It can now be found in much of the United States and has even been caught in Chesapeake Bay meaning the fish can tolerate some salt water. The usual Bluegill is 4 – 6 inches in length but they can reach up to 16 inches and they have been caught weighing over four pounds.
I’ve caught them here in North Carolina weighing as much as 3 pounds and over. And I’m sure there are some farm ponds in North Carolina that hold Bluegill over 4 pounds.
You know, people can talk about bass and catfish all the want. I enjoy catching them to but if I’m going to be doing a fish fry I want to go catch myself a bucket of bluegill.
I use light tackle and a little red and white float and I get so excited every time I see that float go under the water. More than fifty years ago now I remember my Grandfather taking me fishing with a cane pole, a hook, a float and he had the worms in his pocket.
That afternoon setting on the end of a pipe I caught my first fish which was about a pound bluegill. I’ve never forgot that first bluegill and I’ve been chasing them ever since.
Bluegill love the sun and the best place to fish for them is in the sun. Remember they are also known as sunfish.
In the spring when they first start biting you want to fish in the water where the sun is hitting the water and warming it up. If I can’t get a bite on red worms I’ll switch over to meal worms.
I like to fish my meal worms on gold hooks. I usually put a couple of meal worms on my gold hook and sometimes even if they won’t go after a red worm they will quickly take a meal worm or two.
If I can find them I’ll often use a single fat maggot on a small gold hook. I like to cast it towards deep water and let it slowly sink down and often I’ll be rewarded with a hard tug and a big fat bluegill.
Bluegill will breed and grow in rivers or ponds but they prefer ponds. I’ve caught some of my biggest bluegill in farm ponds.
If I can get permission I’ll sink a few dead Christmas trees in a deep hole in a farm pond and a few weeks later I’ll return and catch a big bucket of bluegill right where I sunk the Christmas trees. Farm pond bluegill just love to make their home in old Christmas trees.
I tie concrete blocks to ropes I’ve run through holes I’ve bored through the trunks of the trees and I sink them in a deep hole. I tie a line to a big float and tie it to the top of the tree when I sink it. That way when I come back in a few weeks I can find the Christmas tree bream bed I created easily.
Beds made out of Christmas trees make some of the best beds for Bluegill ever. Once you make them you’ll find that they attract bass and catfish also.
More Bluegill Information
Corn and dough balls will often work for Bluegill when nothing else will. I have also found that if Bluegill aren’t biting where they usually do in a farm pond they may be in a different part of the pond.
If you‘ re not getting bites in your usual spot go deeper or move to a new part of the pond. Keep moving until you find the fish. You’ll find the most bites where the water goes from shallow to deep. It is there that you’ll catch the bigger fish.
Blue Gill are sun loving fish and they love warm water. In the mornings in summer time you want to fish in the part of the lake where the sun is hitting the water. The water will get warmer there before it does ant where else in the lake.
About mid way through the summer here in North Carolina the Bluegill go off red worms because they are feeding on the huge grasshopper population in the area. When this happens I either catch a bunch of grasshoppers or I go buy crickets.
You have to fish a grasshopper or cricket a little different than you do red worms. I usually put a split shot on my line and about three foot below the split shot I put a hook on.
I hook my grasshopper or cricket through the back and I cast out over where I think the Bluegill are and I’m usually rewarded with a bite. I usually don’t fish with a float with my grasshoppers or crickets. I try to fish the grasshopper or cricket into the water like the wind has blown it into the lake and usually I catch plenty of Bluegill this way.
Learn Your Ponds And Lakes To Rake In The Bluegill
During times when the water is lower than usual make a trip to your farm ponds or lakes where you fish for Bluegill and take paper and pen with you. When the water is lower you can often see the tops of rocks or stumps that are not visible when the water is higher.
Make yourself a map of any big rocks, stumps, or logs that you can see. If its your pond or you can get permission you can dump a big load of rocks into a shallow part of the farm pond and create a great fishing spot.
I’ve done it in a couple of farm ponds and it created great fishing spots that I still catch big Bluegill out of many years later. I take a journal with me fishing and I take careful notes of where I catch fish and anything else I observe.
I take a thermometer with me so I can take the temperature of the water to. I now also carry a barometer with me and if I catch a lot of Bluegill when the water is a certain temperature and the barometer is at a certain reading I know I’ll do well when I find those conditions again.
I like to keep one rod baited and in the water and with a light weight rod I’ll be trying little worms with spinners and jigs in the water and I’ve caught some very nice sized Bluegill this way and a few hungry bass.
If the wind is really blowing especially in the early spring your really better off waiting until a better day with less wind. In the warmer summer months the wind won’t effect your fishing as much.
In The Summer Bluegill Bite Good Early In The Day
Bluegill live in streams and ponds but they prefer ponds or lakes. You’ll often find them in ponds in weed beds where they spawn and feed.
Usually they are found in shallow water and the best way to fish them is to cast into deeper water and reel back into the shallow water. Quite often in full sun at drop offs you’ll find them in huge numbers.
They like sun but not a lot of heat and the best time to catch them in the hotter part of the summer is early in the day when they will be higher up in the water staying warm. As the day warms up they will move off into deeper water. Just follow them where ever they go and catch a big stringer of Bluegill.
I often fish for Bluegill real early in the day with very small jigs and small worms with spinners. At this time of the day if you’ll cast into deeper water and reel into the water where they are you’ll get some great hits. Try using small jigs for great fun.
I just love to feel them hit a small jig hard. With light tackle they are one of the best fighting fish out there. I do occasionally catch a bass on my small jigs and worms but the Bluegill will eat them up to.
Use Clear Fishing Floats To Catch Bluegill
Or you can go the normal route and fish for them with a rod and reel and small hooks baited with red worms under a fishing float. In recent years I have started using clear floats and I have found that I catch more fish that way.
You can find clear fishing floats now in most tackle shops and stores like Walmart. I use the ones that are about three inches around. In most farm ponds and lakes I fish the fishing float and under it I put a split shot sinker about 12 inches under the float and I put a hook about 12 inches under the sinker. This setup works perfect for Blue Gill.
Have You Tried Using Clear Floats For Bluegill?
Here I’m going to tell you again that I have been experimenting with fishing for Bluegill under clear floats and I catch more fish than I have ever caught under a colored float. I know you have to watch a clear float a lot more closely but you will catch the bigger Bluegill under a clear float.
And I will let you in on another secret that I have started to do with those clear floats. I have started to try various colored dry flies usually used for trout fished under the clear floats and I catch a lot of big Bluegill with those dry flies. Here in North Carolina they will usually hit very good on black, yellow, and yellow and black dry flies.
And now that you know a lot of great secrets for catching Bluegill why don’t you plan a fishing trip soon and try them out. I wish you luck and I hope you catch some big Bluegill soon!
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