Thread: Bluegill

How do you guys catch them when they are not on the beds?

As a general rule, I just fish deeper. I catch a lot of fish near the bottom, and I catch a BUNCH suspended over deeper water.

I fish jigs, flies and bait, not necessarily in that order.

How do you find them

Originally Posted by no luck

How do you find them

Despite my comment about "fish deeper", I try to be systematic and always start shallow. (One of my best days ever was in January. I caught over 70 gills and crackers two feet from shore.)

If the fish are shallow, they'll let you know fast. If they're not, I back off the shore and start fishing deeper until I find them. I don't try to cover a lot of water. I just pick a likely spot and experiment with different depths until I start getting action.

I fish a lot of smaller lakes (under 100 acres), and I literally catch fish right out in the middle of the lake, sometimes suspended, sometimes right on the surface.

I don't fish a lot of big lakes for gills, but I read about this guy on Kentucky Lake who would head out to the main river channel and catch suspended gills till he literally got tired of it. He was fly fishing, but I think any light bait would work if it was fished at the right depth.

Find a hump or rock pile away from shore on the main lake and you will find the biggest gills in the lake.

Charlie Brewer one inch sliders on 1/32 road runner heads .Best three colors BLACK-BLACK-BLACK .

I mostly fish ponds and small to medium size water reservoirs . I have five county reservoirs within 30 minutes of my house . They range from around 200-900 acres .
I havent used bait in years .
I love fishing the float and micro jig rig . I use a weighted pear shaped clip on floats . I start around 18" and change depth up and down depending on what works . I rarely go over 3' . Ain't nothing like seeing that float disappear . Also fish slider jigs , and curlytails, cast and slow retrieve . Jig spinners ,( Beatlespins) work good , as well do Rapala F3's .
Ponds are fished from the banks . Just pick out a spot and fan cast . With light line and 7' UL Rod , I can cover a lot of water with each cast .
Reservoirs are fished from my Alumacraft 1436 or 1036 jon boats . Electric powered 90% of the time . Most water reservoir lakes don't allow gas motors at all .
Gillchaser
I've never had much luck on the big lakes .

I thought the smaller gills alwaysnstayed closer to shore. If you are searching for the big bulls you need to go deeper.