The Time is Now For BIG Gills!
By: Brad Kamps
With the longer days, and the warmer weather it’s time to target the big gills. This time of year, they are not hard to find if you follow 4 simple basics.
Weather patterns, presentation, vegetation and water depth.
I have always done the best when those four conditions are right. Stable weather, or just before a front is coming trigger these bigger fish to become active. Presentation, knowing what they want and switching to find what produces the best is key. Vegetation, you are looking for known weed beds (cabbage or curly leaf) most DNR maps have these areas indicated on them. If you have an under water camera, you are even better off. And Water Depth, you need to find the depth that fish are active and be able to move around with the school.
Here is an example of what I mean. The weather has been stable for the last few days and I planned on fishing for gills. I started out on a point that I have caught gills on before and during the summer months, the area has cabbage growing. Drilling holes, I started out in 8 feet of water, moving out past the drop off of 20 feet. I checked each hole that I drilled with my vexilar. I found fish in 8 feet, 10 feet and 12. Once I got to the 15 foot mark and beyond, the holes were void of marking fish. So, I started in 8 feet with only a few smaller fish to be caught. Then I moved out to the 10 foot hole and found fish with some medium ones mixed in. As soon as I put down in the 12 foot hole, the game was on! I caught several larger gills in that one hole, (8 to 10 inch range) then it went dead. So now it was time to drill more holes. Knowing the contour of the lake (again, you can find this on most DNR maps), I drilled a few more in the 12 foot range around the point. Moving around, I caught some more. Then it went dead again, still having fish on the graph but not getting any to commit, it was time to change up the presentation. I usually have a few different rods rigged and ready, that way I don’t waste valuable time retying jigs. It’s not a necessity that you have more than one rod, but it does work well. I started to catch fish again when I changed to a different jig. Once they got bored with that one, I changed to a different one. Sometimes this is not needed, depending on the aggressiveness of the bite. But, they can be stiffed lipped at times, and sometimes, they will take just about everything you throw at them.
So, get out there and experiment! The more often you give it a shot, the easier it will get. Once you learn the patterns and get to know the lake, you will have success. Yes, some lakes will not produce large gills. But, you will never know till you try! And most of all…Take a kid with ya!
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