Buggy For Panfish

Northland® Fishing Tackle’s new Tungsten Flat-Fry Fly catches all panfish species, all season.

BEMIDJI, Minn. (March 8, 2024) – If your goal is to catch lots of panfish, the new Tungsten Flat-Fry Fly fits the bill. Sunfish, crappies, and perch all go crazy for this buggy-looking creation.

While there’s no shortage of marabou panfish jigs on bait shop pegs, the new Northland Tungsten Flat-Fry Fly Jig differs in that it’s built around a tungsten jig head, not lead. In fact, its skeleton is a 1/16-oz. Northland Tungsten Flat-Fry Jig with super-sharp #10 hook, a package that’s dense, gets to fish fast, and casts like a rocket. The jig head shape and materials combo dance on a short hop retrieve (typically under a float), tempting panfish to bite, besides hanging at a 90-degree angle to imitate everything from small fish fry to aquatic insects.

WONDERBREAD

Designers played around with a lot of different materials, ultimately settling on a tungsten Flat-Fry Fly Jig hook shank wrapped in premium chenille with real feather hackle around the collar and out the tail, which undulate and quiver underwater, just like a real fry or critter, eliminating the need for live bait.

Available in 12 color combinations—including 8 Super-Glo patterns—there’s a Tungsten Flat-Fry Fly for every type of water clarity and situation imaginable—including clear, pressured waters.

Fly Time with Bro

Panfish expert and seasoned fishing guide, Brian “Bro” Brosdahl, reports, “The Tungsten Flat-Fry Fly jig is kind of bulky, light, and dense all at the same time. Even though it’s tungsten, the hackles give it an interesting, slower rate of fall that neutral, light-biting crappies will inhale.”

As far as the color combos available, Bro likes that a lot of them look like “big, fat, juicy bugs” that panfish gobble without any bait at all. But during cold fronts or negative-feeding situations, Bro says the addition of one waxworm is enough to turn sniffers into biters.

“At 1/16 oz. and with its relatively slow fall, it just triggers strikes at the right time – like you can pitch up and jig over weed tops and cover water where you wouldn’t dare touch bottom. And once you find big ‘gills, it’s game on if you give it subtle twitches or hops.”

LADYBUG

SNEEZE

FRUIT FLY

TIGER BEETLE

GLO CHARTREUSE

GOLD

WOODTICK

GLO RED

GLO WHITE

PURPLE WONDER

‘Gill Chasing With Nelson

“I like that the soft hackle on the front breathes and pulses. My experience is that movement alone catches panfish. You don’t need to tip it in most situations,” observes panfish expert and angling educator, Joel Nelson.

“Fish it just a little bit faster than other panfish jigs and the Tungsten Flat Fry Fly gets life-like, with that wet hackle moving. It’s pretty awesome: I’ve caught a lot of bluegills on it,” concludes Nelson.

The Panfish Duo Talks

Tyler and Sara Trampe like the fact that Northland created a tungsten panfish jig with “all kinds of stuff hanging off it so it falls slow.”

Sara remarks: “It’s a great panfish bait, especially for spring fish. All those little movements from the hairs pretty much imitate a bug or tiny minnow.

Tyler adds: “We fished it all season and it rocked during bug hatches—and with that tungsten head, you can see it on your electronics even though it’s small and only 1/16-ounce with a #10 hook. It’s going to continue to get a workout with us. For panfish, the Flat-Fry Fly works when nothing else will.”

FEATURESTungsten Flat-Fry Fly

  • Jig sits horizontally mimicking real live fry & small forage
  • Flat top & tungsten material reflect sonar signal more effectively for improved sonar sight fishing
  • Real feather hackle for extra movement & attraction
  • Made of tungsten: 30% more dense than lead – it falls faster, is more sensitive & environmentally friendly

MSRP $6.99 (2/Card)

NOW AVAILABLE