Any Panfish in the Durham area?

[Dusty_D]

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!

 

[salmotrutta]

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!

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.

 

[Dusty_D]

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.

One of the things I've been doing off late is downsizing the size of my softbaits. I'm down to the 2" teenies by Mr. Twister now, and that's what I landed the couple gobies today. 10lb braid --> swivel --> 5lb leader line, 2 feet. Size 6 baitkeeper hook completely covered by 2 inch teenie. Small splitshot above swivel on the braid to add some casting distance.

I have a feeling this combo should work for me, and for my daughter. I'll give Port Perry a try. I was up there at the end of last season off the marina, but had bigger baits on for bass, and not much else. Goreski's Landing looks sweet on Google too. Definitely stopping by there too. From what I understand Panfish really don't care about time of day right, so could fish for them through mid-morning etc?

Thank you for the tips and suggestions, salmotrutta.

 

[salmotrutta]

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!

 

[rich_ace_G]

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.

 

[Dusty_D]

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.

I've not yet hit the west side yet. Where do you fish there? By the yatch club or the park there? I guess street parking is ok, because I haven't seen any parking in that area. Did a drive through that zone a time or two.

 

[Dusty_D]

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!

Ha ha! I thought so too, but let the gentleman I was dealing with at Sail talk me into the flourocarbon leader etc just a few days ago. 2 gobies yesterday proved that it works better than just my 10lb braid, but then it could also be due to the fact that I have 2" lures on now as opposed to 4" before.

 

[rich_ace_G]

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.

 

[Dusty_D]

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.

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?

 

[rich_ace_G]

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?

That I don't really know. As per parking. I don't know much as I ride my bike when I fish frenchmans. If you go to the east side...bridge is good for rock bass. end of liverpool.

 

[rich_ace_G]

And as salmo said your set up is overkill. When I go after panfish. It's either bobber - hook - nightcrawler. or #0 spinners. I don't fish for them but that's my son's setup when he's going with me when I go after carp or pike.

 

[Dusty_D]

Cool! thanks for the tips!!

 

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frenchmans is great, anywhere on scugug shoreline, keep it simple, float, single split shot, small hook. i usually go with an ultralight noodle rod with 4lb mono, lots of fun when you hook into something bigger