Panfish Fishing

Few anglers fish bluegills and sunfish with artificial lures, unless they're tipped with some type of natural bait.

A slab mastermind dissects a real lake map to reveal where to catch bigger crappies year-round

Of all the panfish species, crappies are the least structure oriented.

It was a typical muggy July afternoon in central Illinois when my 6-year-old son, Taylor, asked if we could go fishing.

Spring crappies can make anybody a hero. But come summer, steadily locating slabs can be frustrating.

Bedfishing bluegills can be ridiculously easy. Find the right nesting colony and you can rack up big numbers of spawn-minded sunfish by drop-shotting, float rigging and simply dragging bait along bottom.

You can tightline with a plain jig, a jig and minnow or a jigging spoon. But the most effective setup is a dropper rig baited with one or more minnows.

 White crappies are cooperative biters but weak fighters.

 Unorthodox tactics for sluggish winter slabs.

Black crappies are easiest to catch in spring, when they move into shallow bays and channels to feed.