Anyone ever gone fishing for bluegills in rivers? I fish for bluegills in a river and had good success but want to catch more. When i fish for bluegill, I jut use a small hook,redworms,and a bobber.
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Anyone ever gone fishing for bluegills in rivers? I fish for bluegills in a river and had good success but want to catch more. When i fish for bluegill, I jut use a small hook,redworms,and a bobber.
Using a float in rivers is a little more complicated because of the different current speeds between the surface water and the water on the bottom. The deeper the river, the bigger the difference in the current speeds.
This is important because your float is at the surface and will be travelling at the same speed as the surface water. It will also be dragging your bait at the surface speed. The problem is that water near the bottom (and all the little bits of food there) will be travelling at a slower speed, so your bait will not look natural, and the fish will not take your bait. To remedy this problem, you need to hold back or "check" the float and slow it down. Only through trial and error can you get the correct speed.
Good floats help, too. Get some floats specifically designed for river fishing. Avon floats would be good to start with. You can get them at Wacker Baits or fishusa.com.
When I fish rivers, I look for area of little or no current. I tend to fish away from the middle of the river, where the current is strongest.
are good opportunities on rivers down here in the southern part of the country. I normally hit areas with little to no current, back drops, pockets, etc...and use red worms, cricket, and when water is flat I throw multiple types of micro jigs, flies 2 to 3 ft below a split shot. I do pretty good especially on Shellcrackers and huge goggle eyes.
I use to fish rivers all the time.no bobbers though.Would just let the bait tumble with the current.A lot better then casting and reeling over and over.
same here it works goodQuote:
Originally Posted by azslabber
I'll try fishing without a bobber when I start fishing in March; I don't go fishing in winter.
i dont either but if i had the gear to do it i would
Fishing in rivers in winter is dangerous because of increased flows due to winter rains.
i've rode snowmobiles up rivers all my life.if the ice is solid why not
Two years ago when i was fishing,i found a shallow pond that was connected to the river by a little inlet. I saw a bunch of baby fish and moved on. Last year, I went fishing to the same pond and the water level went up. I cast my line and in fifteen seconds I caught a bluegill that was as big as my hand.Another cast and i caught another bluegill just as big. I continued fishing for two or three hours until sunset. I caught over fifty bluegills and green sunfish at that pond. My dad also caught a few fish there. I only kept about twent of the biggest fish; i tossed the smaller ones back so they grow bigger and I can catch them later.I doubt anyone fishes the pond so it's my own little secret panfish pond.That day was my best fishing day ever so far.
what size jigs do I use for bluegills and sunfish?
when i lived in iowa there were tons of farm ponds that nobody fished but if u can get permision they are some of the best bluegill and bass ponds there are.Quote:
Originally Posted by panfish_angler_17
... using 1/64 & 1/32oz jigs for most sunfish species. Sunfish are notorius "nippers" ... they "nip" at their food, to kill it & dismember/dismantle it, especially if it's too big to easily fit in their mouths. Of course, the bigger the sunfish, the bigger the mouth ... so, you "can" adjust the size of your jig, to aproximate the size of "food" that the fish can easily take in. And, that's not to say that a sunfish won't hit a bigger bait :p ... some of the bigger sunfish species that I've caught, have come on 1/4oz crankbaits & jigs !! But, even then, they weren't caught "on" the hooks ... but were caught (foul-hooked) "by" the hooks :DQuote:
Originally Posted by panfish_angler_17
And, I'm sure you are already aware of the fact that Green Sunfish, Warmouth, and Rock Bass have much larger mouths, than do Bluegill & some of the other sunfish species. So ... these three, in particular, can be caught on larger baits, more often.
One of the best known, and most widely used jig ... locally ... is a Pop-Eye Jig. Basically a ballhead jig with feathers. Bluegill/sunfish anglers use these jigs under a small float, and tip them with Wax Worms. This is pitched up next to rock walls, or around any type of cover that these fish normally hang around.
There are many different "brands/mfg's" of this jig, and many go by the same or similar spelling of the name. Cabin Creek Baits makes the ones I'm most familiar with (sizes #0 - #1 - #2) ... and Grousefly (a member here) makes a similar product (Fishing Gear & Baits | Jigs | P & S CUSTOM TACKLE | Crappie.com Business Directory )
I'd also suggest trying a 1/32oz Roadrunner marabou jig ;) (and here's a tip - don't use them "as is" out of the package .... trim the hair length !! I usually cut the hair about halfway between the hook bend & the tip end of the hair. This keeps the fish from nipping at the trailing hair, and forces them to try & grab the whole end of the bait ... hook & all ;) )
... cp :cool:
I like to use a 1/16 oz inline spinner for sunfish in warm weather, they will tear that thing up!
For river gills here in Fla. I tie a bell sinker to the end of the line and put two jigs up the line 18" and 24" with loop knots. Tight line this rig and let the current give the jigs action.
I was walking along the shore of the river where I fish when I noticed some reeds growing out of the water in the shallows. I saw a good sized bluegill near the roots probably waiting for some food to go by.I got too close to the reeds and the fish was replaced by a cloud of mud.I scared the fish off.I moved back and in a while the fish returned. It was getting late so I packed up my panfish rod and took out my catfish rod.I made a note of the location of the reeds and will fish them in spring.I've also caught plenty of bluegills and sunfish near reeds.
The only fishing I do in winter is for Trout, because they are a lot more active in streams.
My favorite fishin is crusing the river for Gills with my fly rod. I fish with a floatting popper or a nymph pattern. Just before dark and just before light a glow in the dark bug can be a lot of fun. Down here in Georgia the red breast tear up a fly, and if you catch a hatch just rght, there there is no beatting a fly tossed at the edge of an over hangin tree or bush.
I lived in FL and had the St.Johns River just about in my backyard and fished it regularly. The Bass frustrated me but the gills of different varieties were very cooperative. I drifted the river while throwing a beetle spin into every slack water or eddy I came past. Downed trees, docks, boats, anything that deflected the normal flow. Using the trolling motor to keep me in casting distance but let the river provide the downstream motion. One or two casts per eddy was all you got and the next was coming up. From Hontoon Island to SR44 took about 2 hrs and usually gave up anywhere from 5 to 15 LARGE bluegill that we called copperheads, from the copper coloration across their foreheads. Was tons of fun and was consistant, time after time. Hope you get a chance for some fishing like this.
I can't seem to find 1/64 oz grubs at wal mart.