If the waters warm , fish shallow, If cold, go deep. 

I've fished for panfish when I was younger, but lately I've been reading alot about fisihing for panfish, and thinking about getting back into it again. I have a lot of great memories of those times, lol.

Back then though, the only panfish I ever caught were small and not worth the effort of cleaning. Matter of fact I've never caught a Gill or Crappie bigger then 6".

My main question is "How deep do you fish for the really big panfish"? What would be the deepest you would attempt to fish them?

Any tips on helping me catch some of them big fishes would surley be appreciated!

Thanks,

Wisc Harley Rider

On a regular basis I usually fish 5 feet deep or less to see whats biting. With colder water you have to go deeper. If you are fishing with a float, set it at different depths til you find what your looking for. Thats the best advice I can give.
Lifer! Fred NKy

It makes a difference if you're fishing from shore or a boat. Most of the crappie I catch are at night from a boat. I "target" sand bass, but there's always quite a few crappie in the same areas. What works for me when I start catching small crappie is to drop my bait down about five foot. If I'm still catching small ones I drop down a foot or two at a time until the big ones start hitting.Water temp makes a big difference too. In July and August the surface temp on Oklahoma lakes is 80+ degrees. That time of year I'll fish in  lake areas 50 - 70 ft deep and catch fish suspended around 30 ft.

Bronson: You probably have the same conditions I deal with in NE Il. The big boys are usually deeper than the bitty ones. If the water you are fishing has some decent 'gills, they will be on a break to deep water or in the deep water off the break, same for the crappie. If you are in SE Wisc, PM me as I am just south of the line. Tom
Fishin' fool in NE Illinois

Thanks for the good tips... I really appreciate you guys taking the time.

right now the pannies are in very shallow water. i'm putting on my waders and going out about hip deep and casting down the shore line and towards it. the big gills are tight to shore in any cover you can find. if they are out from shore they are about the 1st. break out. for gills wax worms are best and for crappie small minnows. the crappie right now are moving in to the shallows and you will find them around any wood, reeds or rocks that will hold the heat at nite, in about 3-8ft. of water.

 

but once the spawning starts you can find the fish on the break line that forms at the 8-12' mark. drag a small jig or favorate bait along the bottom, works for me. but don't forget the fly rod and fly's at this time of year also. because some of the biggest gills will lay right on the surface with their backs out of the water just before and after the spawn.

 

and during the summer times or early fall what dave d said about going deep is also right. i have fished in 100' of water before about 30' down, but most of the time 15-25 is all i have to go. the best bait at this time is either a small crawler or a half of crawler works the best for me.

As far as panfishin depth I always use a float, slip style on a reel and fixed on a plain pole. I always start at 6ft and adjust from there. It wont take long to find the depth the biguns are holding at. And if the fish are any shallower than 5ft it,s a good idea to stay back and use a rod n reel to reach over to em
NW Fla.

I always catch the big ones deep with a slip bobber set to the bottom and an ice fishing jig tipped with a worm on the line

You're right brother, I've had pretty good luck with those ice jigs also. I just found some little spider looking jigs ( Betts bream busters ) that I wanna try also. These float so I thought I'd add a weight a foot or so ahead of it and loose the bobber and just tight line it......well thats the plan.... I'll let you know if it works out.
Avid outdoorsman NE Indiana