Hands down, the most frequent question I am asked is what is the ideal rod for chasing panfish. Before I answer that question, we need to consider our quarry. Panfish is a term that covers a broad range of fish, including members of the sunfish family, including crappie, rock bass, and warmouth, as well non-sunfish like white and yellow perch, white bass, yellow bass, Rio Grande Cichlids, and several other smaller freshwater fish. While these fish may be on the small side, they are hard fighters that live in a wide range of habitats and eat a wide variety of flies, from tiny midges to big air-resistant poppers and foam or hair bugs.

The perfect panfish fly rod must perform well on a small farm pond or sprawling reservoirs, as well as tiny creeks and big rivers. It should be able to delicately cast a tiny dry fly, as well as handle a sizeable hard-bodied popper. I should be able to handle streamers and nymphs fished on floating and sinking fly lines. That's a tall order for any fly rod, but the ideal panfish rod must be light enough to allow you to appreciate the fight of these diminutive fish.

While I love the fight of scrappy bluegill on an ultralight two or three-weight fly rod, these rods are often too light to handle some of the larger, less aerodynamic flies I enjoy fishing. Casting double fly rigs, something I do quite often, on these light rods can be difficult, especially in windy conditions. As a result, I have settled on four-weight fly rods as my daily driver, although I still fish lighter rods when conditions are right for it.

A fly rod around seven and a half feet in length is ideal for me. It is long enough to make long casts on open water but compact enough to use on small streams or areas with a lot of overhead cover. While the current trend is to make rods stiffer and faster, I prefer slower, softer rods as they fit my casting style. I also like how mid or full-flex rods allow you to appreciate the fight of these smaller fish. A good bluegill will bend this type of rod down to the cork!

Fiberglass, especially modern S-glass rods, fit this bill perfectly. The only downside to these rods has been their ability to cast some of the larger flies I fish or deal with very windy conditions. I have often wished some of my favorite glass rods had a little more backbone in the butt section to deal with wind, big flies, and the occasional big bass grabs a fly intended for panfish,

Building The Perfect Panfish Fly Rod

This past January, while attending the Fly Fishing Show as a featured fly tier in Marlborough, Massachusetts, I struck up a conversation with Jordan Ross, the owner of JP Ross Fly Rods. I was introduced to Jordan by good friend and fellow fly tier Fritz Miller, who owned a few JP Ross fly rods. He knew Jordan had a soft spot for panfish and thought we should meet.

During a slow spell at the show, I wandered over to the JP Ross booth to check out some of their fly rods. While speaking with Jordan, it became clear that we had similar tastes in fly rods. I cast a few of his rods and frankly loved them all, but they were similar to other glass rods I already owned. When I mentioned my desire to have a modern, lightweight, s-glass rod that could handle big flies (as well the occasional bass), cast in windy conditions yet still allow me to appreciate the fight of a smaller fish, his eyes lit up. He had a project he was working on that might solve my problems. He developed a fiberglass fly rod called the Toad. What set this rod apart from other glass four and five-weight glass rods on the market today was the fact that this rod was built with a stiffer butt section but retained a traditional feel in the top three sections. Jordan modified the butt section of this rod to make it more stiff and stronger for applications that need a little more backbone in the butt. While doing so, he kept the ferrule design the same; that means the TOAD butt section is interchangeable with their normal S-Glass fly rods.

Jordan handed me a 7 1/2 foot four weight with a Toad butt section, and I headed back to the casting pond. On my first cast, I could immediately feel the difference. That stiffer butt section allowed me to put as much power as I wanted into the cast, and the fly rod responded perfectly, laying out long, accurate casts as well as handling a short line with ease. I was sold.

We discussed collaborating on a rod project during the show, and I agreed without hesitation. Jordan brought in the incredibly talented artist Jeff Kimball to make the rod something special. Jeff Kimball's artwork appears on several of JP Ross's fly rods, and I was very excited to see what he could come up with regarding a panfish-themed rod. The results are breathtakingly beautiful.

In a few months, I had a JP Ross Panfish On The Fly edition fly rod in my hands. While I wanted to start spreading the word about this collaboration immediately, I wanted to put the rod through its paces first to ensure it performed as well as I thought it would. I have tested the fly rod in various fishing situations this past year and I am thoroughly pleased with the results.

Of course, my main objective was to use the rod for panfish. I used the rod at the start of the season, casting delicate midge patterns to early-season panfish. As the season progressed, the rod passed its second test delivering streamers and multiple wet fly rigs to pre-spawn sunfish and crappies. This past summer, the rod flawlessly handled bulky foam bugs, hair bugs, and popper/dropper rigs. Throughout the season, I fished in various conditions ranging from blustery late winter days to windless, sultry summer evenings. The rod cast flies of all sizes and still allowed me to appreciate the fight of smaller fish. As is usually the case, several larger predators were encountered, including a largemouth bass that topped the scales over five pounds. The stiffer butt section on this fly rod allowed me to handle this big fish with confidence.

In addition to my panfishing endeavors, I brought the rod along with me on several trips around the country. I used it to fish for smallmouth bass and landlocked salmon in Maine. While I typically would not use a four-weight in these situations, I wanted to put the new rod to the test, and it performed wonderfully. The fly rod also traveled with me to the mountain west where it felt at home on the small backcountry streams where I fished. I even put it through what I would call a torture test by fishing it on the Madison River, where it successfully landed several rainbow and brown trout over twenty inches. If you have ever fished a big river like the Madison, you know how strong these big trout can be.

After an entire fishing season, the rod has lost that "new" look. The fine cork grip has been darkened with the slime of hundreds of fish, but the artwork on the reel seat and blank still shines as bright as the first time I took the rod out of the tube. I have caught many species of sunfish, crappie, rock bass, large and smallmouth bass, rainbow, brook, and brown trout, landlocked salmon, and even arctic grayling on this rod over the last few months. It has cast everything from delicate spinners to big poppers, and I am happy to say that the rod has exceeded my expectations. I am ready to share it with the world!

If you are interested in a rod for yourself…

The purchaser can customize JP Ross fly rods in several ways. If the artwork I selected does not resonate with you, let Jordan know, and he can discuss other options with you. In addition to the standard reel seat artwork, you can add custom artwork to the blank, the butt cap of the reel seat, and the rod tube. This customization also applies to the grip. If you do not like the tapered half-wells cork grip I selected, you can customize the grip to your liking.

I want to be brutally honest here. Do you need a custom-built fly rod to enjoy fly fishing for panfish? Absolutely not! The motto of JP Ross Fly Rods is "Simply Fish," and that certainly applies here. I often tell folks to fish the rods that you already own. Don't sweat if it is a little too light or a bit too heavy. Just get out, enjoy the great outdoors, and fish. However, if you have been searching for the perfect panfish fly rod, I have one for you to consider. Check out the JP Ross "Panfish on the Fly" edition TOAD 7'6" 4 weight four pc fly rod. If you decide to pick one up, you will not be disappointed!

The rods are available now and can be ordered directly through JP Ross Fly Rods. If you decide to purchase a Panfish On The Fly edition JP Ross Fly Rod, you will support both JP Ross and Panfish On The Fly, as a portion of these sales will go to Panfish On The Fly. Click the button below for more information or purchase a rod.

If you have any questions about this build, don't hesitate to contact me (the button below will take you to my email). I am happy to share my impressions and answer any questions. You can also reach out to Jordan at JP Ross Fly Rods. He can fill you in on the design aspects of the fly rod and discuss any customizations you may be interested in. In addition, Jordan can set you up with a complete outfit, including a rod, reel, and line if desired.

If you decide to pick up a JP Ross Panfish On The Fly edition, please share your thoughts with me! I would love to hear from you.