Thread: How to find decent Bluegill?

Originally Posted by Quailtail

Several nearby lakes to fish. But, how do you find the keepable fish?

Keepable fish are where you find them which includes the sizes of the general population in a water and size-by-location. Like crappie, sunfish group by size. Find an area that holds stunted gills and that's pretty much what you'll catch.

Like Skeetbum I'm also a plastics angler but just discovered the success of using marabou jigs. All fish strike them like it was their last meal! Jighead sizes for plastics and feather jigs IMO should be in the range of 1/32 - 1/16 oz. You'll still get a casting range to cover more water, but more importantly be able to retrieve the lure very slow with pauses. I'm not a curl tail grub user and prefer straight tail or no action tail designs.

Stick with 4-6# test fluorocarbon leaders for best lure action and braid for the best strike (bump) sensitivity and long distance hook sets.

Disregard anything above regarding lures and tackle if you have preferences.

Location
Sometimes location patterns are discovered. In one part of the lake fish may be near pads but also near shorelines lined with docks. On I lake I fished yesterday, I found gills on the flats but only in certain areas: near rocks that dropped 2'; near weed edges close to open water drops and; near steep banks that dropped into 4'. Try to find areas that are different and cast to them. As was mentioned, sunfish many times hang out near bass, but also with crappie. Find a concentration of crappie in an area and sunnies may be present.

Time of day, a chop on the water and cloud cover can be crucial as far as activity level. Yesterday I waited for the clouds to move in at midday and caught 25 fish - mostly sunfish. Time of day with most potential can vary based on weather changes moving in. Hot, still days aren't my best fish catching days where I fish.

Sonar helps find baitfish in water over 4' and baitfish are where the fish that prey on are potentially close to. What was also cool yesterday was waiting for my rowboat to drift past the fish I saw on the screen in 5', cast to the location and catch fish. Fish aren't usually spooked by a drifting boat even in shallow water.

KNOW THY WATER LIKE THE BACK OF YOUR HAND and remember where fish were caught for the future as well as the bottom type and depth.

Summer time bream . #1=Think deep, #2 = Stay away from clear water . (really clear see rule #1)#3= go light (line and baits )#4 Fish main lake points and dam (especially rip rap if present ).Creek channels and intersection almost always have good fish . JMO .

I have been down this road. Where I live I have come to realize a good bluegill is 7.5-8” I rarely catch any larger. I had to travel hours to a lake to catch some that was 9”. It was easy. Because they was there. It’s no your gear or your bait/ presentation. It just that they may not be there at all. I beat myself up hunting 9” gills and never found any even close locally. Actually most are in the 6-7” range for the most part. If you want to catch ones like that. You have to do homework and research and travel.


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Deep. Mentioned numerous times in the responses to my post. And let me say I appreciate and thank you for responding. Lakes here have 30 to 100 feet depths. Some deeper. Generally speaking what are you considering deep?

Originally Posted by Quailtail

Deep. Mentioned numerous times in the responses to my post. And let me say I appreciate and thank you for responding. Lakes here have 30 to 100 feet depths. Some deeper. Generally speaking what are you considering deep?

Most bream lakes rarely exceed 40 ft. with most giving up fish in the 10-15 ft. range . If you fish main lake points normally they will be in the depth before 20.

Qt - LP is ~110'" at the deepest pt. During the winter, back in the day with my mentor Big Jim, we use to fish the inlet, 65'. We nose hooked nightcrawlers on jigalos and caught big CNBGs off the bottom and on the drop. Killed way too many fish. Now - I fish mostly for suspended fish no deeper than 35 FOW.

Chris - don't think my 1/48th or 1/32nd jigs get deeper than 12' @.8mph and the 1/24th jigs might be getting to 15' at that speed using 2lb test line. I'm using 2 lines - one has a slightly larger diameter. I watch the depth finder for baitfish & bugs. If a hatch is starting - go real slow, as they rise you start speeding up and fish the higher column.
"How do you troll with these light jigs" - troll speed is between .6mph and 1mph, mostly .8mph
"Are you running some weight on your line also" - No, but a friend of mine does and it's been discussed.
"Are you running the bait near the bottom in this 17-28 foot depths" - Depends on what's going on with the food chain.

When the fish are in open water regardless of depth, I MUST start trolling using your suggestions! Better to hook fish than spend all day casting to dead water.
What I need to do a better job of meeting the requirements of using light, trolled lures is: .8 mph boat speed, 2# not 6# test f/c line and making sure the lure is traveling at the right depth fish are seen on sonor. I always assumed suspended fish in warm water are uncatchable do to a zero activity level. Guess I won't know unless they see my lure long enough.

Originally Posted by Spoonminnow

I always assumed suspended fish in warm water are uncatchable do to a zero activity level.

I catch a lot of suspended fish in warm water: very slow trolling from my float tube.