whats your favorite panfish rig??

[cal okeefe]

i have been using a small mitchell reel and a ultra light berkley tactix rod.. like many of you i have many poles but i allways pick this one for some reason.. i have alot more expensive setups but they are collecting dust. ( st croix-allstar)

[Troy Dorman]

Reel- I love Pflueger reels, I have several of their bottom end Trion's and one President series. These are awesome reels for the money.

 

Rods- Well I've got five St. Croix's, three being Triumph's and two being their Premier series. All five are 6ft, light action rods. They're good rods but they have to many eyes towards the end of the rod IMO, causing the line to wrap around these eyes. I also have the cheap Berkley Cherrywood models and I've caught just as many off of these as I have the St. Croix's. The Berkley's are 5-6 light action models and don't have quite the backbone of the St. Croix's.

 

When it comes to your gear, I've always believed the reel is by far the most important factor in the equation. If you've got a crummy reel, you'll miss fish, it's that simple. Most 5-6 to 6ft UL or L action rods are perfect for the job, no matter the maker IMO.

 

Hooks- No 2 or 4 long shank Aberdeen, 4lb test Mono.

[Timbaux65]

Almost exclusively fly rod for bluegill, goggle eyes, etc I like to use top water poppers and sinking spiders like the bream killer .

Once in a blue moon you might catch me using live worms under a cork.

For sacalait, almost exclusively a jig pole and a tube jig, Garland jig, etc. Sometimes I use those roadrunner jigs.

[Lord of the Fly , Rods]

I too almost exclusively fly rod for the sunfish family, a Browning 8-5 ft , graphite  #5 wt rod, manuel reel,tapered weight forward floating line, with a 8-10 inch porcupine quill, 10 # test flouricarbon leader, a #8 long shank hook, with a big fat live cricket that has just had one drop of fresh cricket juice leaked on its body from the hook going in, yum yum.  the bluegill just cant resist, it starts a frenze! The only time I use artificials is when I run out of crickets , or I'm fishing for smallmouths.       LOFR

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

This is a nice, succinct description. I want to add a fly rod to my aresenal next year, but I don't fancy myself becoming a "fly fisherman."

How does the quill cast? That seems an oddity....

[Tomas Daniel]

ive never used a quill....they seem a little bigger than what i like. i use a very small natural colored fly rod cork

[Lord of the Fly , Rods]

If you can think out of the box of what a fly rod can do, you will not be surprised what a flyrod can do, but if you follow what you have been told the only way you can use a fly rod, you wont be happy.  As for quills, be warned , if you get use to them no other type of float will satisfy you.  LOFR

[Greg McWilliams]

David, If you don't want to become a flyfisher man don't pick up a flyrod, I did and that is all I will fish with period!!!!!!

My favorite everything is an 8' 2 wt. T.F.O., flexes good and will land anything if you work it right!!!!!!! Anything bigger than a 4 wt. is like casting a tree after you have used a 2 wt.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   :-)

[JBplusThuy]

I looked on eBay for porcupine quill floats and all the people selling them (or even raw African quills) seem to be in the UK, and quite pricy. Haven't found any in the US so far.

Jonathan

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

They take some searching, as I recall. I never did get any.

[Lord of the Fly , Rods]

 I have heard they have quills at the  Bass Pro Shop in Memphis ,Tn

[JBplusThuy]

Bingo!  I had been googling "porcupine quill float" and been having poor results, but when I dropped "porcupine" and just googled "quill float" I found porcupine quill floats. Go figure :p

http://www.plumesnfeathers.com/Porcupine-Quills-Nat.html

[Leo Nguyen]

Just a notice of warning though. Although the quill is no longer actively attached to the glands of the porcupines, secreting an irritant along the quills and tips, it doesn't mean the tips are not hazardous to your health. The quill will still bring bacterial introduction to your epidermal layers if you "accidental" poke yourself with it. The quill is designed for high deliverance of irritation venom, but for us, it will be the bacteria that will do us in, if the payload hits our blood stream by chance. Just be very careful with the quills.