Any Panfish in the Durham area?

Dusty_D said:

Hey folks,

Just curious if there's any particular creeks/lakes/ponds etc in the Durham area that I need to be targeting for Panfish? I've tried Frenchman's bay and all I was able to pull out today were a couple of now dead Gobi's.

I'd like to find and try a few spots out so that I can take my daughter out to them and get her started with catching fish.

General area pointers would help. Specifics not required. I know that's frowned upon, but I wouldn't say no to a PM or two with specific info.

Cheers!

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salmotrutta said:

Some spots are kinda tricky because they are quasi-private water, or riddled with nesting waterfowl and biting insects.

In terms of off the dock panfish, have you tried Goreski's Landing? If I recall correctly, there is a dock with lots of space for anglers to drop a line, and a fairly large parking lot.

Even simpler would be Port Perry, right where the lake meets the downtown picnic area. Tonnes of panfish to be caught. Even though catching panfish can be non-stop, I see a lot of anglers barely catching any.

Biggest mistake I see: Set up with giant bobber, huge hook, heavy weight, worm, waiting for a tiny panfish to sink the bobber like a stone. Ain't gonna happen. I've stood beside so many anglers doing that, I'm pulling them in one after the other, they are wondering why their bobber isn't sinking. Thing is, I wasn't even using a bobber! The second that morcel of worm hits the surface of the water, those pannies are on it like white on rice. Set the hook after a few seconds and reel 'em in.

The fish can definitely feel the resistance of a huge weight and bobber, and unless it's a giant, the bobber will almost never plummet.

And as I've said over and over on this forum, but I see you're new to here so it's worth repeating, it's actually extremely simple to catch panfish (and many other species including bass and trout) on a bare hook. Just try to make your hook look attractive to the fish, as thought it were an insect skitting on the surface or moving up and down in the water column.

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DILLIGAF?! said:

depends where in frenchmans. if you're by liverpool, lots of carp gobies and catfish. if youre by the west side. lots of perch and blue gills. look for grassy weedlines.

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salmotrutta said:

Will generally be least productive in the middle of a hot and sunny day, as sun starts to lower, it gets better and better. But at many spots, there will be little difference in action all day.

That set up sounds like overkill! Go with any line of your preference, 6lb to 10lb. Screw everything else. Just tie on a small hook. No need for weights, leader, swivels, etc. If you don't need them for steelhead, trust me you don't for panfish either

Honestly if I had to deal with all those components on the end of my line, I wouldn't bother fishing!

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DILLIGAF?! said:

by the park. tons of panfish. or fish the inside of frenchmans by the channel. you can have a good day of perch. just don't do bottom fishing as catfish is all you'll get. grassy lines by the park on the west side can be really good with panfish using worms and you will hook on some bowfins as well.

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Dusty_D said:

Awesome! Thanks so much.

Since I have your attention, is the "vote this post up" a way of saying "thumbs up" or "thank you" on the forum?

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