HELLO

[Scott]

Hey guys! just wanted to introduce myself and ask a couple of questions. I have been fly fishing for bluegill for the past year or so, and am absolutely addicted! I do most of my fishing wading in small, brushy streams, working really hard for really small fish, but i enjoy the casting challenge, and the scrappy reward when all things come together! For the past few months I've also really gotten into float tubing for gills, THE MOST FUN YOU'LL EVER HAVE FISHING in my humble opinion! Although I enjoy catching small panfish on the fly, I never catch real numbers or size enough for a decent fish fry except for spring and early summer. So now I want to branch out and "go back to my roots" so to speak, and start doing some serious spin fishing in an attempt to get into bigger and more bluegill. So here's my questions:

1. From my childhood, the only way I remember catching large bluegills was live worms from my grandfathers worm box, but that was only on his 2-acre pond where really only family fished so the bluegills really were able to pack on the weight. In y'alls opinion, are regular old garden worms the best way to start back onto the road to bigger 'gills on rivers and larger bodies of water or is there a better live bait, or do i need to start learning lures?

2. I took the float tube out today, and absolutely froze my butt off(almost literally lol) and didn't so much as get a bite on anything from foam bugs, to streamers. to wollybuggers, to size 20 nymphs!(which is kinda what led me to surf the internet for info, which is what led me to this awesome site!) do any of you guys do the float tube thing? If so what tips do you have for spin fishing for gills from a tube?

3. In fall-winter, is live bait still the way to go?

Thanks in advance, and sorry for the lengthy post! 

-Scott

[Joshua S.]

Welcome. I dont float tube so I cant say much about that. The wax worm in my opion is the best live bait around here. I think in the fall and winter the fish are deeper in the water so you have to fish deeper. I also think there appitite slows down and they do not feed as much as in the spring, summer and early fall. I fly fish and in the fall I switch to a nymph or a wet fly, my fav wet is the Royal Coachman Wet and my fav nymph is a white czech nymph.

[Leo Nguyen]

Hi Scott, and welcome to the family. Since you are mentioning that the water of your area gotten cold, and I know the feeling on the float tube in cold water (just a few weeks ago I did the same thing in shorts), and not certain how deep the 2 acres pond you're at, including how aggressive the gills may be on the cold season feeding, let's just presume everything at optimal condition for the cold season:

1. Smaller presentation is better that contain heavy protein load. Waxworm is the way to go. However, chunks of nightcrawler, especially Alabama/Georgia jumpers will go a very very long way. Not so much with red wigglies. Tricking the gill using the flies mimic waxworm or nightcrawler, with slow sink rate, is also the way to go as well.

2. Float tubing is a great way to go for a small pond as yours, or the lakes like ours. I float tube, inflatable pontoon, and anything else you want to throw into the mix. Haven't fish in kayak in ages. If you want to go high tech in deep water, vertical jigging once you find a school. If you're doing low tech, vertical jigging for deep water, for slip bobber for shallow water using pencil float to not spook the fish.

3. You have to try both live baits and flies. Crickets, nightcrawlers, and waxworms are a sure win. If they're not biting, switch to colorful jigs and plastics. There's no one sure fire method. You just have to wing it based on how picky these gills are.

I practically have to bring my whole arsenal of live baits, flies, and plastics with me just to focus on one species. One hour they may like live, the next, plastics, then suddenly switch to fly. This is why careful notes are critical to record habits of the gills in your areas based on time, seasons, and weather patterns.

[Scott]

Wow thanks for all the advice guys! I'm hopefully going to get to go again Saturday, so ill try to put all this info to use! I do have another question, I don't really have anywhere close by that sells waxworms. So I guess smaller or peices of wigglers will have to do. Are the ones they sell at Walmart any good? If not, ill have to go to the bait shop the day before because its pretty out of the way too. Will they stay alive ok overnight? Do any of you guys still dig up your own worms? If so any advice on how to do that?
Thanks again guys!
-Scott

[Jason Preslar]

nightcrawlers work great for any panfish under a cork; if they don't hit it try the float n fly technique; buy some flies and fish them 2-3 ft under a cork and bump it along slowly; i've seen people catch crappie and gills as fast as he could cast in the dead of winter with this tactic; rake some damp leaves in the edge of the woods and you'll find red worms and nightcrawlers; also, after a good rain go out in your yard or somewhere with lots of grass and take a bright flashlight, shine it on the damp ground with the flashlight close to the ground so that it will "heat up" the wet soil, be patient and you'll find plenty "nightcrawlers"; welcome to the site by the way and good luck

[Leo Nguyen]

Scott, Canadian nightcrawler, the Wallie's brand, it a typical crawlers they sale, however, at times, I see Wallie sale African nightcrawler. Any crawler is a good crawler, as long as they are alive and kicking when you cut them up. Suggestion is to get yourself a nice supply of them, raise them, and cultivate them. Depending on where you live, extreme hot and super cold weathers can kill all of them. The hardiest of them all is the jumpers, which can stand quite a bit of conditions. I raised the worms, and so far, the jumpers are the only one that can stand the different level of temperature. Just be careful of where you purchase the jumpers if you're planning on getting some. Most will lie to you about the jumpers, and replace them as Euro crawlers. You can also raise waxworms, but they are one tough cookie to raise properly.

[Vince Fusco]

Hi Scott. I like using red wigglers, but don't limit yourself to just fishing them under a float. Try fishing them on the bottom as well. First hook the wiggler once through the nose using a fine wire hook. I like the Eagle Claw 214 elf in a size 8. Put a split shot about a foot above your hook, cast it out and let it settle on the bottom. If you don't get a hit, slowly raise your rod tip and hop the wiggler once on the bottom. The key is fishing it slow! I have caught some of my bigger gills this way. I also use crickets from time to time. In cooler water I seem to have better luck with the wigglers though. 

[Scott]

Ok as I am new to this whole technical worm fishin I need some help here lol. Used to it was, go to the barn, open the lid on papa's worm box, dig out a coffee cup full, go catch fish. Now we got red worms and wigglers and night crawlers, and jumpers. What does it all mean?! Lol. Can someone give me a run down or a reference on which is best when and how to tell the difference?
Lol thanks again guys and sorry if it seems like a lot of stupid questions!
-scott

[Leo Nguyen]

Scott, there's no such thing as a stupid question. A question that's not asked is an ignorant mindset. I'll do my best to explain it in a scientific point of view, as well as an angler that love to use live baits to the best that I can. BBG family, please chime in if I'm off base somewhere.

A nightcrawler, dependent on the region that it was raised in, has a unique scent to the method of being raised, or, in your case, the soils that they dwell in. In a soil, based on the properties of the soil, can yield great result if the soil increase the protein and water content of the nightcrawler. On top of that, based on the bacteria that harvested by the nightcrawler, which then stored within its guts, the bacteria release a unique scent that attract the fish when it's cut open. Have you wonder why the bait companies are trying to desperately to match the scent of the nightcrawler by infusing the stench/proteins and aminio acids into their plastics baits? Nightcrawler tends to survive in the variety water temperature a bit longer than the other worms, but not as long as the jumper.

Alambama/Georgia jumpers are notorious worm. They live in arid environment, and extract nutrients at far greater level than the common Euro or Canadian nightcrawlers. It rivals that of the African nightcrawler, both in length, girth, and stench. Try to cut these two types up, and I can guarantee you, the worm's stench won't be leaving your fingers even if you wash your hands with bleach. To you, it's nasty. To the fish, especially the catfish, it's heaven.

Similar the nightcrawler, the red wiggly has similar characteristics. However, unlike it's massive cousin, wiggly cannot stand in the water for more than 1/2 the time of the crawler, and much easier being torn to shred by the fish on the first attacks. The wiggler only as effective if it's used by the whole length. The crawler, all you need is a 1/4" length to create a frenzy due to the amino acids and proteins concentration.

If you want more detail of the proteins and amino acids that attract the fish, I can even bring it down to the molecular levels which I've been study heavily upon, to find the recipes of live baits that will ring the fish bells for a lockjaw effects.

[Vince Fusco]

Not stupid questions at all, Scott. Red worms and wigglers are the same thing. They tolerate heat well. Night crawlers are quite a bit larger. They do not tolerate heat at all. When I fish them in the summer I put them in a cooler with a ice pack to keep them alive. Jumpers are in between wigglers and night crawlers as far a size goes. These are very lively worms that will tolerate some heat, but not like wigglers will. You may also hear them called Alabama Jumpers, or here in Georgia they are called Georgia Jumpers. They are the same worm though. I have a small round styrofoam bait container with a poly rope handle that I carry my worms in.  They will stay lively, even in the summer heat. The containers you get worms in at the bait shops will cook your worms, if they are left in the sun. Bass pro shops has these containers for a about three bucks. They are a good investment if you are going to fish live bait much. 

[Rick King]

Yep , with crawlers on a long trip to Canada and no way to keep an ice pack frozen. We would chip off some of the camp ice put it in a small coffee can in the center of a styrofoam box filled with peat or whatever else you want to use.

[Leo Nguyen]

There is a trick to house the crawlers or wigglies on long trips, regardless of where you're going, for however long you're heading out. Let's take 100 as a round number, so you can fish as much as you can, and this rig will last as long as you want to keep it:

A average styrofoam cooler, 2'x2', fill the bottom of the cooler with 1" of coarse sand (riverbed sand is perfect) for drainage. At the bottom, use a liner designed for weed guard around the garden, as a barrier to prevent the worms from going into the course sand, which will hurt them. Use card board box to line the inner wall, creating a gap between the styrofoam wall and the materials on the inside. Now, you can use very lightly moist peat moss, or, my favorite concoction, homemade/store bought compost, infused with garlic powder in the mix. Fill as much as 1'x1'x1' (1 cubic foot) of compost for the 100 worms, and about 3 cups of garlic powder mixed well into the compost. Let them acclimate in the new soil bed for two to three days before taking them on the road.

If the temperature get very hot, add ice pack around the outer gaps of the cooler. If the days get ultra cold, pack more compost between the gap. Also use a dry thick blanket material to cover the top of the cooler as you open the lid up. This will act as a thermal guard against freezing temperature.

[JBplusThuy]

3 cups of garlic powder, wow! That must be pretty aromatic when you open the lid :-)

This is the first I've heard of Alabama/Georgia jumpers, do they sell them in California?