"If panfish are hitting a little deeper, I opt for a #7 floating Rapala, big enough to entice the occasional bass, but not too big to catch a bull bluegill. With minnowbaits and panfish biting subsurface, I might use a slightly longer 9- to 10-inch leader. And, instead of a fly, I use a 1/64- or 1/80-ounce jig, which gets deeper faster. When sight-fishing for bedding bluegills, for instance, you can see that they won't rise up for a fly. An 8- to 10-inch dropper gets down and invades their territory. Defensive instincts take over. A lot of times, they're just trying to move the thing away from the nest. When that happens, I use a white jig with a white plastic body so I can see it disappear."
Simpson uses a 6 1/2-foot light or medium-light-action rod and a small to medium spinning reel filled with 6- to 10-pound line, depending on cover and conditions. With lighter lures, I opt for 7-foot ultralight rods and a thin, tough 4-pound line like Stren Magna-Thin. But when bluegills and crappies hover around shallow woodcover during prespawn, it's sometimes necessary to upgrade to 8- or even 10-pound test. Even that might be too light when smallmouths enter the equation, and a floating minnowbait twitched on top is a proven, classic killer of all the black basses during prespawn.
Whatever main line you're using, just clip off a piece big enough to make the 4- to 10-inch leader before tying on the main lure. The combo can be fished relatively fast to cover water and find fish -- another huge advantage. But it also can be fished slowly at whatever speed is necessary to trigger the most panfish possible. A minnowbait like the F7 Rapala (3 1/4 inches) imparts a unique action to the trailing "tailgunner" fly or jig. In fact, it might be impossible to duplicate that kind of action with anything but a double-duty rig.
When the lure is retrieved for a short stretch, it pulls the tailgunner down and throws it side to side -- but only slightly. The longer the leader, the more subtle the action. Pause the lure and, of course, the tailgunner rises. Twitch the minnowbait on top, and the tailgunner rhythmically rises, swings to the side, and drops. "Some days, a light twitching action on the surface attracts most of the strikes," Simpson says. "Other times, a higher percentage of strikes occur during a dead pause."
When the wind is up, the jig is constantly moving as the lure bobs in the waves. Sometimes this is a positive, sometimes not. Small crankbaits designed for panfish, like the PRADCO Creature series -- the deep divers in particular -- allow you to cover even more of the water column vertically, then float it back up for the twitching tactic on the surface. On windy days, however, the long, slow rise back to the surface can entice more strikes than twitching on top, so you have to maintain a tight line.
"Bigger baits select for larger bluegills," Simpson says. "Crappies, too. The attractor is the thing. A slightly bigger minnowbait or popper won't dissuade a giant bluegill or crappie from approaching. In fact, the opposite occurs. With trophy-caliber panfish around, the biggest fish at times will select the crankbait over the smaller jig or fly."
