It’s Fall and Definitely Time for Panfish Action

It’s Fall and Definitely Time for Panfish Action

By Steve Weisman

The days are getting shorter, and the temperatures are beginning to feel more and more fall-like. As the water temperature lowers, fish become more active and will soon be going on their fall feeding frenzy as they prepare for winter. This is the perfect time to get in on some great panfishing across the Hawkeye state.

Each body of water will have its little secrets; they always do. There are so many choices from farm ponds, to shallow lakes, to southern impoundments and to northern Iowa lakes. However, no matter the body of water, I am going to look at structure and weeds. There is a pecking order, and the structure and weeds provide protection for young of the year baitfish and tiny perch, crappies and bluegills. With the baitfish come the different gamefish predators. Plus, the structure and weeds provide shade and places for the predator fish to lounge.

So, we have the structure related panfish, but at the same time, we also have the panfish that roam in schools out on deep flats. These panfish might be on the bottom or suspended. When targeting these panfish, I rely on my electronics to help me find the schools. For reference, I will check out the structure/weed areas first. If the fish aren’t there, I will then look to the deeper flats. One of the best areas for me in general is if I can find a weedbed that has deeper water on at least two sides of the weedbed.

Now, depending on the lake, deep flats might mean 10 feet, 20 feet, maybe up to 30-40 feet of water. It all depends on what type of water we are going to be fishing.

With this in mind, I will now go into specifics and will use the area that I fish the most, the Iowa Great Lakes. Here we have a good mix of lakes, from shallow ones like Minnewashta, to Big Spirit and East Okoboji in that 20-foot maximum depth and West Okoboji with a maximum depth well over 100 feet and lots of fishable waters from the shallows to over 30 feet of water. That’s what I like most about this area. With these options, you can pretty much know that you will find fish at one of these depths.

Baits and presentations
Before we look at these fall fishing opportunities, let’s look at our baits and presentations. Some anglers like to slip bobber fish with a plain hook or a tiny jig like a Clam 1/32-ounce Dingle Drop tungsten jig or a small mini jig. By using the slip bobber, you can cast away from the boat and cover a little more water. I will either set the bobber stop to sit right over the weeds or if I am at the edge of the weeds, I might put it close to the bottom.

While I will often do this with one rod, my favorite way is to straight-line right over the side of the boat. I will deadstick it and let the waves move the boat and the bait, or I will do my own jigging. I love to feel the bite! If I am straight-lining, my go-to jig is the Shuck’s Jigger Minnow, and I will mix in jiggles, and jigs and finally holding steady. There are so many colors, but my favorite is green and gold. Other small spoons and jigs also work well.

Live bait always works well on these lures: silver wigglers, wax worms, Belgian worms and even small leeches (if you can still find them). If you are targeting perch or crappies, there are times that small minnows are dynamite. Of course, plastics, like the Maki Plastics can also be good. So, yes, unless I have been fishing prior to this outing and know what baits have been working, I will often take everything along and use the process of elimination to find the go-to bait for that day. A final word on bait. Make sure the live bait is lively and in good shape. Also, change baits regularly to make sure the bait is fresh. The same goes true for using plastics. I know you can go longer, but I still like to err on the side of caution and change!

Although I anchor for panfish, if there is little to no wind, I will use my I-Pilot to slowly go along the weeds until I have a bite or catch a fish. Then I will use the spot-loc and hold in that place. The same can hold true out in the basin. Since I have a 23-foot Premier pontoon, I have the advantage of a lot of area to fish.
Now let’s look at the lakes:

Big Spirit
Perch will be the main target species. However, a good year class of 9+ inch crappies are in the system, so they can also be targeted. Prior to 2016, the late summer/fall perch bite found the fish in big schools wandering the main basin, often feeding on blood worms in the muck. However, a year ago we had our best luck fishing the “still green” weedbeds in 5-8 feet of water. Nice 9-11 inch perch were taken all fall rather than the deep basin. This summer the bite remained a shallow water bite in the weeds, and it is holding true so far this fall. It appears that huge schools of baitfish are in the weeds, so the perch are gorging themselves on young-of-the-year baitfish. Plus, the chance of getting good keeper walleyes in the weeds is also excellent. These weedbeds are also the area that I would target for the crappies. A bonus panfish will be some 7-8 inch bluegills, along with some in the 9-inch range.

Still, I wouldn’t give up on the deep basin. That bite can happen at any time. If you are going to target them, I would check the basin (20 feet or so) out off rock piles or deep weedbeds and use electronics to see if schools of perch can be found. They are marauders and wander around a lot when they are deep.

East Okoboji
This lake is full of yellow bass, along with good numbers of crappies and perch. Yellow bass are very aggressive biters. They can be shallow or deep, but they will usually be in bunches, so I rely on my electronics to find them. They will light up the screen! Stay with the school. It seems that the more baits that are out there, the more of a feeding frenzy they go on.

Last fall the perch fishing was excellent on East Okoboji. The best bite was in the shallows from the narrows north. Watch for a group of boats in the same area, and you most likely have perch fishermen.

Crappies can be found in these weeds, but they will often be suspended out in the basin. Anglers trolling for walleyes last fall caught both yellows and crappies.

Although there are points and rock piles, a major manmade structure area is at the west end of East Okoboji, where the trestle (walking/biking bridge) is located. This structure is a labyrinth of huge posts and cross braces. Perch, bluegills, yellow bass and crappies can frequent this area. A good perch bite often occurs east of the trestle in 8-10 feet of water.

Minnewashta
Access to this smaller lake from East Okoboji by boat is to go under the bridge into Upper Gar and then under a second bridge and into Lake Minnewashta. This lake is also full of yellow bass and last fall was excellent for crappies. Good populations of perch and bluegills can also be targeted. With not a lot of structure, look for deeper weeds (still green) and also use electronics to find schools of fish.

West Okoboji
Although there are larger fish, right now this lake is full of bluegills in the 7-8 inch range. Any of the main bays and points hold lots of fish: Emerson Bay, Millers Bay, North Bay, Haywards Bay, Browns Bay and Smiths Bay. Points include Pocahontas, Eagle, Gull, Hiawatha, Manhattan, Pillsbury, Ft. Dodge, Atwell, Omaha and Pikes. In addition to bluegills, expect to find schools of yellow bass moving through the same areas. Find the deep weeds (18-22 feet), and you will most likely find fish. At the same time, bluegills and yellow bass will also be found off the points in 25-35 feet of water, and sometimes out into 50 feet of water with fish suspended at 20+ feet.

Although more difficult to find, the crappies are often suspended off the weedbeds. However, it takes a lot of moving to find them. Some anglers will actually troll or drift slowly with their baits just over the weeds with crappies and bluegills coming out of the weeds after the bait. Small plastics like mini jigs and small twisters tipped with wigglers or small minnow work well here.

Looking for perch? The schools move around a lot. My best suggestion is to look for them out off the points. Usually, when you find several boats fishing an area, they are probably catching or trying to catch perch.

Looking for updated fishing information:
If you aren’t on a bite, and especially if you are coming to the Iowa Great Lakes area, my best suggestion is to check out the local baitshops. They might not give an “exact” spot, but they will point you in the right area for the fish you will be targeting and also make suggestions for lures and bait. Stan’s Bait and Tackle is located on the south end of Milford, Oh Shucks is located along Highway 86 southwest of West Okoboji, while Kabele’s Trading Post is located at the south end of the town of Spirit Lake.