Favorite Panfish Rod?

[Druce 0]

I use a 6 weight 4 piece cabelas rod, you know what I really was not expecting much when I bought it but it rocks! I land all my panfish on it blue gill are the best! But when I want to get off the canal locks and hit up open water I use it for pike, bass, walleye and it holds up during the most valiant of battles. going on triple digit fish count with this rod.

 

Druce :smoke:

[TheCream 0]

i use a 6wt st croix legend ultra. never know when mr bass is gonna strike

 

This is true, you also never know when Mr Bass is going to try to eat your bluegill! That happened to me last summer. With only a 3wt, I tied on the biggest streamer I had with me (only a #6 olive zonker) and put it on Mr Bass' nose, which he liked. I landed that 19.5" bucketmouth on my 3wt and 6x tippet. Did it take a wade in to get the bass past the thick weeds, yes, and it was worth it!

 

I like my 7'9" 3wt St Croix Avid for gills and sunfish. When I am after big slab crappies, I step it up to a 9' 5wt Avid. I could handle the crappies on the 3wt, but can't get the casting distance I need with the bulkier streamers on the shorter lighter rod. Big crappies can be a handfull, though. The dinks won't flex the rod much, but tie into a 13-16" or bigger fish and they can wage a war!

[riffleriversteelheadslayer 0]

I use a 2/3 wt 6ft tiger eye built by steeldrifter its also my brookie rod but it handles almost anything I have landed a few lmb and quite a few rainbows over the 17 inch mark on this rod its a fight from the word go but its all in good fun here is the rod and the first fish caught on it was a gill http://www.rodbuildingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=22075

[deeky 0]

I would stick with a 4 weight. You would probably be fine in the Hills, but if you get out on the prairies, the wind will make you want a little more than a 2 or 3 weight. I'm a little partial to my 5 weight lately, but that's probably because it was the first rod I built. Prior to that, my Pflueger 4 wt. was at the top of my list right behind my kids, wife, and dog. It was like a $30 rod, but we just flow.

 

I would also avoid Albright - they have great prices, but the reel I got from them broke on the first trip and before I even caught so much as a snag. Then, when I called in, they called me a liar. Customer service?

 

Deeky

[Flyfish Dog 0]

Scott E2 3wt and Diamondglass 3wt exclusive for gills. I even caught a a 18" bass on the Scott rod this year and not a problem as long there not much grass. Anything heavier than 3wt is waste! Got to have fun!

[gpd4 0]

I use an Orivs 4wt in my favorite bluegill holes. It's a little heavy for that, but I've landed several nice bass with it, too.

[Guest]

"I use a $70 Three Fork Combo from Cabelas in 3wt, and I love it!!!! It plays a great fight with a Bluegill and I've caught 3 pound bass with it so I'm not too worried."

 

Same here. I have caught some 4 and 5 pound bass on it and it is an absolute blast. As mentioned before the tippet is the big factor here as far "breakage" goes.

 

 

[Curtis Fry 0]

I use a Sage Bluegill rod (equiv of a 6 wt) for most of my panfish. I always carry a 3 and/or 4 wt on the boat as well, especially if I can get into a pod of fish in relatively open water that doesn't require a lot of casting into cover. But when needing to cast poppers, bigger flies or fish into and around cover, the smaller weight rods don't cut it, IMO. I was a little skeptical about fishing for such small fish with such a "big" rod, but I actually love that rod for panfish.

[yetavon 0]

I have an Eagle Claw 6-6 featherlight 3/4 that I love....many 2lb + SM have been brought to hand and a blast for pan or a 6 in Brookie

Darrin

 

[pike man 0]

My first panfish rod is a cabalas cahill 8 1/2 ft 4wt starter kit and thats what i use for all my panfish. I have caught virtually everything in my area on that rod, gills', crappies, perch, 3+ pound bass and pike, and walleyes.

[boynabubble 0]

I would stick with a 4 weight. You would probably be fine in the Hills, but if you get out on the prairies, the wind will make you want a little more than a 2 or 3 weight.

 

That's a great point Deeky. I hadn't really thought about it in terms of casting in the wind. But out there on the prairie ponds it seems like that's an everyday occurrence. I've only been a South Dakotan since June, I guess it'll take some time before I start thinking like one.

 

I asked a Belle local once if the wind blew out here all the time and he said, 'No but when it does quit blowing, people start falling over!'

 

 

 

[deeky 0]

That sounds about right! The first hunting trip I took out there was about 30 degrees, 25-30 mph winds, and rain. Some days I've considered figuring out a way to just drift a fly out over the water like a kite before letting it fall to the water and then fish it back. At least on those days you can retreat into the Hills and find some shelter.

 

Deeky

[Green Hornet 0]

I do a lot of pond hopping in my neighborhood. We have a lot of drainage canals and water retention ponds that seem to be all interconnected and have good populations of the usual suspects. My "got to" fresh water set up is an Echo Carbon 2wt. matched with an Orvis BBS1 reel. It has a nice fast action and nice feel to it. The smallest fish give good feedback on strikes and strong enough for the occasional big Bass. Rod/ Reel/ Line new for under $300.

For 4wt I have a TFO Lefty Kreh with a TFO Prism reel. I don't think I have $200 in that setup. It does the job when the wind picks up. But I really am enjoying the ultralight style of fishing lately, seems like the lighter the rod the more I use it!

[Bullgill 0]

I use a Scott G2 8'4" 3 weight for Bluegill fishing, doubles as a nice Brook Trout rod. Expensive, but well worth it in my opinion.

 

I also use a 8' 4 weight fiberglass rod I bought at a garage sale for $10 a lot, there is no name on it so have no idea what company made it, but a fun rod.

[bullship 0]

I think I've caught bluegills on all of my rods(3,4,6,8), although the 8wt is a little heavy handed. I rarely target them, but usually end up catching more bluegill than whatever my intended target was(usually carp). I have an eagle claw fiberglass 4wt that is a lot of fun, but it's really a novelty rod for me. I think I got it for 8 bucks in a hardware store. It's like casting a wet noodle, but makes it fun fighting a small angry panfish. They're fun to catch on any rod, in my opinion. I do like to overline my rods, and that's especially true for bass and bluegill. One backcast or a water haul and you can cover a lot of water with little effort.