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Do you want to catch a lot of bluegills? Bluegills are widely available and tasty. This makes bluegill a popular fish among fly-fish anglers. If you want bluegill fishing tips to improve your fishing skills, then after reading this article, you will have learned what to do to take more bluegill home.
Table of Contents
Bluegill Fishing Tips
1. The easiest time of the year to catch bluegill is when it is spawning. During this time, it strikes at anything that encroaches its spawning site making it vulnerable.
2. Even though bluegill is vulnerable during the spawn, bluegill in the shallows is also very spooky. This makes it harder to catch them. Use baits that you can present quietly that will prevent them from getting alarmed and leaving their nests.
3. To catch bluegills on the outside beds of a colony without disturbing the interior nests, cast a fly rod with artificial flies along the edges of a spawning colony. Different sizes of woolly worms or woolly buggers are flies that can be used.
4. Worms, grasshoppers, and crickets are some of the best live baits to fish nesting bluegill. Set the bait 1 to 3 feet below a tiny bobber.
5. Bluegill that is not spawning can be found in deeper waters. During summer, they will be in deeper water on large lakes. However, they will remain shallow in ponds to get oxygen.
6. Wax worms and mealworms are the best live bait for catching bluegill in the winter. Small jigs, tiny spoons, and artificial flies are also used to catch bluegill in the winter.
7. The largest bluegills are found in farm ponds that receive less fishing pressure.
8. Bluegill will usually be found where there is fresh water and a lot of aquatic vegetation.
9. Slowly descend your lure as it gives the bluegill time to react. Give it time to notice your lure as it descends. Don’t hurry to the bottom.
10. Bluegills have a natural diet and the best live bait for bluegills is cricket. When everything you tried didn’t get you the bluegill, try live crickets.
11. When you are fishing on a large lake and the weather is hot, it is better to go deeper in search of bluegills. They will go down to cooler temperatures where they still get oxygen. Using a slip float will allow you to go deep for the bluegills.
12. Bluegills will hang around docks for cover to provide protection from predators and avoid the heat. However, when the water is high and the dock is low, it can be challenging to reach them. Some will even go to deeper areas where they can’t be targeted with casting. In such situations, the only option is to shoot them.
13. Bluegill mainly feed during the daylight hours as they are sight feeders.
14. Use an ultralight rod, reed, tackle, and a 2 to the 6-pound test line. You will feel the bluegill bite more effectively and catch more bluegill with the use of a light line. Additionally, when fishing clear water, a light line is harder for the bluegill to detect it.
15. Always keep the live bait or lures small if you want to catch a lot of bluegills. Go with hook sizes from No. 6 to No. 10. Also use hooks with long shanks that will make it easier to remove the hooks from the bluegill’s mouth.
16. Spring and summer is the best time to fish for bluegill. At this time, they will be in about 2 to 6 feet of water under cover. There can be about 50 nests in a spawning bed during the spawn.
17. Bluegill will be found in deeper waters after the spawning period traveling in large schools.
18. You can find bluegill in the same locations in late summer and target them in shallower waters near weed beds, brush, and other types of cover. Early morning and evening are the best times to fish during summer, but as the water cools in the fall, you can be successful in fishing bluegill during midday.
Best Bait For Bluegill
1. Wax Worms
2. Meal Worms
3. Crickets
4. Grasshoppers
5. Nightcrawlers
6. Red Worms
7. Larvae Baits
8. Crickets
9. Leeches
10. Goldenrod Grubs
11. Minnows
Best Artificial Lures For Bluegill
1. Poppers
2. Plastic Minnows
3. Spinnerbaits
4. Jigs
5. Soft Plastics
The Bottom Line
Bluegill is one of the most popular panfish species. It is abundant, tasty, and popular with fly fishing anglers. In this article, we share bluegill fishing tips to help you take more bluegill home. We hope that you will learn something that can elevate your fishing for bluegills whether you are a beginner or an experienced angler.
