Panfish Fishing
Favorite Bluegill Baits/Rigs
10/22/12 @ 11:09 AM
Hi All:
Looking to revamp/ restock my bluegill tackle and techniques. My one-dart-art method works well but looking for something new to try. Want to get a discussion going on what are your favorite baits, lures, rigs? Would appreciate colors, sizes, etc.
My goto method has been a #6 or #8 Moon glow ice jig tipped with a waxie - pretty much year round. Only difference is in open water I ususally fish them under a float.
What about you all?
FGH
Displaying 1 to 14 of 14 posts
For summer, ditch the wax worms and try plastics, horizontal jigs work better in this case. I've pretty much gotten away from live bait 100% for all species, all year. Gulp Alive 1" minnows in the jars work awesome for gills. Same with the Gulp Alive earthworms in the jars. For more traditional plastics, I live the Impulse line up from Northland, the ratso tails of Custom Jigs & Spins, and any type of wedgie bait. Little Atom has a ton of different styles. J&S Customs has come out with a lot of new options the last two years as well.
I will fish the plastics under a float along weed edges and in weed pockets. Depth is trial and error. I rarely let my float just sit still, usually constantly trying to move it ever so slightly. It doesn't take much of a twitch at all to get that plastic tail dancing, rising and dropping under the float.
Another way I like to fish gills is deeper water drifting with the plastics. I will either run a drop shot rig or run a small egg sinker above a barrel swivel with about a 12-16" leader to my jig head. I'll drift with the wind until contacting some fish or marking a good school on the graph then use the trolling motor to hold position over those fish or make quick, small drifts over the same area. My anchor is being stowed away more and more, year after year, usually only seeing action when it is too windy to consistently hold position with the trolling motor.
On one of the lakes I fish, the gills like to follow bug hatches to the surface at dusk, even over 15-25' of water. Some of the most fun you can have in a 15-30 minute window is catching rising gills just inches under the surface, over 20' of water, and a couple hundred yards from all the weedline fishermen. This is where plastics really shine.
The ultimate favorite of mine is drop-shotting them when they are staged on breaks. I have a custom made 7' one piece avid ultra light with a Tennessee handle paired with a Shimano Sahara. Usually fish with small leeches or red worms or crawler chunks. If they are really aggressive I switch to a 1" black tube. The fight from 15-30 fow is awesome on the ultra light! Thill floats pre-spawn then it is post-spawn (I do not fish the spawn anymore) and drop shot all the way to November!!
I just use a #8 long shank hook with a piece of crawler under a float. Typically with a small shot, but sometimes none. I also use a 1/32 oz jighead in various colors somtimes. No artificials- maybe I should try some.
For river bluegills just off the main current, I have used no float and a couple of shot with the same hook and crawler.
Marmooska Tungsten Dancer with a spike nicked on or a piece of very thin plastic. Everything under the ice seems to like the jig moved constantly. Crappies like the jig descending while bluegills will hit it going up or down. HT Enterprises prices them way too high though.
Ice fishing its way to long to list, anything from larger jigging spoons to tiny jigs is in the arsenal. On open water its more refined, ice jigs/plastic or jig/waxie in the spring and then i usually run a slip bobber and troutworm set up at any time in summer. Fall is a toss up as I have used anything from ice jigs plastic,to bigger crappie jigs and plastic, to even bigger jigs and minnows, to spoons. I only care about what they are hitting the day I am fishing. 
I like HT Marmooska jigs for bluegills: #8 or #10 with redworms near the bottom in summer, #10 or #12 with waxworms above the bottom in winter. Orange/chartreuse, green/chartreuse, chartreuse zebra, red/brown, green/black and gold have all been good for me. They can also be used with small plastics, with or without a bobber.
Good 'gilling!
For bluegill I use a slip bobber, #4 or #6 light wire aberdeen hook, a small colored bead and a folded clevice with a small blade just above the hook. For bait I almost always use big reds. These aren't the same as regular leaf worms. They are super wiggly and hold up better in the water than red/leaf worms. I fish right on the weed edge or in weed pockets and set the depth about one foot off the bottom. It works best if there's a little bit of wave action to get the blade moving a bit.
I like to use very small plastics, small hook with or with out a float depending on situ. i find that the slower the bait sinks can catch alot of fish. the drop rate maters. i like to find plastics that either mimic minnows or creatures baits. but plastics has its days. i also like to use a small hook with a white feather. slams them every time. but always have live bait either minnows or crawlers, some days they wont touch plastic. tight lines hope this helps.
ps. these tips would be best for swallow/ sight fishing. its crazy watching them slam it, sometimes they'll jump out of the water
Displaying 1 to 14 of 14 posts
