Clam Drop Jig, Size 12, 1/16 oz, Wonderbread
Clam
Minnesota ice-house tungsten with a flat tie-eye that puts the hook where soft-mouthed crappies keep their secrets. Small, dense, and weirdly charming in Wonderbread paint.
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Panfish
Sunfish, crappie, perch — the fish that taught half the state how to lose a bobber and still have a good day.
The boat kit
Stuff we can actually point at
Tiny jigs, a Fuzz-E-Grub, and the light St. Croix sticks that make a bluegill feel important. Click a card, keep the cooler friendly, and do not bring the muskie rod to the dock.
The tray
Panfish & crappie jigs
Clam, Lindy, and Northland for Minnesota crappie, bluegill, and perch — ice and open water.
Lindy Tungsten Fat Boy Jig
Lindy
Fast-sinking tungsten that keeps the line honest under a tip-up of nervous panfish. Horizontal hang, glow options, and the kind of density that makes lead feel like a rumor.
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Northland Impulse Rigged Tungsten Mayfly Jig, Fruit Fly, 1/28 oz
Northland
Pre-rigged mayfly plastic on a Mud Bug-style tungsten head — Bemidji thinking for when panfish want bugs, not speeches. Extra tails in the pack because tiny plastics vanish into boat carpet.
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Lindy Fuzz-E-Grub Jig, Pack of 2
Lindy
Marabou that breathes and a soft body that has been in Minnesota boats since polyester was cool. Tip with a minnow scrap or fish it plain under a float when crappies get opinionated.
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Where they live: Weeds, cribs, basins, and the hole your uncle swears is "right here" every year.
When folks chase them: Pretty much whenever you can stand outside and tell a kid to be quiet for eight seconds.
Panfish are how Minnesota stays friendly. You can catch a bunch, keep a few, and still make it home before the casserole gets weird.
Short page. No invented crappie coordinates. The ice stories can wait until they are real.
What to throw
This is the tray that taught half the state how to lose a bobber and still have a pretty good day.
- Small jigs. Tiny, honest, and usually wearing a maggot, a spike, or a scrap of plastic. Northland and a thousand unlabeled trays belong here. If it looks too small to be a “real lure,” you are getting warmer.
- Soft plastics. Mini paddletails, grubs, and those little creatures that look like candy. Crappie and sunfish do not need a TED Talk. They need something that wiggles.
- Tiny crankbaits. A small floater or a wee crank that looks like a baitfish that never got its license. Rapala makes the ones people still find in a coffee can.
- Ice-style presentations in open water. A small tungsten-or-lead jig under a slip bobber, fished like the lake already has a lid. Clam lives in that world. Same idea in July: stay small, stay still, stop acting like you are muskie fishing.
- A plain bobber and a piece of crawler. Not fancy. Still undefeated at a cabin dock.
We are not going to invent a crib that “is loaded.” When somebody sends a real note, it goes in Reports. The jigs and light sticks we can actually point at live in the boat kit — one click, no crib coordinates.
Rod & reel
Panfish are how Minnesota stays friendly. You can catch a bunch, keep a few, and still make it home before the casserole gets weird. The rod should make a bluegill feel important. If your panfish stick could also land a legal muskie, you brought the wrong personality to the dock.
Stay on ultralight to light spinning — 5’6” to 7’ depending on whether you are dock-fishing or working slip-float crappies. Small reels (500–1000 class), light line, sharp hooks. Ice-style tungsten under a float in July still counts as a personality trait, not a crime.
- Length: 5’6”–7’
- Power / action: UL–Light (sometimes ML) / Fast or X-Fast
- Reel: Small spinning
- Line: 2–6 lb mono, or light braid with a short fluoro leader
Verified light sticks and tiny reels are in the boat kit and the full Panfish light gear guide. Bring a kid if you have one. Bring snacks either way.
Start with the wallet setup
MN weekend rod & reel — wallet setups
Budget spinning rods, a mid-size spinner, a grab-and-go MH combo, and an entry baitcast for Minnesota walleye, panfish, and pike weekends without the Eyecon/Nasci bill.
Berkley Lightning Rod Spinning Fishing Rod, 6'6" Medium/Moderate-Fast (2-piece)
Berkley
The cabin-deck classic for jigging walleye without pretending you just refinanced the boat. Medium power, moderate-fast tip, two pieces for the trunk — wallet-friendly graphite that still tells you when a fish breathes on a Fire-Ball.
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Berkley Lightning Rod Spinning Fishing Rod, 5' Ultra-Light/Moderate (2-piece)
Berkley
Short, soft, and honest about bluegill and crappie. Ultra-light power for tubes and tiny jigs when the kids want action and you want a rod that does not cost a second mortgage.
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Okuma Ceymar A Spinning Reel, C-2500A
Okuma
Smooth mid-size spinner for 6'6"–7' rods without the Nasci upcharge. Size 2500 sits in the Minnesota walleye neighborhood; plenty of bearings, Quick-Set anti-reverse, and a price that leaves room for leeches.
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Ugly Stik GX2 Spinning Reel and Fishing Rod Combo, 7' Medium-Heavy + Superline
Ugly Stik
Grab-and-go MH spinning combo with Superline already on the spool — the trunk special for a Saturday when you need one rod that can handle a northern surprise. Legendary Ugly toughness, size-50 reel, under the weekend-wallet ceiling.
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Abu Garcia Max X Low Profile Baitcast Reel, Right-Hand Box
Abu Garcia
Entry baitcast that does not demand a TED Talk or a second job. MagTrax brakes, graphite frame, right-hand retrieve — practice in the yard, then throw hardware around the cabbage without crying over bird’s nests.
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Panfish light gear
St. Croix Triumph ultralight and Panfish-series spinning rods with a small Shimano Nasci reel for Minnesota crappie, bluegill, and perch.
St. Croix Rods Triumph Spinning Rod, 5'6" Ultra-Light/Fast (2-piece)
St. Croix
Tiny, fast, and built for the days a bluegill feels like a tuna. Two-piece Triumph that rides in a trunk next to the kids’ life jackets and still has Park Falls manners.
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St. Croix Rods Triumph Spinning Rod, 6'6" Light/Fast
St. Croix
A little more length for docks, weed edges, and the uncle who insists the hole is “right here.” Light power for small jigs without turning every sunfish into a wrestling match.
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St. Croix Rods Panfish Series Spinning Rod, 7'0" Medium-Light/X-Fast (PNS70MLXF)
St. Croix
Technique-specific panfish blank with extra length for slip floats and vertical presentations. Extra-fast tip for feeling a crappie inhale a tungsten jig like it has a dentist appointment.
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Shimano Nasci FD Spinning Reel, Size 1000
Shimano
Small, smooth spinner that balances ultralight and light rods without looking like you borrowed a muskie reel. Perfect neighborhood for 2–6 lb line and a cooler that stays friendly.
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