One of my favorite fishing trips is taking my young daughters to Crane Falls Lake. It\u2019s a tradition I started when my oldest, Quinn, was 3. She\u2019s 8 now, and little sister Skye is 5. And every summer, they look forward to our Crane Falls getaway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Crane Falls is great for young anglers. It\u2019s a quaint, remote lake with a soundtrack of frogs and waterfowl. It\u2019s also a great little fishing spot \u2014 we always catch plenty of bluegill and largemouth bass, along with my kids\u2019 favorite species: the pumpkinseed sunfish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m not surprised the pumpkinseed became my girls\u2019 favorite. With electric blue spiderwebbing across their faces and bright yellow to deep orange chests, these little panfish are among the best-looking fish swimming in Idaho waters. For Quinn and Skye, a small seed often surpasses the excitement of a big bass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Crane Falls is a great place to catch pumpkinseeds, and we typically find a handful each trip. On this trip, we were catching the usual assortment of bluegill and largemouth, with a few six-inch pumpkinseeds mixed in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A couple hours in, we found an area crawling with big bluegill. I anchored the boat, and we started sight-fishing for slabs. It was a fun and hilarious game of cat-and-mouse \u2014 there were a few tiny fish amongst the big ones, and if you could keep your jig away from the riffraff, a big gill was sure to snatch it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The fight of a big bluegill on ultralight tackle is hard to beat. For nearly an hour, we giggled with delight as porkchop-sized gills \u2014 and the occasional dink who beat the big guys to the lure \u2014 came over the side of the boat. And then, it happened: the biggest panfish yet gobbled a jig. But as it tried to swim toward a nearby patch of weeds, I saw a telltale red spot on its earflap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGirls!\u201d I marveled. \u201cThis one\u2019s a pumpkinseed! Hurry, get him in the boat!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n