Thread: Fishing deep for big bluegill, advice needed.

My deep-water rig, which is my main rig this time of year, is a Thill center-slider slip float, then a 1/16 oz. bullet slip sinker, then a single BB split shot, then about 18" below the split shot a #6 aberdeen hook. I use a single live red wiggler hooked only once (not threaded) through the nose so it can freely move about in the water. I don't use a bobber stop, so the bait will be on the bottom no matter what depth you're fishing; but when a fish takes the bait, the movement of the line still moves the float. Sometimes the float just bobs as the line moves through it; more often, it goes under. Very deadly rig.

I fish the Trout Magnet almost exclusively. Last fall I started using a jig head made out of tungsten. The jig was made with a 5mm tungsten bead on a #10 hook. It will change the way you fish in deep water with that lure for Gills. You can almost double the weight of the Trout Magnet head and still maintain the same small profile. I just recently got some jig heads made out of a 3mm bead on a #10 hook. I will throw that with a new Gill rod I had made by tnpondmanager. Tungsten gets down pretty quick....unlike a Trout Magnet head. If you wait on a 1/64 ounce lead head to get down to 30 feet you will be waiting all day. It has been extremely productive for me.


Regards

Originally Posted by Alphahawk

I fish the Trout Magnet almost exclusively. Last fall I started using a jig head made out of tungsten.

I need to try that this year.

Originally Posted by deathb4disco

I need to try that this year.

Fishing with small tungsten jigs literally opened up whole new world for me and light line fishing. Was just getting into it when the knee went out and had a replacement on 7 January. But am just about ready to get back out to my good spots. For those reading...be warned.....fishing with tungsten can be addictive....LOL. It is expensive but the feel when a Gill or any other fish hits it is like someone slapped you hand. In warm water I will use lead but for cold weather....deep fishing.....it cant be beat.

Regards

Originally Posted by Alphahawk

Fishing with small tungsten jigs literally opened up whole new world for me and light line fishing. Was just getting into it when the knee went out and had a replacement on 7 January. But am just about ready to get back out to my good spots. For those reading...be warned.....fishing with tungsten can be addictive....LOL. It is expensive but the feel when a Gill or any other fish hits it is like someone slapped you hand. In warm water I will use lead but for cold weather....deep fishing.....it cant be beat.

Regards

Where do you get them and how much do they cost? Do you lose a lot fishing them on the bottom? Do you use a float? If not, do you let it sit, keep moving it back slowly, etc.? Definitely interested in giving this one a try.

Originally Posted by tnpondmanager

My deep-water rig, which is my main rig this time of year, is a Thill center-slider slip float, then a 1/16 oz. bullet slip sinker, then a single BB split shot, then about 18" below the split shot a #6 aberdeen hook. I use a single live red wiggler hooked only once (not threaded) through the nose so it can freely move about in the water. I don't use a bobber stop, so the bait will be on the bottom no matter what depth you're fishing; but when a fish takes the bait, the movement of the line still moves the float. Sometimes the float just bobs as the line moves through it; more often, it goes under. Very deadly rig.

Looking forward to trying it. Do you find more fish just off a drop or the anywhere where the water begins to get deep? Do you ever move on top of the drop to catch them or are they almost always deep? Thanks!

I don't own a fishfinder. I'm wanting to get one, possibly this year, but the past few years all of my dough has gone into the ponds I guide on to get the bluegill in them monstrous. Ninety-five percent of the time when I fish for bluegill it's in ponds, and I've never had a problem finding them in a pond without a depthfinder. I do however still pay close attention to depth and bottom configuration; for instance, one of my best ponds, a six-acre one, has a large flat that averages about four feet deep, that also borders the deepest water in the pond (41'), and that flat typically holds fish from April through September. There's a small point of sorts that borders one end of the flat just before the water plunges into the deep hole where the 41' is; often this time of year I find the big bluegill in that pond on that point, or sometimes they're in about 20' of water in the deeper area near the 41' hole.

Originally Posted by Bronson

I've caught some nice bluegill when fishing deep for crappie. I was wondering how those of you who fish deep with tiny jigs do this. Do you drop shot and use a loop knot for your jig? (I use a trout magnet, 1/64 oz.)
How heavy a sinker, 1/8, 3/16th, etc. do you use?

Do any of you use a slip sinker with a swivel or add a bead between swivel and slip sinker?

If you have a more effective way of catching them deep, please share.

In the late fall when the water temps are in the fifties I use a 1/8 once #6 hook jig tipped with power bait. The gills last fall were in 25 to 28 FOW.
I slow troll at 0.5mph or vertical jig.