A Few Nice Gills Today

Last week I doctored some bream baits up in anticipation of the upcoming bite, and a couple of my offerings paid off today.
Attachment 301379
?My use of Trout Magnet baits has been limited, but after a few recent successes, I am a fan! To be honest I did buy a half tube of crickets this morning, just to be on the safe side, as they are my bait of choice. The morning started off cloudy, windy, and overcast, not good Bluegill weather for the areas I fish. I located some Crappie last Friday in this same area so I spent a couple hours pecking around for them and managed a nice limit. The sun came out around 11:30 and the Sunfish search was on. I saw some small females cruising around a floating dock and private concrete ramp. A couple casts with a cricket on a plain hook under a float led to my first Gill of the year.
Attachment 301380
?Over the winter I treated myself to a 7’ St Croix Panfish Series Rod. The Chief Financial Officer does not know how much I spent on a Bluegill rod, and thanks to Bass Pro Shops Gift cards she probably never will! With 4lb Nanofil Braid, this is a sweet set up for Bluegill. Probably not as nice as the outfits Alphahawk uses and writes about, but so far I am pleased. The mealworm colored Panfish Magnet produced a couple Gills, with and without a cricket added.
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And surprisingly, when tipped with a cricket I caught this one!
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I culled one of the smaller Crappie for this pretty lady and considered my day a success.
9 Gills rode home in the “left “ livewell, and were cleaned first.
?Attachment 301385
Biggest fish beside the ruler. This about average for the ones I keep from this lake. Some larger ones will show up closer to the next full Moon in May, but overall I was pleased with my first Bluegill catch of the year.
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Good job. Weather was perfect here today but had to help my mom move into her new house. [emoji58]


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Nice catch

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by StantheMan2567

Last week I doctored some bream baits up in anticipation of the upcoming bite, and a couple of my offerings paid off today.
Attachment 301379
?My use of Trout Magnet baits has been limited, but after a few recent successes, I am a fan! To be honest I did buy a half tube of crickets this morning, just to be on the safe side, as they are my bait of choice. The morning started off cloudy, windy, and overcast, not good Bluegill weather for the areas I fish. I located some Crappie last Friday in this same area so I spent a couple hours pecking around for them and managed a nice limit. The sun came out around 11:30 and the Sunfish search was on. I saw some small females cruising around a floating dock and private concrete ramp. A couple casts with a cricket on a plain hook under a float led to my first Gill of the year.
Attachment 301380
?Over the winter I treated myself to a 7’ St Croix Panfish Series Rod. The Chief Financial Officer does not know how much I spent on a Bluegill rod, and thanks to Bass Pro Shops Gift cards she probably never will! With 4lb Nanofil Braid, this is a sweet set up for Bluegill. Probably not as nice as the outfits Alphahawk uses and writes about, but so far I am pleased. The mealworm colored Panfish Magnet produced a couple Gills, with and without a cricket added.
?Attachment 301382
?Attachment 301383
And surprisingly, when tipped with a cricket I caught this one!
?Attachment 301384
I culled one of the smaller Crappie for this pretty lady and considered my day a success.
9 Gills rode home in the “left “ livewell, and were cleaned first.
?Attachment 301385
Biggest fish beside the ruler. This about average for the ones I keep from this lake. Some larger ones will show up closer to the next full Moon in May, but overall I was pleased with my first Bluegill catch of the year.
?Attachment 301386



Sent from my iPhone using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

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Nice catch...very pretty fish. I’d take 8 inch Gills all day long. I haven’t found any Gills yet. That St Croix is a nice rod. One certainly doesn’t need those rods I own to catch lots of fish.....I just like collecting them.

Regards


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Excellent report! I’m gonna spend some time learning more about this sunfish game. All of my catches are incidental, as I have never really targeted them.

Excuse my ignorance, but what are yall referring to whe. You say you "CULL" fish? On the farm that means you killed usually an unhealthy or unruly animal?

Very nice, good go!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by INDyak

Excuse my ignorance, but what are yall referring to whe. You say you "CULL" fish? On the farm that means you killed usually an unhealthy or unruly animal?

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Release a smaller one and keep a larger one that is caught.

Stantheman...... what type of needle are you using to thread the spider legs thru the soft plastic? Where did you purchase at?

Thanks

To thread the flat rubber through the Panfish Magnet body i used a small sewing needle from my wife's sewing kit. It was not the smallest size, but one a little bigger with a decent size eyelet. I actually broke out half of the eyelet and created a "hook" of sorts to actually pull the rubber through in a loop then trim to size. I experimented with a couple of old used bodies and it is not the easiest thing to do with reading glasses. Just an FYI I tried using round rubber (preferred) but could not get it to thread through without breaking the Panfish body in half. I also added a drop of super glue to the body once i threaded it onto the hook (after putting legs on) to to keep the little buggers from pulling the body down as much. I lost one leg on the mealworm colored one on Sunday, but landed at least 5 fish on it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ET Fish

Excellent report! I’m gonna spend some time learning more about this sunfish game. All of my catches are incidental, as I have never really targeted them.

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Fort Loudon should have a good population of bluegill, grab some crickets and look around docks, ramps, especially graveled or sandy ramps and driveways that lead to and go under the water. They are a blast to catch on light tackle. My father always brought his flyrod.

Good job Stan. Nice bugs.

Thanks for the report....and mentioning the gift card for Bass Pro Shops.....I have my pick of gift cards from Bass Pro and Cabelas from work right now and I may see a St. Croix panfish rod in my future. Also nice looking bugs, I have a bunch of the panfish magnets I may try this on a few myself.

I have the 7ft. 1pc. St. Croix Panfish series rod paired with a Plueger President XT limited edition spinning reel ( last years model), the 25 size. The rod weighs about 3 oz and the reel comes in around 7oz. So far it has been a pleasure to fish with. I really do like the braid with this setup, no “eye singing” so far like you get with a bait-casting rod and braided line. An 8in Gill puts a nice bend in the rod!


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dinner is near ....