I read this post thursday and went to ky lake friday morning,, decided quickly that crappie were going to be tough so decided to do some bluegill fishing,,we were using a artificial cricket ,black and chartrouse,on a 1/16 oz black jig head,, split shot 12" up ,, my wife had her bobber set at 3ft, I set mine at 5-6ft,, fished a pea gravel bank right next to our cabin,,
she was catching lots of very large bluegill 20 ft from the bank,, 4-5 ft of water,I fished the other side of the boat in 7-8ft and I got several nice red ears,,,,
you were right the red ears are out farther from the same bank as bluegill but deeper water and closer to the bottom,,

I will say that ky lake this year has the biggest bluegill Ive ever seen,