Rod wt for Bluegill and Crappie

[fish4trout]

I just got into warmwater ff last summer before that I was just a hard core trout fisherman. I am courious what rod weights everyone prefers for Bluegill and Crappie. I have found that that my 2 and 3 wt work well when fishing a small popper on top, but obviously they do not work well when fishing a weighted nymph or bugger. Anything bigger than a 4 seems kind of overkill for bluegills. Just looking for some different opinions.

[Bluegill222]

My Scott V2 8' 4wt is my go to rod for most panfish situations because it gives me the most versitility (and because small to medium sized bass and cats are always a possibility most of the places I fish), but I also have a couple 2 and 3 wts for times when the water is small, the fish are, or both.

[James Smith]

While I agree that a 4 wt is a very good all around panfish rod, there are times when I like to fish with weighted flies on size 8 or 10 hooks. For that reason, if I could only have one rod for pan fish it would be a 9 ft 5 wt. Since I am not limited to one rod, I have a blast with by 1, 2 and 3 wt rods as well; depending on the fishing conditions.

Jim Smith

[Rick Z]

I fish mostly 3 wt or 5wt. I built a 1 wt, but I do not do well with it when there is much wind.

Rick

[fish4trout]

I am thinking 3wt and 5wt also

[dixieangler]

I like to use my new 5wt. mostly but I will sometimes use my 4wt. If the wind is really horrendous, I may go with my 7wt.

[RHenn]

I use a Scott 6wt A2 for topwater and a Scott SAS for sinking flies, but sometimes I use a Cabela's 3wt for fun. I seem to only be able to cast small(#10 & #12) flies with the 3wt, so I only use it on calm days. Rob

[Big Bad Wulff]

I think you may need a slightly higher-weight rod for crappie than bluegill. Some crappie can get pretty big.

4-6wt for crappie
3-5wt for bluegill

4-5wt could do both I guess.

[ohiotuber]

I fish 3....
8' 3 wt St Croix Legend Ultra
8 1/2' 5wt Diamondback
7 1/2' 5-6 wt Southbend vintage bamboo

I enjoy all of them & frequently use all 3 each time I hit a pond, but the 3 wt is almost always the 1st, unless the wind is real strong...then the Diamondback is uncased 1st. All are great fun with panfish.
Mike

[Buddy Sanders]

Alan,

Since you wanted some different opinions, I'll add mine.

I fish for fun. I won't starve if I don't catch anything. I'm going to release almost all of what I catch.

A lighter rod is more fun.

For bluegills, crappie, and small bass, I prefer rods in the 2-3 wt. range.

These rods will easily land fish in the 1 to 5 pound class (no crappie or bluegills are likely to exceed that) and if you manage to hook a larger bass, you'll have an absolute ball.

As far as fly size goes, I routinely fish in wind both from shore and boats. A 3 wt. will cast quite well with unweighted flies up to around 1/0 (deer hair and foam popper/sliders/frogs) and weighted 'buggers and such to size 4. For the fish you mentioned, you won't need flies this big.

Long casts aren't an issue with panfish, and 30-40 feet is more than plenty under any reasonable conditions.

I'd rather have a rod that's bit too light than one that's too heavy. I'll just adjust my fly size, casting position, or whatever to make it work.

If it's 'too windy' to cast with my 3 wt. and I can't move closer or get to a sheltered spot, I'll go read a book since it's too nasty to fish anyway....the extra ten or fifteen feet I'd get with a 6 wt. won't make enough of a difference to bother switching rods....

Good Luck!

Buddy