Ice tackle for open water panfish. By Babe Winkelman In my home state of Minnesota, ice fishing rules. It’s a way of life in the winter. Just take one look at the fish-shack towns on Lake Mille Lacs or the 10,000 anglers who compete each year in the Brainerd Jaycee’s Ice Fishing Extravaganza! It becomes very clear that we’re crazy about pulling walleyes, pike and panfish through holes in the ice. Because ice fishermen are stuck fishing straight up and down, locating productive structure and active fish in the winter is an absolute necessity. Once the fish are found, it’s all about bait selection, presentation and feel. For the purposes of this column, let’s focus on these things as they apply to fishing for sunfish and crappies… the venerable panfish that are oh-so-good when served directly from their hot namesake pan. Around here, more and more anglers are discovering the effectiveness of using their ice tackle for panfish right over the side of the boat. Why? Because with those short, sensitive rods and a perfectly vertical presentation, there is no better way to control your bait and feel the light bites that panfish are capable of. Plus, with your bait directly below the transducer, you can use your sonar to see fish rising for your bait. It’s like getting the best of both worlds: open water fishing with frozen water finesse. In the late summer and autumn, a great place to begin your search is on the outside weedline. A submerged weedline point is even better. A submerged weedline point in close proximity to a deep lake basin is better yet! So, job number-one in this venture is cruising weedline edges with a good sonar unit to locate fish.  After you find a school, the fun part begins. Conditions will dictate what you do next.  If it’s nice and calm, you can just float above the fish while making minor adjustments in boat position with your trolling motor. If it’s windy and difficult to stay on one spot with the Minn Kota, then you’ll want to drop at least two anchors to keep the boat in one stable spot. Remember to e-a-s-e the anchors down to help prevent spooking the fish. You don’t want those weights plunging down and causing big explosions of sediment on the bottom. Also, make sure to have your stern anchor rope on the side opposite of where your transducer is. That way you can fish vertically under the puck without too much worry about having fish wrapping you in the rope. With your boat in a good position, get your ice rod. I like a 30 or 32-inch model for this application. It gives you control and sensitivity while extending far enough over the gunnel for comfortable fishing. My line choice is monofilament in four-pound test. I also have a rod rigged with two-pound line, just in case the fish are really finicky. There are no bobbers used with this approach. Just a straight line and a lure (with a splitshot above it sometimes if it’s a really light bait). I like to go with tiny ice jigs and jigging spoons as my preferred lures. Exactly the same stuff I use for panfish in the winter. Sometimes I’ll tip the jigs and spoons with waxworms, a small chunk of nightcrawler or a mini leech. But other times a naked spoon or jig with a grub body, hair or feathers works great too. Drop your bait right over the side of the boat and let it slowly descend to the fish you see on your sonar unit.  You’ll see the signals from the fish and the echo from your bait too. As it bait gets close to the fish on your sonar, pay close attention. Sometimes you’ll see a “mark” race right up to intercept the bait. When they do that, it’s a short journey to your limit. Other times, they’ll rise for the bait more timidly and slowly. For those tighter-lipped fish, you’ll have to dial in the right jigging and quivering of the bait that gets them excited. Just remember to keep that bait above the fish. They almost always hit it while rising for it. You might find yourself in a crappie school or a sunfish mob. And very often they’re mixed. Generally speaking, the crappies will hang higher in the water column than the sunfish. When this happens, pick the active crappies off the top of the school first before delving down for the deeper sunfish. I’ve seen a good catch disrupted by a big panfish fighting is way up and through all his buddies who are suspended above. The final great thing about this approach to open-water panfish fishing is the fight. Taking panfish straight up and down with ultralight ice tackle is a ton of fun. So give it a try this year and don’t forget to share your pictures with us at Winkelman.com! Good Fishing! Babe Winkelman