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What lures work best for casting to bream?
also, is it more productive just to float the lure without much movement?
I have caught a bluegill and a shellcracker casting a small 1/16 or 1/32 beetlespin in white/red dot but find live crickets and nightcrawlers to be far more effective.
By nature, will bream chase down a lure or the lure must be presented on its nose, literally?
My early morning adventures involve getting to my fishing hole before the tackle shops are open.
I gotta admit, I'm not much of an artificial guy when it comes to panfish. That said, I'd have to say a close second would be rubber-legged spiders and a fly rod, then small spinners like Mepps Rooster Tails and Beetle Spins.
I hear 'ya on the baitshop thing, which was why I ordered 1,000 crickets last week. Now if/when the urge hits me, I can just grab what I need and go. Look in the Live Bait Forum if you have an interest, lots cheaper and more convenient, plus pretty easy to do (if I can do it it's gotta be easy Rofl).
See here:Quote:
Originally Posted by bluefish1928
http://www.crappie.com/crappie/panfi...orked-you.html
... and here:
http://www.crappie.com/crappie/panfi...cker-bait.html
They're sticky threads for a reason. :)
I catch the majority of mine on crickets and worms/cause thats what i fish with most.But must say i did some crank bait fishing for them earlier this year and caught some nice ones!
I've caught them on maribou jigs (1/16 oz I think) by doing a reel/pause retrieve in shallow water. Also caught them vertical jigging by pinching the "tail" off of a small tube jig and threading the body on a 1/32 oz jig head. I tip it with a wax worm or crappie bite. Also catch them on small beetle spin sometimes around by casting around shallow wood/rocks.
Most of the time I have a dozen night crawlers in the fridge. They live for a couple of weeks. I just use a 1/2" length of worm under a float. One chunk of worm is usually good for 1-3 fish so I get alot of mileage out of a dozen nightcrawlers.
Black 1 inch slider jigs on red or black i/32 head .
Last spring in Florida had a lot of fun catching large bluegills off the docks with silver and gold Blue Fox Vibrax size 0 spinners on ulti-light. I have had less luck with them in Illinois ... or maybe the bluegills are just smaller :)
Eagle,
Do you rig the slider weedless...or with the hook exposed??
Attachment 96997
I caught 6 of these sunfish on this. The entire treble hook was in their mouth each time???????????? Fun get them unhooked!!
Years ago, I was fishing Reelfoot Lake in West Tennessee (one of the best bluegill lakes in the country) when I saw a fellow catching big bluegill in the lilly pads. I was fishing with crickets in those same pads with some success, but I could tell he was using some other bait and catching three to my one. As he worked through the pads, he got close enough for me to ask him what he was using. He actually drew his boat alongside mine and placed a handfull of small jigs in my boat of various colors. That man was Louie Mansfield and those baits were Grizzly Jigs that he made. He went on to found the Grizzly Jig Company which is, beyond a doubt, the largest dealer of panfish fishing tackle anywhere around.
Since that day I've gone to doing all my bluegill fishing with Grizzly Jigs entirely! I tip each jig with a small piece of Berkley Power Wiggler. Over the years, I've tried Grizzlies in lakes all over the South and Midwest and have caught literally thousands of bluegill and crappie. You can google Grizzly Jigs on the net and order then straight from Louie's factory. I promise you will not be disappointed. I have not used a cricket or worm for bluegill in all these years. I use nothing but Grizzlies and usually can catch three fish while you are baiting a cricket. lol They are awesome, seriously, and I tell you that not because I get a dime for trying to sell them. I don't. I tell you simply because I love to see other people catch fish.
I fish Grizzlies under a very small bobber. Grizzlies are about 1/64 and 1/82 and have an ultra sharp hook. Try them and you'll see what I mean.
I've recently had extremely good luck on bluegill casting Garland's Baby Shads on a 1/16 oz. ball head. I count it down to where I see the first "twitch", then repeat the count each successive cast. Works for me. :)
When I target Bull Gills, I'll pull out the 3 wt. fly rod and sling 'em one of these, or put one under a small bobber.
Attachment 97058
Yep, for 10 years it was the only way I would fish, but I'm still growing and changing.
Like NeonMoon stated, it's hard to beat a rubber legged spider in front of a fly rod.
Joe's fly which is an inline spinner type bait that includes a flash blade, small fly with trailer size 10 treble hook. I've caught some of my largest bluegills and crappie using it. Definitely an all purpose lure. It's best used with a 6 to 7 ft ultralight rod with a smooth 4 to 6 ballbearing ultralight reel on limb 4lb test mono. You can add (various size) split shot 12inches above it for cast distance and depth
Attachment 97060
Teardrop with a wax worm under a slip float.
Black is best! Size 8 hook in a 64th or 32nd oz black jig head. 1" Black twister grubs, 1" black GULP leeches, 1" Little Atom black Teasers. Best deep and for best size off the outside weedline up here. If you are catching dinks, move, by this time of the year the sizes of sunfish tend not to mix all that much. For me it also takes 2# line to get the light jig heads down with proper line control.Quote:
Originally Posted by eagle 1
1/64 ounce Trout Magnet......
Bitsy Minnow in Tiger....black/chartreuse curly tail on 1/16 oz. unpainted jig head attached a small gold spinner....
Cast and retrieve, cast and retrieve. Only use artificial, never use bait...
3 and 4 inch Creme Natural Scoundrels.... Fished on just a Gold aberdeen hook with a split shot above it...Or on a flyrod with a strike indicator.
Try Big or Little Skunk. White works best for me most of the time. But sometimes I change colors for different water conditions. If you want to try some you can contact me at [email protected]
Agreed, it's an excellent bait and comes in a variety of colors. Make sure to buy the 1/64 oz. jigheads to go with them. (preferably black)Quote:
Originally Posted by Alphahawk
Thanks for the tip.I bought a couple packs of them in the early spring but havent tried them out yet.Quote:
Originally Posted by Crestliner08
Attachment 97876
I have had good luck the past couple times out with these. I have been using the frog tiger mostly and the one right above it in the picture. I would love to try the bass color, but my local Wally World only carries a couple colors. I am going to have to try somewhere else. So far, bluegill, bass and crappie all hit them.
Attachment 97944I've had a great time fishing with these. Bluegill, perch, and sometimes walleye love this little guy. I just put them on with a split shot 8" above for better casting and jig them on the bottom of the lake. I fish right off shore or a dock (6' to 8' FOW) and have a great time! You can get them from Nothland Fishing Tackle in Bemidji, MN.
I never really fished a lot of plastics before last summer (other then Mister Twisters) and I have to agree w/Bluegill buddy, those Northland 'Slurpies' as they call them work pretty well ... I fish a lot of docks & marinas and have been catching gills, sunnies, crappies, white bass, sm/lm bass (sheephead, blah!) on them all year ... silver shiner (#11) & perch (#23) are the two colors working best in my area.
Another Northland plastic I've been having a lot of success with this summer is the 'Mimic Minnow' shad tail, it has the absolute most realistic action I've ever seen ... when you jig it up and let if fall, it looks exactly like a baitfish swimming down. I catch the same type of fish & use the same colors, which are what seems to work best around here ... the noticeable difference between the 'Slurpies' and the 'Mimic Minnow' is I catch my larger fish with the Mimic.
The last bait that's been working for me & has actually been outfishing the other two after spring is the Berkley Gulp! Alive! Minnow, 1" - Black Shad ... not the ones you get in the container w/liquid, but the ones you get in the small, resealable bag. They're pretty versatile and are working well on jigs, drop-shot rigs or under a slip bobber ... I even put 'em on the Northland Mimic Minnow jigheads once in awhile & that works real well.
I've tried tipping all of them with waxworms on occassion, but haven't noticed any real difference in the bite pattern to matter and I was thinking about trying some of those 'crappie nibbles' on them eventually.
Hope this helps ... oh yeah, I just ordered a couple of those Yo-Zuri 'Snap Beans' lures and will be trying them out next week ... I've been told they're great for panfish, so if I have any luck with them, I'll let you know.
Attachment 97965
Caught about a dozen on this thing earlier in the year.
I caught them on a number of cranks. Early in the season I use Baby Bombers in Fire Tiger, Chrome and Blue,and Shad!When they start to move shallow I go with floaters made by Rapala 3's and 5's in shad, perch, and clown.Twitching them on top and crank and stop back to the boat if no bite on top!For Crackers, it's a redworm or cricket on bottom with a small split shot.When gills are staging at mouths of spawning coves, I locate them on sonar and fish 4 ultralite rods in holders with a cricket and splitshot. I loaded a cooler of bream one year fishing 19 ft. deep just in the mouth of a spawning cove.Later if the bream are not quite bedding but have moved further up into the cove, I will throw out rods, place them in holders and either let the wind or use the trolly motor and slowly drag those baits. Sometime they hit so hard they almost pull the rods out of the holders.Once they are on beds, I stay back, Anchor both ends of the boat and pitch tiny jigs with a tiny float or a collar hooked cricket starting outward from the bed fishing deeper for the gill who beds are deeper and work my way in slowly.Gotta love a big black male that you can hardly get your hand around!
OLD GEEZER FISHERMEN NEVER DIE, THEY JUST SMELL THAT WAY!!
Hey Retired, have you ever fished a small popping bug with a tiny wet fly hanging just below tied to the hook. Them gill hear that popper and look up and see that fly right in their face, one hits it and pulls the popper down only to have another hit the popper. Like pulling a boat anchor through the water.Fun when it happens but does cause a retie when you get 2 on.
OLD GEEZER FISHERMEN NEVER DIE, THEY JUST SMELL THAT WAY!!
black and yellow kiptail jig with red thread, 1/64 oz. with a white or pink crappie nibble. I use 2 or 4 pound line with a very small cork about the size of a nickel with the lead made into the bottom of the cork.
Seagullplayer is right about big gills and crappie loving the little strike king bitsy minnow crank bait! At the right time you cant hardly make a cast with one and not get a bite. Only problem is that it seems like you lose a lot of fish with them for some reason which gets frustrating! You dont lose them when they almost swallow it though like this crappie:biggrin
I have been using a southern pro 1 inch tube jig with a 1/32 once, # 10 hook, inside head. The jigs are fished under a fixed balanced bobber. Power bait is used to add some scent to the jigs.
The down side is the tubes are not very durable and the fish destroy the tubes in short order. I am in the process of testing the durability of some home ties and the results look promising.
I will post the results at a later date.
I have had good results with this simple lure I call a KISS Bug.
Tube jig body 1/32 once, # 8 hook, rubber hackle tails, From left to right painted body, leach yarn body, antron yarn body, and wool body.
The painted body held up the best followed by the wool body. The rubber tackle is very durable and no strands were missing after numerous attacks of small fish.Attachment 99181
Get you a fly rod and a couple bream killers. You'll get tired of cleaning em!
those small 2-3" hard grasshopper crankbaits at walmart work excellent
Illinois cannot go wrong with pink head white body 1/32 mini-mite!
exposed .Quote:
Originally Posted by tnvol
Rebel Teeny Wee craw.
Attachment 116731
Big ol' bull 'gills absolutely kill these things
Tom
I like the Beetle Spin bodies with a couple of legs inserted made out of silicone bass spinnerbait skirt material. If there's anywhere you all know to buy these premade I'l appreciate it because they're a pain in the butt to make very many at a time and threading the needle with thick silicone "thread".
Smaller sized crankbaits will pull some BIG panfish in if they're there, beetlespin bodies on a jighead, and of course live nightcrawlers/crickets/grasshoppers
Any of you guys down south ever think about applying some ice-fishing techniques? I'm just wondering and it is on my 'bucket list' to go south with my Plano box of ice-fishing jigs and see how I fare in the land of 2lb bluegill, :). I basically use the same methods year round for bluegill/panfish in Michigan/SW Ontario and it works well around the docks, in the weedbeds, deep or shallow, spring/summer/fall/winter. You can jig these plastics, drop-shot 'em, fish 'em under a slip-bobber, et ... they work.
The plastics I'm picturing are called Ice Mites, Candy Plastic Domination Fry and Little Atom. The Little Atom is the singular red plastic with a tail coming off the ball and you'll see the purple Firetiger teardrop jighead where I cut the tail off the Little Atom to place just the round head on the teardrop hook. Same concept as a 'Jensen Egg', but smaller, & it works wonders.
The jigheads are 5mm & made out of tungsten, so they're small but heavy & drop fast. They come 3mm - 8mm. At first I was skeptical that I would catch anything of size on such a small hook, but I've even landed a few decent size carp/sheephead with those hooks and the bluegill gobble 'em up.
Attachment 116791Attachment 116790
Kgalla, basically all of those jigs you mentioned are used here in the south as well as for ice fishing.