Fishing Articles

How to Catch Summer Bedding Bluegills

Loading the boat with bluegills for the frying pan is the best way to kick-start summer.

Article by Will Brantley

 

The shellcracker is wearing his tuxedo. That's what serious bream fishermen call the vibrant mix of colors the males assume when they're "on the bed." This fish is a handful, but I am able to get just enough of my index finger on his belly to apply a little pressure. I brandish the fish toward my wife, Michelle, who's sitting in the middle of the boat. 

"Put him in the live well right now!" she says. "I sweartahgod, Will Brantley, if you spray me with another fish I'll beat your—"

"Do it!" my brother, Matt, yells from the back deck. 

I'm not about to back away from the challenge. A gentle squeeze sends a stream of shellcracker milt halfway across the boat, right into Michelle's lap. She gets mad as hell, too. This is the same little prank that has sent Matt and me into hysterics since we were kids on summer break. For us, it's just another part of bream fishing—along with red worms and Aberdeen hooks—and we're not about to let Michelle get in the way of tradition. 

Seeking Keepers

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Michelle doesn't stay angry for long. Her spinning rod suddenly bows over, and she's not long into the fight before she shouts: "Feels like another 'cracker!" Actually, this one turns out to be a giant copper-nosed bluegill, which isn't surprising. The best bream beds have a mix of both species—the bulk of them being bluegills—but with just enough 2-pound-class shellcrackers (a.k.a. redear sunfish) to keep things interesting. 

Though a classic bobber-and-bait will catch plenty of bluegills, a slightly more specialized rig helps when shellcrackers are in the area. Those fish feed mostly on mollusks and snails on the bottom—hence the nickname—and they won't always rise to hit bait under a bobber. They frequently nest in deeper water, too, so fishing near the bottom makes sense. 

My favorite all-around panfish rig is a modified drop-shot, which consists of a 1⁄4-ounce bell sinker with a 4-inch dropper loop tied into the line about a foot above the weight. Simply pull that loop through the eye of your hook, pull the hook through the tag-end loop, and cinch it tight. This allows your bait to flutter just off bottom as you drag the weight along. With a 71⁄2-foot ­medium-​­action spinning rod, you can cast the rig a country mile, which makes it great for covering water and finding new beds. 

When I'm in search mode, I frequently substitute the hook and live bait with a tiny jig or even a sponge-spider fly so I'm not constantly rebaiting. The search for beds is the most difficult part of bream fishing. They're pretty easy to locate in a pond or small lake, but there's an art—and maybe a little science—to it on larger bodies of water. Bream require a bottom composition soft enough for them to fan their bowl-shaped nests but firm enough that the nests don't wash away. Sand and pea-gravel banks are ideal places to look. Typically, bream beds will be in a protected pocket, not far from some subtle change in depth, like a creek channel or a shallow ditch. Early in the season, nests may be in 10 inches of water, but the most productive beds are usually 4 to 6 feet deep. Shell­crack­ers frequently nest a bit deeper. I've found beds in 10 feet of water. 

I have a milk run of some 30 spots that I check each year. Some of them always produce, and others are hit or miss. It never hurts to look for more. These days, side- and down-scan sonar units make finding new spots easier, as the ­honeycomb-​shaped beds are easy to see on the screen. Does that take something away from the experience? Absolutely. Namely, hours and hours of casting at empty banks. 

Once you find fish—​­either with a sonar unit or by blind casting—switch to a long-shank hook and red worm, which seems to outcatch nightcrawlers three-to-one. Toss the rig into the bed and keep your rod just high enough that the line stays tight. Reel it back slowly, with frequent 30-second pauses, and chances are you'll get a bite. Channel cats and keeper bass frequently hang around bluegill beds, and they'll hit this rig, too. Both add substantial meat to the fillet pile. 

Revenge Is Sweet

Michelle's on a streak. She reels in two big bluegills in a row, threads on another red worm, and fires another cast. She's hooked up in seconds—and this time, I hear the drag slipping on her spinning reel. There's a flash of green and yellow by the boat, and she hoists a hefty shellcracker over the side. 

"Don't you do it," I say. But she's already wearing a devilish grin, brandishing the panfish in my direction with a finger on its belly.

GEAR TIP: Basket Case

Aerated live wells are nice, but the average aluminum bream boat doesn't have one. Besides that, bluegills quickly die when the well becomes too crowded—which is a good and common problem in this kind of fishing. For keeping your fish fresh in warm water, it's tough to beat a collapsible wire fish basket hung over the side and tied to the gunnel. The spring-loaded door is one-way, so it's faster than messing with the door on a live well. And when you're trying to cast to the best spot before your wife, fast is a good thing. At about $8 apiece, you can afford a basket for every angler in the boat. —W.B.

 

Photographs from top: Bill Linder; Keith Sutton (angler)

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Slab secrets: Part 1

Where to find spring and early-summer slabs, and how to hook 'em

As the days warm, the trees bud and the lilacs bloom, black crappies will be flooding the shallows to spawn, making for some of the fastest and finest fishing of the season.

#1

FIND WARM WATER

Credit: Gord Pyzer

Pre-spawn crappies are always looking for the warmest water they can find. The best places to start your search, then, are the warm-water areas where you know they'll eventually be spawning—green pencil reeds, flooded brush, fallen trees, sprouting beds of cabbage and isolated shallow rock piles.

After you've identified one of these hot spots, move away from it, all the while keeping your eyes glued to the water temperature reading on your sonar screen. At this time of the year, marking a school of crappies on your sonar is a bonus—what you're really looking for is the warmest possible water. You'll usually find it along the north shore of the lake, in the south-facing bays, coves and indentations that warm up first. Even a one- to three-degree temperature difference is important, so concentrate your early-spring crappie search in such places.

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Photo by Bill Lindner
Article by Dave Csanda
 

With water temperatures in the high 50Fs or low 60 Fs throughout the Upper Midwest, northern pike are on the chew, feeding actively atop shallow weed flats. It's one of the best times of year to get 'em. Big ones, too!
 

In natural lakes, developing weed flats adjacent to marshy spawning bays are the first places to look. Big pike have likely dispersed to nearby main-lake coontail or cabbage weeds, which are only a few feet high at this time of year, seldom rising much more than halfway to the surface. There's plenty of open space above them to fish a variety of lures; even lures with treble hooks, since snagging weed tops isn't much of a problem unless you select a lure that runs too deep-like a deep-diving crankbait.

 

Rapala's Saltwater X-Rap SXR-14 is actually a great pike lure, all season long.

Large (5- to 6-inch, give or take a bit), shallow- to mid-depth runners are fine, cast or trolled. So are large, bass-sized spinnerbaits, like 1/2-ounce tandems. You don't need to supersize up to muskie baits this early in the season. The biggest pike tend to respond best to baits of modest proportions.

 
For casting cranks, use fairly steady, moderate-speed retrieves, interspersed with the occasional pump-and-pause to help trigger following fish. The water's still a bit cool for fast-snapping, dash-and-dart lure motions, so don't overdo it on most days.

 
For spinnerbaits, predominantly use steady swims, with the occasional pause-and-flutter, allowing your bait to tumble down into visible holes in weedbeds, or down along inside or outside weed edges.

Half- or 3/4-ounce Terminator T-1 Spinnerbaits have a titanium wire frame that stands up to the crushing punishment of pike jaws.

 
Both cranks and spinnerbaits are easily long-line trolled at this time of year. By their basic nature, spinnerbaits will ride higher, nearer the surface, while lipped crankbaits will dive. You don't need to "bulge" the surface with spinnerbaits, nor scratch weed tops with cranks more than occasionally. Clean, mid-depth trolling runs should be sufficient, particularly on cloudy or windy days when pike typically are most active. Once you locate areas with active pike, you can always stop to cast them with similar lures, and fine-tune your tactics as needed.

 
As a third option, try tossing a mid-sized (3 1/2- to 4 1/2-inch) wobbling spoon, like a Dardevle, Len Thompson #2 or #4, or a #3 Blue Fox Strobe. These are classic, popular lures for pike fishing in Canadian waters, but it seems that most American anglers just stash them deep in the tackle box once they return south of the border to their home waters. Midwestern pike actually see very little of their flashing, wobbling action, even in heavily fished waters. You can't go wrong with a yellow-orange, Five-of-Diamonds pattern, slowly retrieved with occasional pauses and flutters. In fact, you just might be surprised.

Don't overdo it on spoon size for pike. Not much more than 4 to 4 1/2 inches is usually best.

 

Angler instinct draws many pike anglers to the deep, outside weed edge at this time of year, which can admittedly be very good for big pike. Most fishermen would be astonished, however, how shallow some of these big gators can be at these comfortable water temperatures. Depending on the day, 8 or 9 feet might be the productive depth-or 5 to 7-and even shallower. Mostly, it depends on the depth and thickness of the best weedgrowth; the presence of baitfish; and the activity level of the pike, which is often based on wind and sunlight conditions. Or, simply on the freaky nature of big pike, which can go anywhere they want, whenever they want, until the water temperatures rise much above 70 F, sending them retreating to deeper, cooler water for the summer months.

Longline Trolling For Spring Walleyes

Photo by Austin Gates

Article by Dave Csanda
 

With the Wisconsin Walleye Opener in our rear view mirror, and the Minnesota Walleye Opener just ahead, it's perfect time to fish shallow water for walleyes, particularly during the lowlight hours at dusk and dawn, and on into the night. And sometimes, even during the day if sunlight penetration into the water is diminished by rain, wind or cloudy skies.
 

In many cases, postspawn walleyes will be lingering around or near their spawning sites along rocky shorelines, atop shallow reefs, or adjacent to creek or river mouths entering a lake. Particularly males, which are usually slower to disperse than females.
 

Female walleyes, by comparison, usually waste no time vacating spawning sites; they're already headed for, or have arrived in, adjacent areas with food and/or cover. Like shallow weedbeds that host spawning perch. Or sandy shorelines that draw spawning shiners or shad.
 

Where you encounter distinctive spots that draw walleyes to a small area, like a creek mouth or causeway, cast minnow-imitating crankbaits from shore, or while wading.
 

Use a slow swimming retrieve, imparting the occasional pause, to help trigger strikes from following fish. But don't overdo it on the action while the water's cold. Particularly good are neutrally-buoyant cranks like #12 Rapala Husky Jerks, which hang before a fish's eyes on the pause, infuriating them into striking. Or near-neutrally buoyant Shadow Raps that sink ultra-slowly when paused.
 

Where walleyes spread across larger or deeper areas that are unreachable on foot, simply longline troll a similar crankbait. Put your outboard in gear at low throttle, or use your electric motor to start easing the boat forward. Simultaneously, cast a shallow-running crankbait out behind the boat, letting out a total of 75 to 100 feet behind the boat before engaging your reel. At the right speed, you should be able to feel the lure wiggling or your rod tip pulsating, but not vibrating hard.
 

Now, simply handhold the rod, slowly trolling along, again imparting the occasional pump-and-pause to help trigger strikes. Or, place the rod in a holder and wait for it to bend, indicating a strike.
Handholding is preferred, however; you can feel the bait ticking weed tops or rocky bottom, adjusting line length to occasionally scratch objects with your lures. Walleyes, however, often strike free-running baits; you don't have to bang bottom or cover like you typically do with bass.
 

Put your time in, changing depth levels on successive passes offshore, or slowly weaving the boat in S-shaped patterns to try different depths. Five to about 12 feet should be about right, depending on the lake.
 

Your first bite often indicates an area, depth or type of bottom content or cover that attracts bait and walleyes. Net your fish, then circle back with a few additional trolling passes to see if more are present. If so, you have the option to stop trolling and start casting, which is less likely to spook fish than repeated trolling passes through shallow water.
 

Lake Winnibigoshish: Walleyes Through The Seasons

    

Covering roughly 57,000 surface acres and parts of Cass and Itasca counties, Minnesota's Lake Winnibigoshish is among the state's top walleye-fishing destinations.

A median depth of 15 feet, with spots that drop to 60-plus feet, as well as vast connecting waters that provide exceptional spawning habitat, combine to form an ideal environment in which walleyes can reproduce, feed and grow.

Public boat-launching facilities are scattered around the lake, making access from any direction relatively simple; and because Winnibigoshish and its connecting waters are so productive and popular, a special 18- to 23-inch protected slot limit was established to preserve this vital resource. One fish over 23 inches may be included in the daily bag limit.

Team Northland member Randy Erola grew up fishing Big Winnie and surrounding lakes and has operated Remington Fishing Guide Service for 23 years. A jig-and-minnow is his preferred set-up in spring, early-summer and fall, while the dog days typically find him trolling 'crawler harnesses along shoreline flats.

1. Walleyes fresh off their spawning areas in the spring are looking for minnows and perch in the shallows. Erola advises pitching a 1/8-ounce RZ or Fire-Ball® Jig (Firetiger and Parrot are his go-to patterns), tipped with a shiner minnow in 5 to 9 feet of water. Try the areas on either side of The Gap from Big Cut Foot Sioux Lake, along the shoreline from Pigeon River to Third River, as well as the areas around Mallard and Ravens points. The shallows from Tamarack Point to the Winni Dam can produce fish until about mid-June.

2. A weedline bite becomes more established around the beginning of July. Erola typically trolls nightcrawlers on Northland Rainbow Spinner Harnesses weighted with a ½- to 1-ounce in-line sinker, depending on water depth. Hammered Gold Rainbow or Nickle Rainbow blades are the best options, he says. Try cruising weedlines and breaklines in the 11- to 15-foot range along any shoreline with an incoming wind. Ravens and Mallard points and Muskie Bay can be particularly productive if wind conditions are right.

 

 

3. Flats along the shoreline, and farther out from the weedline, heat up in the dead of summer—July and August. Again the areas around Ravens Point and from Stoney Point to the Pigeon River, as well as Muskie Bay are good places to start, but don't hesitate to explore similar areas around the lakeshore.

4. Jig-and-minnow combos rule from mid-September to ice-up. Try fishing an RZ or Fire-Ball® Jig tipped with a redtail chub around Ravens and Stony points, Muskie Bay, or wherever you find a good weedline in the 9- to 10-foot range. Parrot, Firetiger and Glo Watermelon are Erola's favorites this time of year.

 

Lake map courtesy of Navionics. For more information, visit www.navionics.com