Flyfishing for Panfish

When I tell you that this report is coming from Josh Mills, our resident fly fishing guru, you probably, just like I do, think we're going to hear about yet another brilliant way to angle for trout or steelhead. That’s the beauty of Josh… He’s inimitable, he's unpredictable, is always interesting. Listen to him now and find out how you can satisfy your hunger. “Fly fishing isn’t all about trout and steelhead. Some of the more available quarry out there are panfish. Things like crappie and sunfish and bass. What a terrific fish to go after because they are so apt to hit anything that swims. Recently I went out on Hayden Lake with my dad, we anchored in a Back Bay and sat and put little leaches out there, flies that imitate little leeches, and we just had a blast catching 25 or 30 crappie. They fight well on a light weight rod. So I encourage you if you have a chance, if there is a farm pond or a local lake, go down in those weedy areas and look for perch or sunfish or pumpkin seeds or crappie or large mouth bass. They can be a blast, especially for kids, because when Sunfish are guarding their nests or crappie are coming together for a spawn, catching 30 or 40 crappie on a fly rod or any rod for that matter, is a great way to bring kids into the outdoors.