Let’s face it, panfish, on the whole, are less glamorous than many of the other species we target with a fly rod.  Catching a sunfish or crappie, to some, may not be as cool as trout or a tarpon. But for so many of us, we started fishing and maybe even fly fishing, down at the local pond catching bluegill, bass, crappie and the like with bait, a spinning rod or maybe even a fly rod.  The fact is, targeting panfish can provide a super fun day on the water with a fly rod.  I mean, a good size crappie crushing a top-water bug is a ton of fun.  And panfish can prove to be a great species for introducing a friend to fly fishing. 

Bart Lombardo is an expert in this space. He is a leading authority for both creating and tying patterns specifically for panfish.  One pattern, The Triangle Bug, is a topwater bug and a killer pattern for bluegill, sunfish, and small bass.  I am excited to report, Bart has an amazing book in the works, Panfish On The Fly, and you can look for that in early 2025.

In this chat, we sit down and get to know Bart a bit, talk tips and tactics for Panfish on the Fly and have a few laughs.

www.panfishonthefly.com

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Episode Highlilghts

[05.00] Panfish – Starting the conversation, Bart talks about his upcoming book ‘Panfish on the Fly’ and the reason behind his focus on panfish.

[09.30] Bart’s story – Bart briefs us about his life working in law enforcement and how he started his guiding career.

[17.00] Patterns – Bart explains some good patterns for panfish fishing.

[20.36] Fishing rods – Bart’s rod recommendations for panfish.

[25.52] Sunfishes – Details about different species of the sunfish family are in Bart’s new book, ‘Panfish on the Fly.’

[30.00] Fishing opportunities – Bart explains why panfish fishing has more opportunities than trout fishing.

[34.20] Fish destinations – Bart explains how anyone can have a world-class fishing experience with panfish because of their availability. 

[39.00] Books – Bart explains why he thought to write a book on this area, specializing in panfish.