I have written before about friends that only fish for Muskies and others that just want to catch Bass. I never really gave much thought about those guys and gals that only fish for one specific species until a couple Monica and I just met at a resort asked me, “WHAT DO YOU GUYS’ FISH FOR?” and without even thinking, I replied, “we mostly fish for panfish and walleye” Later that day, the more I thought about my answer, the more it bothered me and started to ask myself, why do I mostly fish for panfish? Why don’t I fish more often for other species? This is what bothers me the most. I know most fish patterns (SEASONS), the how, where and when to fish different structure and if I meet or know people having a hard time catching certain kinds of fish, I’m the type that would try to help those people by giving them fishing spots that I know of or areas that friends have told me about. I will tell you there are some folks that WILL NOT give up their fishing spots and I have heard people giving wrong information on water depth and where to fish. If people are on vacation and can’t locate fish, why not help them find whatever species they are looking for.

Here’s two examples that come to mind.  One couple that was visiting us asked, “would it be possible to fish for Walleye one day”. Well, I know few different lakes and have a few spots that I have found or have been passed on to me, so I was more than happy to take them out and hopefully find a couple of Walleye for them to take home. We did find and caught some Walleye. Unfortunately, they were under 15 inches, but the couple enjoyed catching them.  Then, Monica and I became friends with a couple that come up for a few weeks each year and like to catch Bass but couldn’t locate any. I told them that we do not fish for Bass, but the next day we took them out on our boat, and they caught Bass. They couldn’t understand why we don’t fish for all species.

So why do we usually target panfish? I believe IT’S JUST OUT OF HABBIT. Monica and I Vacationed in the Northwoods for many years before moving here and always wanted to bring fish home, because a fish fry or two was expected every year at our house and we had to feed a lot of people, so we had to catch our limits of panfish. But, if we caught our limit early, we would target Walleye and Northern to keep for ourselves. Some might say fishing is fishing, but to me, it’s more about being on the water and seeing wildlife. Now that we live in the Northwoods and know I don’t have to feed 15 to 20 people, I have come to the realization that I need to start fishing for species other than panfish and become a universal fisherman. Does anyone else feel this way?