mid summer gills

[fishing1]

probably a stupid question, but where and how do yuo catch mid summer gills

Thanks
Fishing1

[Biggerbear]

You can catch plenty of small gills shallow but the bigger gills will most likely be suspended in deeper water. Last week I was getting the bigger gills in 12ft to 18ft of water with my slip bobber set at about 9ft.
I move around on drop offs until I get an idea of where they are then I anchor deeper than I was getting the gills so I can cast into them. Sometimes I will catch 15 or 20 and they shut off and then I move.
I have been getting most of my keeper gills on mealworms. I use waxies also just to see if one is better - some days waxies work great but most of the time the mealworms are better. I have used redworms ealier in the year but the last month it seems the dinks just take the worm. With the waxies and mealworms I get better hook sets. I use a #8 Gold Aberdeen Hook - I buy them in bulk on eBay !
I also hang a drop shot line over the side of the boat and bring it a few feet off the bottom leaving it dangle !
Of coarse you will need to find the depth of the gills on your lake. The lake I fish is about 20ft deep.

[NeonMoon]

Persistence is likely to benefit the most. Been a tough Summer with the heat and low water levels. As mentioned, run and gun until you find 'em. Last I was out (weeks ago) 7-8' in 17-20' FOW was where I was catching them. Here they love them crickets.

[Biggerbear]

Persistence is likely to benefit the most. Been a tough Summer with the heat and low water levels. As mentioned, run and gun until you find 'em. Last I was out (weeks ago) 7-8' in 17-20' FOW was where I was catching them. Here they love them crickets.

I forgot the crickets ! I did use them quit a bit early this year and then when it got so hot I just started using mealworms and waxies mostly because they are easy to keep for a long time.
Last time all my crickets died in the heat but I really didn't do much to keep them alive. The last few weeks it's been hard to get out fishing in Southern Kentucky - Either it's way to hot/humid or severe storms but we need the rain so I am not complaining !

[BULLFROG-1]

The heat and humidity taken alot of the fun out of fishing for me here in Louisiana.I would tight line for them starting shallow and working my way out deep if i was a young fellow an could take the high heat....

[deathb4disco]

Like the other guys said, deep water and live bait.

[buck128]

i fish in 6 foot of water and a slip cork at the 3 feet

[missedafish]

Call me crazy, but I spider rig gills in the summer months. I use number 1 or number 2 Skidmore Jigs, tipped with wax worms. Most of the better fish come on the drop offs. I will hit open water, usually 15 to 40 feet deep, and run the baits at different depths until I find where the fish are suspended. Usually, in the heat of the day, you can really zero in on the thermal cline. You won't get eat up with the spit eaters in deeper water.

Early in the day, I like to hit the drop offs, or main lake points. Most of the good fish will come on the approach or right off of the back side of a drop off. On really good days, I will pick up a few shellcrackers, with the odd crappie thrown in the mix.

[queyit]

Man, mid summer means very hot and inconsistent weather here in South Louisiana but I'm a panfish fanatic and am always on the hunt of big gills. Because of the heat it's important to go very early or late. The big gills will be in ambush mode and close to structure. In my area that means around laydowns, pilings, stump or cypress knees. Seem to do better if the water has a little movement. Take two rods one for throwing mini lures and the other for live bait option.

mini lures: retrieving a 1inch curlytail, inline spinner or hair jig under cork

live bait: redworms, crickets or grass shrimp dropshot or under cork using a #8 or #10 long shank cricket hook

[kansasbuckeye]

That all depends, I prefer to go to a local farm pond that I know is just LOADED with the big hand+ sized ones up to about 11 or so inches on the bigger ones :D