Panfishing Reels

There are numerous types of fishing reels to use for panfishing. You can use the same reel for crappie, bluegill, perch, black bass, bullhead, sunfish, trout, smallmouth bass and many more fish that weigh up to about 5 pounds or so. Many fishermen use ultra light reels for fish up to 10 pounds at times, but they know how to use the drag system properly on the reel. If you don’t have experience fighting bigger fish and using the drag system, use a stronger rod and reel combo set.

Panfishing reels can be a simple spincast reel that has a push button for casting the line out. It usually comes with line already spooled on the reel. A spinning reel is another fine choice. You only need a little practice learning how to open and close the bail when casting. There are also baitcasting reels available for panfishing, especially fishing for crappie. These reels need a little more practice in order to learn how to work the spool. You need to use your thumb and spool the reel while casting and reeling in. All of these ultra light reels can be spooled with 2lb to 8lb test line, with some even more than that.

Panfishing reels are manufactured by many different tackle manufactures. Some companies that make the least expensive panfishing reels are, Shakespeare, KingHawk, Zebco, Pinnacle, Daiwa, Shimano, Mitchell, and Master. If you can afford a better quality panfishing reel look at the higher end models from Daiwa, Shimano, Ardent, US Reels Co, Penn, Quantum, Abu Garcia, Okuma and Pflueger. All of these companies make good to excellent quality spinning reels and baitcasting reels.

When you choose the reel you would like to fish with, now you need to pick up a fishing rod to match it. For ultra light reels, make sure you pick an ultra light rod to match your reel as well as a spincast rod for a spincast reel, baitcast rod for a baitcast reel, spinning rod for a spinning reel. Or to make it even easier, pick up a rod and reel combo already set up for you. There are many to choose from. All of the tackle companies mentioned earlier sell combo sets as well.

One way to figure out which level of quality you need to purchase, is to think about how often you will go fishing. If you are planning on fishing a 100 times per year, spend more on your equipment so it will last longer and operate better. Look at the quality of the rod and reel separately. You need to make sure you have the right equipment for the amount of fishing you will be doing. If you are fishing 10 times a year, then you only need an inexpensive fishing combo to get you started. Then if you find out you love to fish, then spend some extra money on better quality equipment. You will need more rods and reels anyway.

Fishing for panfish can be the least expensive sport you can get into with the family. No need to spend a lot of money in the beginning until you know you will enjoy yourselves.

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