On the Lake Sunfish Fishing

Sunfish Fishing is Good Clean Fun
by Ted Takasaki and Scott Richardson

Fishing pro, John Campbell, normally hunts 10-pound walleyes and 40-pound muskies. Who would have thought that Campbell likes to fish for something those bigger species munch on?

Campbell has been fishing for sunfish since he was a boy of 2 on vacations in Iowa. By age 4, his parents put a life preserver on him and sent him down to the dock to fish for sunfish on his own. "I’ve got nearly 45 years’ experience fishing for sunfish," laughed Campbell. "When it comes to eating fish, I’m a bluegill/sunfish man."

But, Campbell was quick to add a caution — even populations of panfish like sunfish can be harmed by over-fishing. But, increased fishing pressure and better fishermen over the years means, "We have to be a little more careful than we were 20 years ago," he said. Selective harvesting guarantees healthy sunfish populations in the future.

Campbell uses the same approach to finding sunfish as he does so successfully on professional walleye circuits.

First, he does his research to identify lakes with good populations of sunfish. Next, he stops at local bait shops and asks the right questions, where, how deep and on what?

Campbell uses another search tool for the really shallow weed edges at 5 feet or less where sonar does little good. He trolls a two-hook worm harness with a small #2 blade just above or next to the weedline. He tips the rig with a nightcrawler pinched off just behind the second hook so a nibbling sunfish gets the point.

Use a sensitive 5 to 5-1/2 foot graphite rod and 2-pound Stren.

He’ll sometimes add a small split shot to get the bait down faster to the bottom, where they live most of the time. Only rarely will sunfish be found suspended over deep water.

Campbell anchors most of the time so his presentation can be slow and precise.

He likes to have someone cast to the shallows while others vertical jig. If fish aren’t already below the boat, the retrieve from the cast often entices several competitive sunfish to chase the bait where they find the vertically-jigged baits.

"You can create your own fish frenzy around an anchored boat," Campbell said.

Put away the walleye gear and the muskie baits once in a while and find out why those big fish love sunfish.

Ted Takasaki is the President of Lindy-Little Joe. You can see the over 2000 products available at www.lindylittlejoe.com.
 

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