Redd’s Gear Guide

Pan fish on the fly

This august I was fortunate to find pockets of pan fish east of Thunder Bay! In particular the pumpkin fish are a fun , and absolutly gorgeous in colouring, reminding me of the much adored aquarium discus fish.

Let’s get right to the gear break down and what we used to catch literally hundreds of these fish.

Rod: Thomas and Thomas fly rod 0-5 weight rod

Reel: I use and recommend Abel reels

Line: Airflow’s new award winning floating line is made with a exceptional trout taper made for delicate presentation.

Leader & Tippet: Flouro tippet in 0x to 3x , ending in 5x to the fly - total length no longer than 6 ft .

Flies: I use Montana fly company flies

Chans red butt brown Chironomid in size 14, Gould’s Chernobyl Gnat #16,

BH Mini leech - Olive size 10

Other:

Forceps - you’ll need long nosed forceps to retrieve the fly in the tiny mouths of pan fish.

Simple roll cast off dock , or shore and “jig” line , short strips to retrieve - They take a fly aggressively and will mostly hook themselves upon taking the fly. Like little fresh water piranha!

Some get to be a good size and are a ton of fun, especially on the fly. Exceptional species for the kids to have fun fishing for! Happy fishing !