Panfish

[621vs]

Where can a guy go and find some panfish around the st cloud area

[Chad Peterson]

The horseshoe chain is good for panfish. Have to hunt for them, but once you do..............oh boy!

Sniffer

[Rick G]

Pick any lake in the area, they all have sunfish and about 98% have crappies. Some lakes put out bigger fish and some put out good numbers. Some of my favorites are Clearwater,Sugar, the Briggs chain, Rice, Kronis and like Chad said, the Horseshoe chain. Dont be afraid to try some of the smaller lakes in the area too, some of my best crappie lakes around here are under 300 acres.

[pushbutton]

Rick mentioned some of the best consistent performers, similarly, with those smaller lakes....you just have to go out and give it a shot! Size structures and year classes are constantly changing with them, and you just never know when you will stumble on a gem, especially for crappies. About a half dozen years ago, a tiny lake in the area(Achman) was pumping out enormous crappies .....yes, word spread and it got pounded quickly, but they would not have lived much longer anyway. Currently, one of the best gill lakes in the area is also EXTREMELY small, won't name it, but put in some time and you could be rewarded!

[Stick in Mud]

The previous posters know more about this than I do, but I'd like to second (or third) their recommendations. Panfish populations seem to be quite variable....some of my best fishing all year last winter came on a lake that, a few years previously, we'd found nothing of ANY size. I was very resistant to even giving it a try. Ended up catching lots of very big crappies. Funny how these things can change.

Oh, and if you're lucky, good, or persistent, you can also find some crappies in the Miss River.