The Go-To Methods For Catching Trophy Bluegill This Year
Though most people think it's damn near impossible to plan a fishing trip that will allow you to catch a bluegill weighing 1 ½ pounds or more by design rather than by accident, know that you can do it.
It's quite possible to land yourself the biggest bluegill of your lifetime in your next fishing trip.
This article will share tips on how to do just that with tactics and tricks gotten from five decades worth of experience and knowledge.
1. Aim For The Bottom.
Huge bluegills are made to swim at the very bottom. Use a tight line bait rig to catch them. Be sure to set it up perfectly so that when a fish falls for the bait, the line will move freely through the sinker without any resistance to warn fish about a potential threat.
2. Catch Your Light Biters.
Use a European style "antenna" slip bobber on a 2-to-4 pound test line. Make sure that at least ¼ inch of the bobber shows above the water so that if a trophy swims upwards after getting the bait, it removes some weight from the line. This way, the bobber will rise enough to tell you there's a taker.
3. Use Spinners.
When you happen to be fishing in new waters and are trying to find the perfect locales, consider using small spinnerbaits cast and retrieved extremely slowly. An obvious favorite is the Road Runner's Natural Science Trout & Panfish spinner. The spinner blade twists fast enough even when the lure is taken in slowly. It works very effectively.
4. Tempt Them With Topwater plugs.
Make use of topwater plugs that look like natural bluegill forage in order to tempt the curious trophy bluegills. Cast the plugs and let them sit but give them an occasional tug to ripple the water's surface. With some luck, a curious bluegill will soon hurry by and that's when you should go for it.
5. Try Minnows.
When hoping for a trophy bluegill, try fishing 2-to 3-inch minnows. And remember that patience will be the key to success here. Place the bait through both lips and not behind the dorsal fin. Then offer the minnow below a slip bobber. Don't forget to soak the bait before you put it in as bait.
6. Don't Underestimate Facebook.
Forget about using Facebook to waste some online time. If your use it for fishing purposes, you will be shocked at how helpful it can be. You could friend fellow fishermen and check out their fishing photos to find out great locales and if you are lucky enough they'll even share great tips with you.
7. Choose The Right Waters.
Another huge way of raising your chances of catching your trophy bluegill is to find the right waters. The right waters have an exceptional forage base and an almost-perfect predator-prey ratio. A great way of finding the right spot is phoning the freshwater fisheries agency in your state. Ask the right questions to get the best location.
8. Be Familiar With The Possibilities.
Have a look at state records. If you happen to live in one of the 12 states with 3 to 3 ½ pound state records, you are likely to have a better chance of finding a great catch. If you live elsewhere, you'll need to go off to the 'lucky' states to catch the bluegill of a lifetime.
Managing Bluegills
Until a few years ago, the management strategy for good bluegill fishing—meaning good numbers of hand-size or larger 'gills—was simple: (1) keep the numbers of intermediate-size bluegills sufficiently low so the surviving bluegills have plenty to eat and grow quickly to quality size and beyond; and (2) don't over-harvest large bluegills. That still is an effective management strategy in ponds and small impoundments where the fish community is simple—just two or three species.
The best way to keep bluegill numbers in check? Maintain a high density of bluegill predators in the pond. Typically that predator is largemouth bass. I've repeatedly seen anglers unhooking palm-size bluegills and throwing them on the bank in efforts to reduce the abundance of small, slow-growing bluegills. Good intentions, bad strategy. First, how much fun is it to catch 4-inch bluegills? Second, even the most zealous and dedicated angler can't keep up with the sunfish removal capability of a largemouth bass.
A largemouth bass consumes its weight in bluegills each month when the water temperature is near 75°F. A 4-inch bluegill weighs less than an ounce, a 5-inch bluegill weighs about 1.4 ounces. From spring through fall, a single 1-pound largemouth bass eats at least two dozen 4-inch bluegills or about a dozen 5-inchers each month. Not only are largemouth bass superior bluegill removing machines, they crop 'gills at a much smaller size than do anglers. This is important because a 3- or 4-inch bluegill eats the same food as—and therefore competes with—a half-pound or larger 'gill.
Minnesota DNR fishery biologist Pete Jacobson suggests an opposite strategy may produce quality bluegills that panfish piscatores seek. He found average length of bluegills increased in three of four lakes where the sunfish daily creel limit was reduced from the statewide limit of 30 sunfish per day to 10 per day. During the same period, average length decreased in four similar lakes where the bag limit remained 30 sunfish per day.
Nothing mysterious here, or so it seems—harvest fewer fish, more survive to grow large, and the average length of bluegill increases. Good thinking, but to grow larger, bluegills need food. With lower harvest, more bluegills would survive to share limited food resources, and growth rate should slow. But Jacobson found growth rate increased in the reduced-harvest lakes, and the greatest increase in growth rate occurred in the reduced harvest lakes that had the greatest proportion of large bluegills.
The likely key to why reduced harvest resulted in larger bluegills was not that they survived to live longer and grow larger, but because they didn't begin reproducing until they reached a larger size. Sexually mature fish channel a lot of energy into developing gonads and building and guarding nests, which leaves less energy for body (somatic) growth. By delaying sexual maturity until reaching a larger size, the fish can grow faster because energy is not shunted to reproduction. Jacobson found that average length at maturity of male bluegill increased from 6 inches before the 10-fish regulation to 6½ to 7 inches four years after the regulation was implemented. During the same time period, average length at maturity stayed at 6 inches in the reference lakes with 30-fish limits.
Does that small difference in length at maturity matter? Yes. Faster growth in the regulation lakes translated into bluegills that were 7 to 8 inches long at age-7 compared to 6 to 6½ inches at age-7 in the 30-fish limit lakes. While the 1- to 1½-inch difference in growth may not sound like much, it equates to a bluegill that weighs twice as much at age-7 in the 10-fish-limit lakes as in the 30-fish-limit lakes.
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Photo by Wired2Fish
8 Unwritten Rules of Boat Ramp Etiquette
Make sure you're being respectful to others at the boat ramp this year.
If I were a betting man, I'd bet a bag of worms that you've uttered some not-so-pleasant words under your breath at the local boat ramp. It seems that these accesses are where common sense goes to die. It can be funny, but those chuckles quickly turn to frustration when you're rushing to catch a morning topwater bite with a line of slow-moving trucks and boat trailers in front of you.
When I started dragging an old, beat-up bass boat as a teenager, I made a lot of mistakes; I even fell neck-deep into 40-degree water at my first-ever bass tournament while simultaneously swallowing half of the lake. I looked like a wet ferret. So I'm not being cynical or preachy. I simply want to make sure everyone knows a few important, unwritten rules of boat ramp etiquette. I wish I had read something like this in my younger years.
1. Move to the side if you're not ready
There are a lot of things to check and re-check before launching your boat. Waiting until you're in the middle of a long line at a busy boat ramp is not the time to perform these tasks.
When you pull into the parking lot, move to the side and let others go ahead and dump their boats. Put your plug in, take your straps off, take your motor toter off, plug in your graphs, put your lights in—whatever you have to do—before clogging up the line.
Not only does this drastically help the flow of traffic, but it also ensures that you're doing everything properly and safely because you're not being rushed. Just move to the side, sip your coffee and take your time. Your fellow fisherman will thank you.
2. Turn off your headlights
Ever tried to back a boat trailer with someone's headlights in your mirrors? It's practically impossible. As soon as your truck goes into reverse, shut off your headlights so people backing their trailers in adjacent lanes will be able to see. This is a major hold-up I commonly see at boat ramps across the country.
3. Catch up after your truck is parked
I fish tournaments by myself most of the time, so my truck often sits on the ramp for a few minutes while I dock my boat. This isn't an ideal time for me to hang around and talk fishing with my buddies—my parked truck is slowing traffic, taking up an entire lane and probably ticking some people off. There's no time for chit chat.
Fishing is largely about fellowship and camaraderie, so there's nothing wrong with enjoying the time with your buddies. Just get your rig out of the way and then you can talk to your heart's content.
4. Don't hog the ramp
A lot of marinas have multiple boat ramp lanes, but no concrete dividers. Essentially, they look like one really wide ramp. When the facility is busy, don't go down the very middle—that just clogs things up for everyone else in line.
Dump your boat on the farthest side of the ramp as possible so other folks can launch next to you. There's no reason one trailer needs to take up four or five lanes.
5. Have your nav lights on when your boat touches the water
Of course, this is assuming you're launching in the pre-dawn hours.
Boat ramps—especially during a tournament—are extremely busy and there are boats idling everywhere. If you launch your boat without the lights on, you're endangering those around you. You might be able to see them, but they cannot see you.
6. Only tie to other boats with permission
These rigs cost a lot of money and there's no sense in scratching someone's boat. It might seem harmless, but just be respectful and politely ask permission before tying up to someone else's boat if there's no more dock space left. That guy worked hard to afford that boat, so be cognizant of his investment.
It's a good idea to keep a few cheap bumper buoys in your rod locker. This will ensure there's no damage to the fiberglass, aluminum or rub rails on either boat.
I'll throw this in here while I'm at it: Don't walk across someone else's boat without permission. I've had it happen before and guess what—they accidentally stepped on and bent the handle on my new $200 reel. Accidents happen, but this can be easily avoided.
7. There's nothing wrong with using your trolling motor
It takes a lot of practice to learn how to precisely manuever your boat via outboard at low speeds. If you're in a local derby with 150-plus boats out there, things can quickly turn into an impromptu game of bumper boats if you're not careful.
If you're in a tight spot, there's nothing wrong or wimpy about standing up and deploying your trolling motor. It's better than scraping the bow of your boat across someone's cowling.
8. If parking lot is empty, give everyone some space
If you sneak out for a few hours of weekday afternoon fishing and there are only a few trucks in the parking lot, give the other guys a little breathing room—don't park right next to them. When it's time to put his boat back on the trailer, he'll have to do some Austin Powers-esque moves to free himself from the unnecessary bind you put him in. It's hard to back a trailer when you have 6 inches of wiggle room on one side of your rig. His truck doesn't need yours to keep it company.
The world would, indeed, be a better place if we were all aware of
these simple boat ramp rules. But it's also important to remember
something: Don't be ugly to someone if they're simply unaware. We're all
on the same team, so try to be nice and always be willing to help a
brother out.
