“Hey Payne, what the heck are you doing?” asked my fishing partner. I had pulled out to a nice lead over him. I went with a slip float while fishing for suspended fish over a depth of 30 feet.

This was payback time, because the previous December, he cleaned my clock and forgot to pass on what he was doing. Keeping a detailed logbook really helps.

There are two very important tips to start off with. First, keep a detailed logbook. What is the water temperature, the wind direction and the air temperature? Are the fish suspended or on the bottom? What baits were used? What techniques were used?

Next up, carry your key tips with you. I have a printout of the little things with me at all times in the boat. It becomes very easy to fish memories or to get stuck on what worked last week or a month back. A printout becomes a fast reference when things are going slowly.

Please learn how to use side scan. I can’t remember the last time we stopped to fish without first spotting them on side scan. Almost every graph sold today has a side scan feature. You will need to verify if you have the proper transducer.

Panfish will look like a huge cloud of white rice flecks. Spotting a school of panfish 80 feet away from the boat is easy. Eighty feet is my self-imposed range limit when targeting open-water panfish.

I set my range to 100 feet, and only for one direction, when targeting spawning fish or fish working a weed line.

Charge your glow baits, glow beads, glow flies and such. If your panfish bait does not have any glow, add a soft glow egg onto the shank of the hook. It pays dividends.

When you want to repeat the exact depth each time with your lure or bait, try using the little “heart” clip on your spinning reel spool when vertical fishing. Pull out the amount of line that you need, slip the line under the heart, and the next time that you drop down, just open your bail.

Use the smallest sinkers possible. The lighter that the fishing rigs are, the more fish that you will catch. Of course, this will depend on how fast the boat is moving.

Very small tungsten jig heads work well on all species. A smaller profile often puts more bluegills in the boat. A light jig head results in more crappies.

Move, move and move again until you find the right fish. If the size or quantity is not what you desire, move. We rarely stay more than 15 or 20 minutes in one spot unless we are happy with the results.

Learn to fish the thermocline during summer and fish near the bottom once the thermocline disappears. Fish the bottom once the thermocline disappears, even if this is 30 feet down.

Open the hook gap slightly on your jig heads. You want the point of the barb pointing slightly outward.

Sharpen all hooks regardless of species. You would be surprised how quickly a teardrop or a crappie jig head hook gets dull. Just a few swipes on a diamond file and you are back in business.

I was and still am a big fan of plastics for crappies and ‘gills, but recently have incorporated the use of chenille and marabou. This material works great on all panfish; just size it down for ‘gills. A Bully Bluegill Buster fly pattern is great on ‘gills and perch.

I use rod holders, but there are days that a rod in hand pays dividends. Our favorite bluegill and crappie rods were built on a fly rod blank. This soft design casts lightweight baits like a dream and works perfectly as a dead or second rod. Some days, the bite is so soft that holding a rod is the only way to detect the bite.

I love casting for all panfish, and a mini worm harness rig is a favorite for ‘gills and perch. We build ours using a size 8 hook and a size 0 Colorado blade. We use two hooks about an inch apart. You can cast or slow troll/drift this rig.

Learn to use your down scan and blow up the view of the bottom portion. Down scan is far better than traditional 2-D. In many cases, we are targeting fish within 5 feet of the bottom. Down scan shows the smallest of changes on the bottom, and will identify a log, rock or other objects that fish might relate to. Often, I see a fish rise up to my bait when using the down scan mode.

Whenever you find yourself vertically jigging for walleyes, keep the rod tip within a foot of the water for a better hookset. I lost countless fish when vertical jigging on the river; I found that keeping my rod tip close to the surface provided a better hookset and fewer fish coming unbuttoned halfway to the boat.

Whenever we fish vertically with a jig, we use a stinger hook. According to our records, 80 percent or our fish are caught on a stinger hook. I also add a stinger hook when working a floating jig head on a dead rod. They really work.

A tip on stinger hooks: I like the stinger hook to be longer than the plastic bait that I am using. I also use a stiff leader material so that the stinger lays out straight and does not drop down below the jig.

A floating jig head worked well 35 years ago and still does today. I use a floating jig head on a dead rod when vertical fishing a river. I also enjoy a floating jig head when drifting in a lake while casting for whatever species that I wish to cast to. Floating jig heads tipped with a minnow or a leech land plenty of fish.

Some days, we use an in-line float. You can easily slide one or two onto your line. This lifts your bait just off bottom. Try it with a plain hook or even a spinner harness rig.

I enjoy pike fishing. I started using the old Daredevle spoons when I was eight or nine. Two things have changed with the spoon for me. First, I remove the treble hook and replace it with a large single hook. I end up with a better hookset and it works better around weeds.

Second, nearly 90 percent of the time, I add a 3- or 4-inch Mister Twister tail. The first color would be a white. Pike and white go well together, as will a black plastic tail.

A longtime favorite bait of mine is a sleeper on walleyes: the Johnson Silver Minnow. I use this spoon for pike and bass as well. Years back, I tipped this bait with a chunk of Uncle Josh pork rind. Today, most often, I use a Mister Twister tail or a Charlie Brewer grub. This is one lure that you really need to sharpen well. It can be fished in slop, weeds or timber.

Slip floats are becoming more common with inland anglers and guides. I carry an assortment of slip floats for all species. Slip floats catch fish. I know an angler who fishes a slip float between 15 and 30 feet down over 40 to 50 feet of water. He lands a lot of nice walleyes.

This past summer, we enjoyed many days fishing slip floats for suspended fish above the thermocline. Some of our larger fish that we caught would stay 30 feet away from the boat.

One last tip: Use a Hali Jig in place of a sinker when targeting suspended panfish. It makes a huge difference.

For more insight and tips for fishing throughout the year, check out the articles in every issue of MidWest Outdoors, available by subscribing on our website.