Bluegill search bait?

[bmc]

I tried a new lake today, first time on open water, but have ice fished it with some pretty good success. I've talked to a reliable source who gave me some info. on spots to fish for gills and just couldn't get them today. I caught a few small slimers, a bunch of little perch, and a nice 24" walleye that was CPR'd. I mainly fished the edge of the lily pads out to the weedline, about 12'. I tried jigging and also slip bobber fishing with no 'gill results. I thought of trying a pannie sized spinner bait, but there's lots of little slimers in there and I'm sure there'd be lots of bite off's. Of the lakes I fish around here for gills, some seem to be definite evening lakes and some are day lakes. Anyone have a "go to" search lure for gills?

Brian

[Bobb-o]

IMHO nothing beats an orange 1.5" tube

[Matt Johnson]

It might be one of those situations where you end up losing a lot of lures, however, if you're constantly getting broken off by pike, then I would look elsewhere. If there are sunfish in that area, then they are going to be on the move and you won't be able to stay on top of them anyway because the pike are constantly stirring them up. You might have to head into the weeds more.

The weed lines are open game for cruising pike, and it's nothing for a pike to swoop in and snatch up a gill. This will make those gills leary to swing out and grab your presentation. So, try moving in the weeds a little more, towards pockets and where the weeds are more scarse instead of out on the weed line. These areas will provide a little more comfort to the gills.

I would also switch to a jig/plastic combo if you're going to work inside the weeds. Maybe a tube like Bobb-o mentioned, or else a twister tail or minnow-style plastic. If the wind is low, then try and get away with the lightest jig possible.

You could also try some sort of insect/creature plastic on a plain hook. Something like a nymph or bug. I've done well this time of year inside the weeds with plastic nymphs on a plain hook with a split-shot about a foot or so up. What this does is immitate the natural forage that those fish are feeding on in those surroundings. It also allows the gills to feel almost no resistance when grabbing the presentation, much like when they grab a real insect or bug.

You could also move to a completely new spot and continue to work the small spinner-bait searching for aggressive pods of fish. Find a set of deep water docks and pitch up towards those along the sides. Or put on a tubejig and tube and skip it underneath the docks. My guess is that you'll tie into a few gills more often than not if you can find docks with adequate weed growth in about 4-6 feet of water...

[BillP]

My fishing buddy is a bass fisherman and we fish togeather. He fishes bass almost exclusivly and I fish for sunfish. I use a slip bobber with live bait or something small and plastic. He uses everything that works for bass. However, he calls his plastic worms (usually red or black)his "sunfish indicators" He will say "sunfish over there" when the big sunneys start picking at his worm. I have learned to take him seriously. Sometimes they only want to play with the big worms but often it pays off.

[Troublehook]

I agree. I have used a 7" berkely powerbait worm texas rigged, and got a bunch of 'gill nibbles.

[ocf]

ya they suck on the tail and you can almost catch em like that

[Matt Johnson]

I just popped a nice gill on a Moss Boss a couple days ago while fishing slop bass. Also reeled in a gill on a Comida with a 5/0 hook! Gotta love those aggressive pannies!

[BillP]

Oh, they do get cought every so often and when they do it's likly to be a big one. Seriously, Joe has cought bluegills on everything but a buzz bait. I think when a bluegill gets big enough he begins to think he is a LM bass. In the spring you can see the little male bass swimming under our dock. For some reason they follow each other in a line. It's "follow the leader" with maybe 4 to 8 ten inch bass in a row. Then you take a second look and somewhere near the end of the line (but rite in line) is a big bluegill.

[bgreen82]

bass are a member of the sunfish family right?

[Troublehook]

correct

[slipperybob]

Sometimes big bluegills go cruisin' on wind swepted terristerials. Then I'd avoid the calm pockets of the lilly pads and go open water over weeds in 5-12 fow. Water should be murky. Look at the wind swepted insects and cast repeatedly over that area.