes "

But, but, those are not bass, Basspro.

quote Pinetree: "

quote BigMac66: "I have caught Rock Bass a few times right at dark in Basswood Lake."

Did you eat them? Most Minnesota people don't. But they should be fine. Some times they are full of grubs-worms in there flesh."

I eat them all the time. They are great. I see parasites in sunfish filets way more often than rock bass. Even then, there's no problem eating them if they're cooked.

quote MikeFF: "

quote Pinetree: "

quote BigMac66: "I have caught Rock Bass a few times right at dark in Basswood Lake."

Did you eat them? Most Minnesota people don't. But they should be fine. Some times they are full of grubs-worms in there flesh."

I eat them all the time. They are great. I see parasites in sunfish filets way more often than rock bass. Even then, there's no problem eating them if they're cooked."

Actually it is very common that any type fish you eat will have some type of parasite in the flesh or stomach area.
Speaking around the Mille lacs area lakes rock bass will have a few more parasites than other panfish. But but lot less bluegills have a quite a few. Panfish that spend time in the shallow water usually have more. Crappies have them

Very few will transfer to humans,with a few exceptions there is a tape worm in a few lakes in the Ely area that tape worm will grow up to 35 feet long in our stomach if you would happened to eat a fish raw and get it. It was brought over from like Finland or Norway in apparently people whom did not cook fish or ate them semi raw in their preparation. Whitefish can carry this also.but is also very rare-the tape worm that will survive in us. Cook the good.

Good stuff Pinetree.......interesting.

I don't worry to much about them little black dots.......just fry em up!

Now Red Grouper and Amberjack on the other hand sometimes need some ruthless knife work.

We got into the crappies this spring off of dead and live crappie minnows with a bobber on LLC, I have accidentally caught some blue gills with leeches, but we caught some nice bluegills bobber fishing just like any other lake. We were using flu flus, with small gulp leeches. I know they aren't over abundant in the BWCA, but what I have found has been nice fish!