by: Gord Pyzer In Pursuit of Panfish Last ice is prime time for pulling in plenty of tasty perch and crappies—if you know just where to look The reason we call yellow perch and black crappies panfish is they’re so good to eat. Just dust a pile of filets with seasoned flour, dip them in egg and coat them with cornflake crumbs, and you’ll have to fight off the neighbours when they smell what’s frying in the skillet. And there’s no better time than right now—at last ice, that is—to catch a bunch of jumbo perch and slab crappies.       For a whole pile of reasons—besides making great table fare—crappies and perch easily head up my ice-fishing hit parade. Unlike warm-water species that sleep through the winter, panfish are eager cold-water feeders. They also travel in large schools, so if you catch one, you’re bound to catch more. First, though, you have to know where to find them.       In large lakes especially, concentrate your search around the structures that lie closest to spring spawning areas—the same places you’d find perch and crappies once the ice is out. Typically, these are shallow, vegetation-filled backwater bays and bottleneck areas with current, and at last ice they’re crawling with panfish. There are slight differences between perch and crappies, however, in exactly how they relate to structure.       In large, featureless lakes, perch roam close to bottom in 25 to 50 feet of water. But if there are plenty of points, bars, shoals and underwater reefs, look for them there. In the early morning you’ll find them on top of structure, eager to bite (perch typically feed during the day because of their crummy night vision).       Around midday you’re more likely to locate them in slightly deeper water along the edges of structure, especially where there are sharp, distinct drop-offs. And in late afternoon they return to the shallow water on top of structure to furiously stuff their faces for dinner.       Crappies feed at basically the same times as perch and can usually be found in the same places, although they don’t stick as close to these structural breaks and transitions as perch do. Instead, they seem to float in the middle of the water column just off points, bars, reefs or shoals. That’s why you can spot them so easily on your sonar.       Speaking of sonar, if you’re not using it you’re fishing blind. So turn on your unit and scan the bottom. If nothing shows up immediately, that tells you there are no aggressive crappies—which suspend and are therefore easy to spot—in the vicinity. But that doesn’t mean they’re not around.       Once I settle on a spot, I always begin with a fast vertical-jigging approach using a 1/8-ounce jigging spoon—like a Williams Ice Spoon, Lindy Rattl’r or small jigging Rapala—with a minnow head draped over the hook for scent. I vertically jig it a foot or so off the bottom, pause and give it a shake. SEARCH PARTY Sharpen your auger blades and punch at least eight or more holes per angler before you wet a line. Then keep drilling and moving from one spot to the next until you hit the mother lode. Keep in mind that this strategy works throughout the ice-fishing season, not just during last ice.       When my sonar shows a red line streaking up from the bottom, I know there’s a fish coming to inspect the lure. I then quickly bring it up another foot or two, as though it’s a baitfish trying to escape, and give it another shake. If the fish follows, but doesn’t bite, chances are it’s a curious crappie. If it scoots back to the bottom, it’s likely a picky perch.       This approach is geared to catching aggressively feeding fish, especially early in the morning and late in the afternoon. When perch and crappie co-operate, every other approach is too slow and unproductive. But if they pine for a slower, in-your-face approach, I grab a rod with a spring bobber on the tip, ultra-thin, four-pound-test FireLine on the reel and a 1/32-ounce Märmooskä, Fat Boy or Genz Worm jig dangling on the end.       Then I tip the jig with a Power Wiggler or wax worm and get it down as fast as possible. This tiny but fat horizontal jig—with the line tie coming out the top of the head—is easy to spot on a sounder in deep water. That allows you to watch how the fish react to your presentation so you can change it accordingly.       When finesse fishing like this, I hold the jig as still as possible, an inch or two above the fish. Spring bobbers are the key to this delicate presentation, since you won’t feel a thing when the fish bite. Instead, concentrate on the tip of your spring bobber; if it bends ever so slightly, set the hook. Just follow this advice and you’ll soon be enjoying golden brown panfish cooked to perfection.