Hunting Washington Forum

Other Activities => Fishing => Topic started by: Norman89 on August 03, 2017, 09:24:13 PM

Title: Panfish are on fire!
Post by: Norman89 on August 03, 2017, 09:24:13 PM: Been out to harts lake, ohop and tanawax lake over the last week and all the panfish are going crazy full stringers of perch blue gill and crappie a few bass and even a good size bullhead at ohop! Having a great time with the kids and friends filling the freezer even had a fish fry tonight with some friends here is last nights stringer and a full quart freezer bag of perch fillets!
Title: Re: Panfish are on fire!
Post by: Fl0und3rz on August 03, 2017, 09:30:15 PM: Way to go! Brings back memories or floating crickets over spawning beds all day as a kid down south.
Title: Re: Panfish are on fire!
Post by: Norman89 on August 03, 2017, 09:38:07 PM: This year I am targeting them hard and 90% have been caught on micro crankbaits but a few were a traditional sliding bobbed and worm and some on a jig
Title: Re: Panfish are on fire!
Post by: Fl0und3rz on August 03, 2017, 09:48:11 PM: We used to use beetle spins to great effect, too. Don't know if they still make those as I haven't targeted panfish in ages. I need to pick it back up and get the boys onto some.
Title: Re: Panfish are on fire!
Post by: lokidog on August 03, 2017, 09:54:06 PM: Yum! A suggestion though... try scaling some before fileting and fry with the skin on. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the sweetness that the skin adds. I loved crappie and bluegill as a kid but as I got older and learned how to filet them, I did. At some time, I realized they did not taste as good as they did. Scaling them brought back that flavor from my memory.
Title: Re: Panfish are on fire!
Post by: Norman89 on August 03, 2017, 09:56:24 PM: Oh ya all crappie and bluegill and fillet skin on scaled that's my favorite!
Title: Re: Panfish are on fire!
Post by: lokidog on August 03, 2017, 10:41:29 PM: Quote from: Norman89 on August 03, 2017, 09:56:24 PM
Oh ya all crappie and bluegill and fillet skin on scaled that's my favorite!

:tup: Perch not so much.
Title: Re: Panfish are on fire!
Post by: Norman89 on August 03, 2017, 10:46:55 PM: I actually just found a new way to clean perch my brother taught me that makes life real easy he showed me to make an opening cut along the back one on each side of the dorsal and adipose fins, then a regular cut along The belly but all cuts not into the meat just through the skin gently. Then your standard fillet cut behind the gill plate and the four cuts all together allow you to pull off the skin on each side in a single piece then fillet and it works slick. Takes me about a minute to clean a perch this way and end up with two nice boneless skinless fillets every time
Title: Re: Panfish are on fire!
Post by: Crunchy on August 03, 2017, 11:46:17 PM: Good haul.

Freshwater top tasters
Walleye
Crappie
Yellow perch
Title: Re: Panfish are on fire!
Post by: bearpaw on August 03, 2017, 11:55:50 PM: great catch, good eating :EAT:
Title: Re: Panfish are on fire!
Post by: Blacklab on August 04, 2017, 08:17:39 AM: TMF! (To Much Fun) :tup:
Been targeting Crappie this year at a local lake. Haven't found them yet, still looking. Yellow perch is mainly what I'm finding with no real size 4 & 5". Not really sure if their are any good numbers of Crappie anymore in this lake. It's just so close to home not to try. I will be hitting other lakes in the next couple weeks were I know their there. But still have to find them..lol ;)
Title: Re: Panfish are on fire!
Post by: Norman89 on August 04, 2017, 09:39:50 AM: I have just been slow trolling the crank baits till I start hitting fish and work the pod till I get basically a circle around there location then troll through the middle of them a few times it has been working awesome so far last night caught my biggest crappie yet at 11 1/4" that's the one in the picture. Here are a couple solid 9"s from last weekend on ohop
Title: Re: Panfish are on fire!
Post by: Sandberm on August 04, 2017, 09:41:15 AM: Quote from: Fl0und3rz on August 03, 2017, 09:48:11 PM
We used to use beetle spins to great effect, too. Don't know if they still make those as I haven't targeted panfish in ages. I need to pick it back up and get the boys onto some.

Green Beetle Spin, one of my all time favorite lures.
Title: Re: Panfish are on fire!
Post by: Fl0und3rz on August 04, 2017, 11:06:28 AM: I still have some. The little orange ones, too. I think they had a black dot on them, and then there were the little white ones with the red dot. I am going to have to check my soft plastics to see if they are still any good.
Title: Re: Panfish are on fire!
Post by: hunt_fish on August 04, 2017, 12:11:20 PM: Quote from: Norman89 on August 03, 2017, 09:38:07 PM
This year I am targeting them hard and 90% have been caught on micro crankbaits but a few were a traditional sliding bobbed and worm and some on a jig

Saw a couple videos on YouTube of a guy who fishes those lakes. Looks like all he does is troll those cranks and does well.
Title: Re: Panfish are on fire!
Post by: Blacklab on August 04, 2017, 12:26:15 PM: Might have to try trolling cranks. Thanks
Title: Re: Panfish are on fire!
Post by: PolarBear on August 04, 2017, 12:31:13 PM: Nice!!!! Beetle Spins, tiny Rapala's and Roadrunners were my go-to.
Title: Re: Panfish are on fire!
Post by: Norman89 on August 04, 2017, 01:04:09 PM: Hunt_fish that was probably the fgk fishing channel the guy that runs that channel is the same guy that runs the fishing section at sportsmans warehouse in Puyallop super nice guy and yes trolling cranks is his go too for 9+" slabs
Title: Re: Panfish are on fire!
Post by: Norman89 on August 05, 2017, 08:06:36 PM: Another awesome morning on ohop lake! 7 crappie and 7 perch!
Title: Re: Panfish are on fire!
Post by: WapitiTalk1 on August 05, 2017, 08:13:13 PM: Yum, not much better eating than Perch, Big Bluegills, Crappie, and small Bass! Filet em out and deep fry them suckers!
Title: Re: Panfish are on fire!
Post by: Norman89 on August 05, 2017, 08:18:55 PM: Today's batch was a quart bag of crappie fillets and a half quart of perch im ready for the next fish fry!
Title: Re: Panfish are on fire!
Post by: lokidog on August 05, 2017, 08:32:54 PM: Quote from: Norman89 on August 05, 2017, 08:18:55 PM
Today's batch was a quart bag of crappie fillets and a half quart of perch im ready for the next fish fry!

Egg and cornflake crumbs, my favorite breading for them.
Title: Re: Panfish are on fire!
Post by: Norman89 on August 05, 2017, 08:40:37 PM: Im a fan of cornmeal and Italian bread crumbs on,mine with a good tarter sauce!
Title: Re: Panfish are on fire!
Post by: Fl0und3rz on August 13, 2017, 11:15:18 AM: Got my two boys on their first fish yesterday. Dink perch, but it was a great time to teach them how a bite feels and setting the hook.

:IBCOOL:
Title: Re: Panfish are on fire!
Post by: Blacklab on August 13, 2017, 07:42:19 PM: Quote from: Fl0und3rz on August 13, 2017, 11:15:18 AM
Got my two boys on their first fish yesterday. Dink perch, but it was a great time to teach them how a bite feels and setting the hook.

:IBCOOL:

:tup:
Title: Re: Panfish are on fire!
Post by: Norman89 on August 13, 2017, 08:21:00 PM: Something special about teaching kids how to fish I can't wait for mine to be big enough to do it! For now I let my 3 year old swing a bobber around wildly to keep him occupied between fish. Once in hooked and fighting a fish he just jumps around the boat like a pinball screaming "FISH! FISH! DADDY GOT FISH!!??
Title: Re: Panfish are on fire!
Post by: Fl0und3rz on August 13, 2017, 08:25:46 PM: Yeah, tried bobber, then we just fished with worm right over the edge of the dock. Even my 2 year old got fish on, and there was lots of action to teach about what a bite feels like.
Title: Re: Panfish are on fire!
Post by: Norman89 on August 13, 2017, 08:30:59 PM: Bobber and worm off the dock that really brings back childhood memories! I cut my teeth on bluegill and perch just like that :IBCOOL:
Title: Re: Panfish are on fire!
Post by: SkookumHntr on August 15, 2017, 11:20:04 AM: :drool:
Title: Re: Panfish are on fire!
Post by: Crunchy on August 15, 2017, 11:22:52 AM: Have you hit Alder lake? That's my number 1 crappie and perch lake. Not sure of the condition of the boat ramp as of late.
Title: Re: Panfish are on fire!
Post by: bosshogg112 on August 15, 2017, 12:26:55 PM: Quote from: Norman89 on August 03, 2017, 10:46:55 PM
I actually just found a new way to clean perch my brother taught me that makes life real easy he showed me to make an opening cut along the back one on each side of the dorsal and adipose fins, then a regular cut along The belly but all cuts not into the meat just through the skin gently. Then your standard fillet cut behind the gill plate and the four cuts all together allow you to pull off the skin on each side in a single piece then fillet and it works slick. Takes me about a minute to clean a perch this way and end up with two nice boneless skinless fillets every time
Would you be able to post this with pictures? I would love to see how this is done!!!
Title: Re: Panfish are on fire!
Post by: Blacklab on August 18, 2017, 05:25:23 AM: Quote from: Norman89 on August 13, 2017, 08:21:00 PM
Something special about teaching kids how to fish I can't wait for mine to be big enough to do it! For now I let my 3 year old swing a bobber around wildly to keep him occupied between fish. Once in hooked and fighting a fish he just jumps around the boat like a pinball screaming "FISH! FISH! DADDY GOT FISH!!??

Those are the good times and memories :tup: Remember don't blink. My daughters are now young adults 27, 30. We still have wonderful times. When they were little holds a special place in my heart. Right now my grand child is a beautiful purebred German shepperd Zoey :chuckle: