Tailored Tackle 28″ Ice Fishing Rod & Reel Combo
This is a great option for serious panfishermen. It works great for perch, crappie, bluegill, trout, pickerel, walleye, and even bass. It has a sturdy backbone and solid handle. The handle is comfortable in the hand and helps provide leverage when fighting bigger fish. The rod itself is very sensitive which is needed when dealing with delicate-biting fish like perch and crappie.
I found this ice fishing combo for a great price on Amazon. Click here to check out current pricing and read angler reviews.
Bobby Garland Baby Shad
These little guys are the perfect compliment to a 1/16oz or 1/32oz bald jig head. Mix and match the colors. These baits have been so effective catching crappie that most crappie anglers never let their tackle box run out. You can also add them to the hook of a marabou jig for some extra punch.
I found this bait for a great price on Amazon. Click here to check out current pricing and read angler reviews.
Bobby Garland Slab Slay’r
What can I say? These things are awesome. These soft plastics pair very well with a 1/32oz jig head. I love two-toned patterns and the pink/white one is my favorite. The black/yellow and the yellow/red ones work great too. Feel free to look around and stock up. These things are cheaply priced and catch crappie like crazy.
I found this bait for a great price on Amazon. Click here to check out current pricing and read angler reviews.
Gulp! Alive! Minnows
I love these little baits. They come with that great scent you expect from Berkley baits but in a small minnow design. For perch and crappie, I prefer the 2.5-inch version. Any color will work. For clear water, go with natural baitfish colors and in murkier water, feel free to try the bolder colors to draw bites. These are great jigged through the ice or beneath a boat. I like working them around docks in summer. I also smear some Crappie Nibbles along them to give them added crappie-drawing power.
I found this bait for a great price on Amazon. Click here to check out current pricing and read angler reviews.
PowerBait Crappie Nibbles
I believe these are the best panfish attractants available. A lot of anglers simply run them through a small size 4 hook but I think they are best used for their panfish-attracting scent. I like to smear them along the sides of small lures, Gulp! minnows, and even live bait. There is a reason they are so popular among crappie and perch anglers. They are definitely growing in popularity among ice fishermen as well. Trout even like the scent from my experience.
I found this bait/attractant for a great price on Amazon. Click here to check out current pricing and read angler reviews.
Crappie.com Slab Sauce
This stuff is awesome. Smear just a tiny amount on your lures to really get a crappie’s attention. A little goes a long way. A bottle of Slab Sauce should last you a long time. This attractant provides a great smell and a nice taste that crappie will grab onto and be more willing to hold once they taste it. It’s not a miracle elixir but it will improve your crappie fishing.
I found this attractant for a great price on Amazon. Click here to check out current pricing and read angler reviews.
UglyStik GX2 7′ Ultralight Spinning Combo
This is a great ultralight spinning combo for trout, panfish, bass, and walleye. It features a 7′ UglyStik 2-piece rod that is nearly indestructible and offers good sensitivity. It is equipped with a great Shakespeare spinning reel that is ideal for a 4 to 8-pound test mono or fluorocarbon line. It is a great combo for most freshwater fishing applications.
I found this spinning combo for a great price on Amazon. Click here to check out current pricing and read angler reviews.
Deeper Pro+ Castable Fish Finder
If you are a bank angler, ice fisherman, or even fishing from a boat, this castable fish finder is a great tool to locate fish, identify structure and vegetation, and determine water depth and bottom contour. It features a floating round transducer you can cast out with a sturdy rod. As you reel the transducer back, it maps beneath it with sonar and relays the imagery back to your smartphone screen. For a complete review of this product, check out my opinion of this castable fish finder and how I use it to locate good fishing locations.
I found this castable fish finder for a great price on Amazon. Click here to check out current pricing and read angler reviews.
YETI Tundra 35 Cooler
This cooler is great to have in general. If you plan on keeping any fish you catch fresh until you can clean them or want to keep your food and beverages cold, this is a great cooler option. Not everyone is in the market for a $250 cooler but this rotomolded cooler is built tough and won’t break. It featured precise lid molding to keep your ice cold and solid as long as any cooler on the market. This cooler is 20 in long x 16 1/8 in wide x 15 1/4 in high with an empty weight of 20 lbs. It is also great for game meat care during hunting season or a cookout with friends.
I found this castable fish finder for a great price on Amazon. Click here to check out current pricing and read angler reviews.