Experienced anglers often forget that new anglers just want to catch fish.
Big, snooty fish - such as trout and bass - can wait.
Getting a bite quickly and landing a few fish is what new anglers want and need.
Luckily, panfish - in the form of crappie, bluegill, perch and other kinds of small, scrappy fish - are found almost everywhere in North America. Small ponds, urban lakes and big reservoirs from Canada to Mexico often have big schools of panfish swimming around in the shallows near shore.
From early spring through summer, panfish are often easy to catch, and that happy fact boosts confidence for new anglers.
Tackling Panfishing
Newbie anglers should cart along a light spinning rod and reel spooled with 6-pound-test line. A few size 12 baitholder hooks, a few small bobbers and a package of small split-shot sinkers rounds out the tackle kit.
Kids often like to dig worms out of the garden for bait. Many tackle shops - or even fishing departments in big-box stores - sell worms, crickets and meal worms.
Finding Panfish
Kids are usually capable of fishing for an hour - or maybe 90 minutes if the bite is hot and cool drinks are along for the trip.
So, it's important to find the fish and get some bites.
Anglers should find a good spot, such as a dock, weedy areas near shallow and deeper water, sunken trees or beds of lily pads.
Newbie anglers will often spot schools of panfish in the weedy shallows right away - and get excited. It's important that no one jumps around on the bank or pitches a rock or anchor into the water and spooks the fish.
Catching Panfish
Tie a hook onto the line, pinch on a split shot about 18 inches above the hook and attach the bobber about two feet above the split shot.
Using pliers to mash down the barb on the hook makes it simple to release small or unwanted fish.
Hook the bait on the hook and gently cast or lower it into the water.
Seeing the Bite
Soon - within seconds if the panfish are around and aren't spooked - the bobber will jiggle, jump and then vanish under the surface. That's when the new angler reels and lifts on the rod to hook the fish.
Often, the newbie - whether they are 6 or 60 - gets hooked on fishing at the same moment.
If a new angler wants to keep fish, the teacher must explain about quickly killing, cleaning and eating the fish.
Panfish reproduce like rabbits - to the point of overpopulating many waters. Keeping a few fish to roll in cornmeal and pan fry makes for a tasty meal - and is usually good for the pond ecology. Many states have liberal panfish limits.
It's also OK to let the fish go.
Panfish on the Fly
Adults - or older kids - are good candidates for panfishing with a fly rod and reel.
Panfish are silly for size 12 nymphs, such as Zug Bugs, Hare's Ear's, and Lightning Bugs.
Fly anglers use 5-weight or 6-weight rods, floating lines and a 9-foot-long leader with a 4X tippet to cast the nymph out, let it sink for a few seconds and slowly strip the line back in - until a crappie, bluegill or perch grabs the fly.
Tiny floating popping bugs slowly chugged across the surface in the early morning or evening soon vanish in a sucking swirl.
Good Times on the Water
There's rarely a spring or summer day when panfish won't bite - and hook a new angler into a lifelong outdoor sport. Even expert anglers love panfishing!
Chester Allen - Chester Allen has never been able to understand why anyone would live or vacation in a dry, gritty desert. Water -- whether it's salty ...
