Favorite mid summer panfish bait

[Muddog]

Mine would me a Minnie tube tail in, pink/white, blue/white and yellow. Hook it with a small yellow octopus hook as a Carolina rig with small split shot . Tip it with a yellow Crappie nibbler. Throw it out and let it sink as far as you want it. Add or remove shot as needed. Slowly reel in to keep the line tight and the right depth.

I find that a moving bait will make the fish swim up from behind (where the hook is). A bait that sits still in the water allows fish to come in at all angles and they’ll pick you clean. The Carolina rig will allow the fish to inhale the bait.

[Guest]

Sometimes Ill use a small jig with plastic if Iam after sunnies and crappies together.If my approach is totally for sunfish,then almost always a small jig with a small leech,piece of crawler or a waxie or two,with the bigger pannies telling me what they want.With the bigger sunfish,sometimes I think people are afraid to go to a bigger profile jig and yes the nice sunfish will take this bigger jig.When im looking for just numbers,then it will be a 1/16 yellow jig with whatever bait they want that day.Something Ive tried this year that has worked well is to use a small scenic tackle jig with two waxies,and that has done very well with the bull panfish.Works for me.I almost always drift or troll very slowly for my panfish unless I come across a big school and only then do I anchor.

[Fatty07]

My new favorite crappie bait is a #7 shad rap. Just kidding however today I did catch a 13 incer and 12 incher on a shad ( tried to down size afterwards with no luck). Beetle spin in the heat of the summer can be tough to beat though, or purple 1/32oz jig with small spit shot for added weight.