Fall gill locations

[fishing1]

what areas can i find them now that the weather is cooling down. i fish a man made lake.

[Bob/MN]

Here in MN the water temp. is 56 degrees. I have been catching Gills and Crappies in 18 to 21 FOW. The fish are grouped in small pods and tight to the bottom.

[slabsrus]

Right now in North Central Michigan I am catching them in water ranging from 5 - 30 fow. In the last couple weeks the gills really started moving in from the deepest parts of the lake to shallower bays. On the warm sunny evenings it is pretty easy to catch a good batch of gills that are hanging just under the surface and gorging themselves on minnows and zooplankton. When it is real cold at night and nice and warm during the day they will often have a tendancy to be down by the bottom throughout the night and early mornings, but as the sun climbs they will rise in the water column and take advantage of the warm sun. Plus there is a lot of minnow activity in the shallow bays this time of year, so any of the typical spawning bays tend to bring the gills and specks right back in the fall. This is actually my preferred time to catch good gills as they can be very aggressive. I am no fisheries biologist or anything, but I do believe they are preparing to head into the cold winter months by loading up on food now, much like a lot of other critters this time of year. Very light tackle, slow presentations, steadily searching all the depths that have any cover, or open water adjacent to structure. Just be sure to search very methodically as they could really be anywhere right now, but once you find them it should be good fishing.
This video will show you a bit on how I go about it this time of year.
August Panfish 2012 - YouTube

[deathb4disco]

The fish are grouped in small pods and tight to the bottom.

That's what I'm finding, although mine have been coming from 9-10' depths.

IMO, you can catch gills year round just by fishing deeper water near spawning areas.

[bassbull]

The fish on the Mississippi Iowa ,Wisc. border water act the same way Slabsrus fish do . Only thing I would add is be very very quiet in these shallow bays because they are spooky. Make long cast if possible. Don't forget boat docks as the sun warms the surface water, they will snuggle right up to them big time. They love to eat pin minnows and anything else hanging around the barrels. Have a good day. STEVE

[slabsrus]

Don't forget boat docks as the sun warms the surface water, they will snuggle right up to them big time. STEVE

Most definitely love those boat docks/hoists this time of year. Right you are. And I have found that the more of the metal that is exposed to the sunlight the better the fishing can be. I do believe it works much like an old radiator style heater. As the sun heats up the metal exposed above water, the heat is transfered through the metal and is felt by the fish under water. In my video you will see a bit of dock fishing as well. Thanks for pointing that out bassbull.

[Bob/MN]

what areas can i find them now that the weather is cooling down. i fish a man made lake.

Yesterday I found the gills at the bottom of a break in 25 FOW. Surface temp. was 57 degrees.

[Locator79]

I have tons of success fishing standing timber in the 15' to 20' range, fishing 9' to 12' deep. We usually load the boat this way every fall.