Where to Search for Trophy Panfish

This will be a series of observations and findings based on chasing panfish all over the country and reading a lot of papers on red ear and bluegill habits

I’m addicted to hunting big fish. I don’t care if its a pond, creek or the biggest reservoirs in the country. I want to figure out what the big ones do, and I pursue them. It started with bass fishing which led me to going down the big swimbait wormhole. And then just big baits in general. I’ve caught giant bass on 10-inch spoons, 6-ounce swimbaits, giant crankbaits, huge plastics and more. I’ve also caught them on tiny finesse baits, spinnerbaits and regular crankbaits and jigs.

Then I transitioned into trying to figure out crappie. For several years I just tried to understand their movements and patterns from seasons to season and then eventually found myself only hunting the big ones again.

Same happened with bluegill and shellcrackers. And now it’s where I find myself spending a bunch of my fishing time. Trying to pattern the big ones. And in doing so I’ve been talking with a lot of anglers and biologists about where they consistently find big panfish.

It’s interesting that there are some common traits and then there some that don’t apply at all in some locales. But there are things to consider when seeking out big panfish. So for a quick list lets start here and then expand out.

Here are 6 things I consider when exploring waters for big panfish:

• Food sources

• Growing seasons

• Life cycles

• Fish Populations / Stunting

• Habitat

• Water body size

Food sources

I think the biggest factor to finding trophy panfish is finding ample food supplies. That would come in the form of aquatic insects, small baitfish, insects, invertebrates, crustaceans, snails and more. But having quality food sources and usually multiple food sources generally means a body of water can sustain a big fish population and a big population of big fish.

I will often explore the banks when I get to a lake, pond or river. That can tell you a lot about what’s going on with that body of water. Can I see small bugs along the bank? If I flip over some rocks do I find stuff crawling around? Do I see small baitfish skittering about in the shallows. Do I see shells and snails along the bottom? If so, then I know this place is worth exploring.

Growing season

Where the fisheries are can sometimes tell you a bit about their potential. It’s a lot less exact though. I say that because obviously, Florida and Georgia are going to have much longer “growth seasons” than states like Michigan and Minnesota. Yet Minnesota is one of the best states I’ve seen for giant bluegills. As is Michigan. That’s largely due to the fact that their fish feed heavily all winter long.

So growing season is a bit of a misnomer. But still I have found a lot trophy fisheries on bodies of water where the fish seem to be able to feed easily 12 months out of the year. Again this typically points back to being ample food sources that are available the whole year.

Short life cycles

I also consider that panfish have short lifecycles comparatively speaking. On Kentucky Lake, bluegills are said to only live 4 or 5 years. I have heard that panfish up north could be a decade old. I think that is maybe because of dormant seasons but I’m not sure about that. And something I will be researching further to see what has been published on the subject.

But knowing that bluegills don’t live long, you should be able to figure out if the food source is growing fish quickly. If I’m finding 8-inch gills that are really thick, I feel like the potential is there to have some trophy class fish.

Stunted fish / over populations

Fish populations is interesting. Especially in smaller bodies of water. It’s been said if you put a lot of crappie in a small body of water, they will take over and stunt your bass populations. But I’ve also found on many occassions where lakes with stunted bass generally have giant bluegill in them. Same for red ear. If I find a lake with a lot of small bass, I usually find big red ear in those bodies of water.

I actually love to hear about lakes that have a lot of stunted bass. Because this has often led me to some great bluegill and red ear lakes. Generally those two species don’t compete much with each other for food and the bass will keep the small bluegills in check if there are enough of them in a small ecosystem. So I actually like to find lakes with small bass when hunting trophy panfish.

Natural habitat

I do want to find a body of water with good habitat. By that I mean good bottoms for successful spawns. Cover for shade and protection of fry. Ample forage opportunities that could be lots of shells, grass that holds aquatic insects, good substrate for aquatic invertebrates. Shade trees, grass along the banks, etc. Those things when heavy rains come can make a nutrient dense resource for growing panfish. Also protection from predators and other predators in the ecosystem is something to consider.

Some of the best big panfish waters I’ve seen are basically flooded cypress swamps. But those nutrient dense environments with abundant habitat, make for many big fish holding opportunities.

Smaller Waters

I am starting to find in my research that many of the record panfish have come from small waters. And that is redirecting some of my research for trophy potential bodies of water. Of course you will always have great large reservoirs like Kentucky Lake with their nice red ears and bluegill and Lake Havasu with world record class red ear. But if you look at the record books, a ton of record panfish have come from smaller lakes, ponds and rivers.

I think there are a plethora of untapped lakes because a lot of people will hear “that lake isn’t very good fishing” coming from a bass fisherman and think that means the bluegill fishing or the red ear fishing is no good. Some of the best lakes I’ve found are little public strip pit lakes or city lakes that have stunted bass, limited access (i.e. no boat launch) that offer really big panfish.

Other considerations for trophy panfish

I think about putting all this together and still there will be trophy fisheries that don’t line up on all of these things. I think the goal is to find places that match up on most or several of these things. Like there are trophy panfish in Minnesota and also in Alabama and South Georgia as well as Florida and Texas.

So it’s not limited to just one state or one part of the country. I’ve found some impressive fisheries in Illinois, Nebraska, Arkansas, Missouri, Georgia, South Carolina, California, Arizona, Kentucky, Minnesota and a whole bunch more.

But I think food, habitat, water quality, population densities, and more can help you predict good fishing. It’s just the trial and error part that takes time. Exploring new waters you have to be okay with the busts to find the gems.