Bobber/Float Rigs for Panfish

[Tim Elliott]

What are your go-to float rigs for catching a mess of panfish, and what terminal tackle do you utilize for the rig? Does anyone target panfish with artificials and a float?

I currently have a slip-float rig consisting of (from top to bottom) a bobber stop, a small red bead, an unweighted oval bobber, a 1/8 oz sliding egg sinker, another red bead, a small barrel swivel, and a 10 inch 6 lb. fluorocarbon leader connecting to a 1/32 oz. feather jig. With this set-up, I have been catching a few pre-spawn white perch in the very late evenings under my dock light since late last week in a Patapsco River tributary. Right now the perch are still on the channel edges on the Western Shore but within the next few weeks they should be pushing up shallow to spawn.

I rarely throw bobber rigs for panfish, despite my knowledge in that they most certainly catch fish. I always target panfish primarily with a beetle-spin, or a soft plastic on a jighead, either single or tandem. But this year I am looking to change it up a bit.

[rugbyfish]

I’ve used the same setup for panfish one colder months. I’ve done well catching crappie, bluegill, and the occasional bass. I usually tip the jig head with crappie nibbles. I imagine tipping the jig head with grass shrimp or blood worm would work well for perch.

[nhunter344]

One of my go to's was a small weighted bobber (as small as you can get away with) and 1/64 jig head with a 1" powerbait trout craw in pumpkinseed (which i just learned berkley is no longer producing and hasnt for a while.... booo).

[Tim Elliott]

I’ve used the same setup for panfish one colder months. I’ve done well catching crappie, bluegill, and the occasional bass. I usually tip the jig head with crappie nibbles. I imagine tipping the jig head with grass shrimp or blood worm would work well for perch.

I find it to be both, a very effective and fun way to catch fish. Regarding your set-up, how did you specifically rig it? I'm curious to experiment with different weights and jig head sizes to see which weight combinations work best. And yes, grass shrimp and blood worm are the hot baits right now. I've been trying out the Pro-Cure shrimp flavored gel and I've found that it is only necessary when the perch are in a finicky mood.

[Tim Elliott]

One of my go to's was a small weighted bobber (as small as you can get away with) and 1/64 jig head with a 1" powerbait trout craw in pumpkinseed (which i just learned berkley is no longer producing and hasnt for a while.... booo).

What shaped bobber would you use? I have a handful of weighted cigar style floats but I've heard from others that they prefer the round weighted bobbers. Powerbait is indeed an awesome bait. For my panfish soft plastics, I've been exclusively using Bust'em Baits stingers. They seem to out-catch all of the other twister and shad tails that I have.

[ronaultmtd]

I use a “slip cork” method that allows me to adjust the depth below the cork to anything from a couple of feet to six feet or more and still be able to reel the rig up for effortless casting. This setup is used mostly for crappie, but it works with bluegills, shellcrackers, White bass and a variety of other species... I use a 1/16-1/8 Oz jighead and mostly Gulp minnows although live minnows work well, too..

[nhunter344]

What shaped bobber would you use? I have a handful of weighted cigar style floats but I've heard from others that they prefer the round weighted bobbers. Powerbait is indeed an awesome bait. For my panfish soft plastics, I've been exclusively using Bust'em Baits stingers. They seem to out-catch all of the other twister and shad tails that I have.

If its close to shore, Ill use small round bobbers, if Im casting further out, Ill go with something a little taller. I havent seen a difference in catch rate betweeen bobbers, I just one that Ill be able to see.

[Tim Elliott]

I use a “slip cork” method that allows me to adjust the depth below the cork to anything from a couple of feet to six feet or more and still be able to reel the rig up for effortless casting. This setup is used mostly for crappie, but it works with bluegills, shellcrackers, White bass and a variety of other species... I use a 1/16-1/8 Oz jighead and mostly Gulp minnows although live minnows work well, too..

Now I assume that you set the depth of the rig to match the depth of which the fish are suspended. Are there times where you adjust the depth to where the bait is hovered about a foot off the bottom?

I do like the ability of a slip rig for the reason you mentioned, to cover the entire water column, top to bottom just about. I've found that it pays off to adjust the depth, a few inches every few casts.