SunFish Bait Question

Last night I was looking at all my tackle, not doing much but thinking. But then I thought of something about Bluegills and such. I know they go after worms like a bull in a china shop but what about those little pill bugs you can find under just about anything? There can be scads of em under a small piece of wood or stone or even a bucket.

With that in mind, I'd like to know what you're thoughts are on using the large pill bugs as bait for Bluegills and such. The pill bugs/rolly pollies are probably the most abundant bug I have ever seen in my life time as i used to find tons of them under path way bricks, wood pieces and gutter spouts.

Any input on using these little bugs for bait would be greatly appreciated.

Kitti ... if you can get a small enough hook to put the "pill bug" on, I see no reason why they would not bite it. And they'd be more likely to bite it, if it's still alive & kicking when first put in the water. My only concern would be the size of the fish that would likely be the first to attack your little "pill bug". They're likely to be the smallest sunfish in the area ... since they ain't likely to ever get big, by being picky about what they eat :Rofl

You might also consider wetting down the ground, underneath those bricks, wood pieces, etc. ... then coming back to them & look for any worms that may have come up.

... cp :kewl

well the pill bug i was able to find were huge. and im talking about maybe a little more than half the size of my thumb nail. what i would do to rig them would be put a whole one on the break one in half and let just the end of the hook poke out. its worth a shot.

When I was a kid I use to pick up any bug I could find in grass and under every rock to use as bait. Had more luck with grasshoppers than the bugs but back then I didn't know about gills feeding on the bottom. Those bugs may work bottom fishing? Not sure. If you will send me your address in a PM I'll send you some small jigs and flies for gill fishing. I know, I'll tell you how to use the flies. You can use a small float above the fly around 3 to 4' (what ever you feel you can throw out right). Once you throw out let the float set until the rings in the water disappear then start working the float back to you in short pulls. The fly will be working behind the float and you will need to watch the fly for bites. Lots of fun and this way you can get in on some top water fishing for gills.

Hello ..... Give it a try but I would think in the end you will agree to stay with the K.I.S.S. method on gills. I bet in the end you will find out its to much work for the returns on your efforts. I have tried dozens of different ways to catch gills and I still go back to a small jig and some kind of worm (wax worm our spike) to catch a mess to eat. But you never know on such things and there is nothing wrong in being a thinking type of fisherman and getting out of the rut every so often. Good luck STEVE

i hear flies work quite well. i have a few actually. i have one that looks like a bee.

i havent been able to get out on the water and i hope to at least try and get out this spring/summer if the budget allows it.

i prefer to think about my options before i take action.

right now im just gather more options if one kind of bait isnt available or is scarce/expensive/whatever. the pill bugs actually sink.

oh i have these rubber worms called tiny worm by southern pro. they are really small, about an inch long and are white. i dont have any jig heads for them and i found where i can buy them but those jigs are so tiny, i think they would be perfect for gill fishing.

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Originally Posted by Fisher_Girl_Kitti

right now im just gather more options if one kind of bait isnt available or is scarce/expensive/whatever.

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Cheap, effective baits that you can get at the supermarket:

1. White bread
2. Corn
3. Hot dogs
4. Shrimp

thats just the problem......i have no job and im broke so using stuff like that is expensive to me.

i prefer the free stuff that you can get right outside your back door. either that, around the barn.

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Originally Posted by Fisher_Girl_Kitti

... i have no job and im broke ...

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In that case, I wouldn't be thinking about fishing. ;)

I hope things improve for you soon. :)

i have a lot of gear. and by a lot i mean a tackle box so full nothing more can really be squeezed into it. and its a three tier box too!

im actually wishing for a job this year(even if its part time) so i can save up for things i need, want, whatever.

but i do hope that things will get better to where i can go fishing again. i might talk to the person that got me fishing from the start and go on a trip with him. hell i still need to get my gear from him........

I'd try the pill bugs. Never hurts to try.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by STUMP HUNTER

When I was a kid I use to pick up any bug I could find in grass and under every rock to use as bait. Had more luck with grasshoppers than the bugs but back then I didn't know about gills feeding on the bottom. Those bugs may work bottom fishing? Not sure. If you will send me your address in a PM I'll send you some small jigs and flies for gill fishing. I know, I'll tell you how to use the flies. You can use a small float above the fly around 3 to 4' (what ever you feel you can throw out right). Once you throw out let the float set until the rings in the water disappear then start working the float back to you in short pulls. The fly will be working behind the float and you will need to watch the fly for bites. Lots of fun and this way you can get in on some top water fishing for gills.

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Do you have any flys that you can use with a float that don't stay on top of the water?? I like this method for crappie too

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Originally Posted by Fisher_Girl_Kitti

i prefer the free stuff that you can get right outside your back door. either that, around the barn.

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Google "black soldier fly".

Search this site, also. There are at least a couple of threads where they're mentioned.

the pill bugs sink so i thought those would be really great for bottom fishing for the gills on a small hook(smallest i have is a #10 snelled hook which i think would be perfect). since they are so abundant they can be used as a chum or whatever to draw them in along the shore. specially during the warm days where its comfy.

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Originally Posted by wademaster

Do you have any flys that you can use with a float that don't stay on top of the water?? I like this method for crappie too

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All of the small jigs 1/64 down and the beadhead flies work well under a float. I use a float a lot while bream fishing with my rod/reel or fly fishing. PM sent

Hard to get them on the hook, when they are rolling all over the boat.

not if you dont have a boat:Rofl

Bottom line: Nobody has replied that they tried them but they didn't work. You know where to find lots of pill bugs. They're natural. They're free. Try 'em.

here is something i find usefull to do.when you find used and torn plastic bass baits at places people fish and they discard,take them and with a razor blade cut the used bass worms into tiny slivers,and strips that will fit on small hooks and use them for bait.i like to tip small ice jigs with tiny plastic slices and fish that under a float and in open not frozen water usually.this has gotten me fish in numerous places,even got some little saltwater fish on it in a river i fish a lot.and i have caught pumpkinseed sunfishes on that same little worm bait you have tipped on a ice jig but in chartreuse with speckle in it

bxn, that is actualyla good idea. give the bum rubbers a new lease on life before they are truly bum rubber.

but i guess this settles it. ill have to try the pill bugs on a bottom rig and a float rig. thanks for the input guys! always nice to get more bait options to keep noted and stored away in the old fashioned tackle box that is our brains.

Don't forget crickets. Crappie and bluegill love those little black crickets. Hoppers too.

i can find crickets all over the place at the barn wehre my mom boards her horse. i found some big worms there too after it rained last night. i have enough options now to have enough back up plans to back up eachother.

Wasp nests are a good bait (due caution of course). I raise chickens and occasionally one will die and I will let the flies have it. After a few days or more, some really large maggots(called spikes up north I hear) can be harvested from the carcass, hundreds of them. You could start your trip with a meat treat for the flies week in advance and gather bait and fish from it when ready. My wife swears by crickets, but several times I've out fished her with my secret. Free! Good luck.

the barn where my horse is kept gets gets some wasp nests diring the summer. the mud-gobber wasps are the easiest and safest nest to get since their nests are basically a gob of dirt. ive heard maggots are one of the killer baits for small fish. i think they catch catfish too but im not sure. idk when ill be able to get on the water again. things have been very very tight with money lately.

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Originally Posted by STUMP HUNTER

When I was a kid I use to pick up any bug I could find in grass and under every rock to use as bait. Had more luck with grasshoppers than the bugs but back then I didn't know about gills feeding on the bottom. Those bugs may work bottom fishing? Not sure. If you will send me your address in a PM I'll send you some small jigs and flies for gill fishing. I know, I'll tell you how to use the flies. You can use a small float above the fly around 3 to 4' (what ever you feel you can throw out right). Once you throw out let the float set until the rings in the water disappear then start working the float back to you in short pulls. The fly will be working behind the float and you will need to watch the fly for bites. Lots of fun and this way you can get in on some top water fishing for gills.

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Stumphunter;

could you post some pics of the flys you referred to in this post.