Do you love big bluegill?

SLIP’S 2017 LOGS, STATUS AND STRATEGIES

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Permalink Reply by Slip Sinker on March 2, 2018 at 9:26pm

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Permalink Reply by Slip Sinker on June 15, 2017 at 8:58am

20170613----~~<")))))><(---*Post Spawn Period*--77°

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Permalink Reply by Slip Sinker on December 16, 2017 at 3:56pm

20170613-17%/74° June is Optimum

considering June is my optimum month for the trophy Lepomis… I take every day, every trip seriously.

Just finished with the full moon and the new moon coming up in about 2 weeks… the fish are still active with hormones raging... beds are still in use with females cruising the outskirts or shallow first breaks.

Today’s trip was a repeat of recent trips… slip floating the shallow breaks and stump fields.

Many of the shallow beds seemed to have little activity. I avoided fishing that type of area and concentrated on the shallow weed edges and stump field areas.

At 17% solunar activity for the day… the fish still seemed to respond well to the presentations tagging a few quality fish but in significantly lower numbers.

The slip float out produced the long-cast/tiny jigs with pink waxies and nite crawler bits producing equally well to the fish.

Fishing seemed at a slower pace I even tried the drop shot along the deeper edges of the weed beds. The weed beds were in full bloom making the casting for distance unnecessary.

Still at the end of the day I felt rewarded with todays trip knowing each successive day will be improved as we approach that new moon.

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Permalink Reply by Slip Sinker on June 15, 2017 at 8:59am

20170614----~~<")))))><(---*Post Spawn Period*--77°

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Permalink Reply by Slip Sinker on December 13, 2017 at 2:27pm

20170614-Needle in a Hundred Haystacks

my intentions were to get some sonar mapping done on what is quickly becoming one of my favorite bodies of water. I took my sonar to the bench loaded a new micro sd card and prepared the unit for a day of work.

On Minute Cast I noticed a line of thunderstorms crossing the area quickly. I timed the trip where I would be driving during the storm and clearing would appear once I reached the launch site. I quickly packed up and left. Once at the DNR launch site I was greeted with sunshine and continued loading the boat up… it was then I noticed I left the sonar unit at home!...UHGGH!

Too late now I would fish old school and leave the mapping for another date.

So I set off for some stumps across the small lake hoping to find some fish… problem was the whole shoreline looked the same so I’m thinking finding and pinpointing fish location was going to be difficult.

Fishing the pad edges and the stumps were proving difficult since I noticed the Jon boat was scaring the fish as I approached the structure. After many fruitless minutes of no bites I made a mind set to leave this lake for another local lake and finish this lake properly with a kayak. It was just then I noticed a huge boil in the water to the left of me of a fish missing a dragon fly. I dared not move the boat but decided to make a long cast with the slip/float/pink-waxie past the fish, the stump and 20ft of lily pads and draw the bait close to the stump.

Success!... the float went down immediately!... setting the hook the fish bore down straight away for the roots but I horsed the fish my way with the thin 8# braid. With a steady pull with the UL equipment I horsed the strong fish thru the pads and quickly netted the fish. I sized the fish up quickly and noticed it was a disappointing .6” short on the scale. The fish’s profile just oozed the bulk fish look of a M.A.. I was also immediately stunned by the extreme coloration of this fish. After a few quick snaps the fish was released back into the gene pool.

Mind still set I packed up and left and was back on another BOW in less than a half hour. This was a lake I was completely familiar with and so was the fishing public. It is a fish factory providing small to midsized fish in quantities… if you want to fill a freezer and find fish action then you come here. I was there to get a few bites to finish the afternoon. The lake is usually scoured clean free of weeds all season long… today however I found the lake covered with coontail. Fishing was going to be difficult… plus the wind was starting to increase its ugly tempo.

No depth sounder, float and tiny jig fishing in the stiff wind was going to make this little trip interesting.

I traveled to my favorite spot by using Fishing Points navigation. The satellite image showed shades of depth changes where I wanted to be. I positioned the boat close but found it choked with vegetation. I lifted anchor immediately and drifted towards shore watching in the depths with polarized glasses for any change or clearing to make some casts. i found a small clearing on a gravel bar and thru over a floating marker (old school still works!) to pinpoint the area. I circled around with the trolling to long-cast with the wind over the area.

Casting the light Lil Minnow over the spot was like throwing popcorn into the wind…. I let the jig settle to the bottom in about 6 ft of water twitched the bait off the bottom and wham!... freight train!!! I knew it was a large Lepomis by its astounding headshake and it was pulling drag. I could not see the fish as I pulled it alongside the boat at first… with a last sudden dive under the boat I prepared the net and eased the fish in… Master Angler I thought as I measured the fish up to the board it just reached the 10” mark! Quickly getting a few clear snaps in I released the fish back into the gene pool. Wow! Still shaking I managed to tag a few more fish in the white caps before calling it quits.

While tying down the boat at the ramp I was approached by the DNR for live well check and license. After showing my empty cooler and informing I was basically a catch and released fisherman. I showed him snaps of the trophy B.Gill I just caught and released and he seemed surprised. While later researching at home a 10 year search for Master Angler B.Gill in that lake revealed only 3 other Master Anglers B.Gills. Needle in a hundred haystacks?

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Permalink Reply by Slip Sinker on June 21, 2017 at 4:03am

20170615----~~<")))))><(---*Post Spawn Period*--77°

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Permalink Reply by Slip Sinker on October 3, 2017 at 12:39pm

20170615- late spring and our water temps are upper 70’s wow!

Metabolic rates of the fish populations should continue to be on the upswing. I plan on taking advantage of that.

My agenda for the day was to continue and finish mapping of my current lake study and of course continue tagging fish on that hot “between the docks” strategy.

I also tagged a few lunker R.Bass knocking the wood along a nice stump field pitching the Lil-Minnow in close. by the end of the day my picture count on my phone was over 80 pics... a 3 limit panfish day!

Lil-Minnow on the 1/50oz Jig was the hot bait.

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Permalink Reply by Slip Sinker on June 21, 2017 at 4:04am

20170616----~~<")))))><(---*Post Spawn Period*--79°

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Permalink Reply by Slip Sinker on December 16, 2017 at 6:27pm

20170616-30%/79°~as June continues running it’s course fishing for the B.Gill and Lepomis is continuing with off the charts numbers, personal bests and trophy fish. I am still reeling over the Master angler B.Gill of just 2 days ago.

So today found me on a newer lake on my agenda… im really not yet familiar with it and I find myself out fishing the locals. That’s a good feeling in itself.

By now most of the docks are up and the boats launched and tied up. This adds considerable structure and protection for spawning and shallow running fish. Lepomis love floating structure.

By now I run a between the dock strategy on most lakes. Many fishermen pass this opportunity up and fish more natural shorelines barren of cottages etc… sure this strategy has it’s time and place. Lately, the past seasons it’s been a literal goldmine for me… an untapped resource so to speak… literally void of fishermen.. ha! Just two days ago my PB Master Angler B.Gill was tagged from a Long-Cast/UL Jig next to a dock. I literally saw this massive gill shoot out from under the dock in clear calm water. Currently I am in “work in progress” on this topic “FISHING "BETWEEN THE DOCKS" A FORGOTTEN SUMMER PATTERN FOR PANFISH” in the “PATTERN-RIGGING-PRESENTATION for Bluegill” hopefully I’ll have it done before the new year… lol.

Today even at only 30% for the solunar activity the fishing rocked! I tagged fish at will at nearly every cast. The Lepomis were concentrated along the shorelines between the docks and not another fishermen in sight! The Lil Minnow was showcase Long casted on the Ultra lite setups… what a work out. At least 4 limits of panfish were taken in short order.

June Rocks! For numbers and quality!

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Permalink Reply by Slip Sinker on June 21, 2017 at 4:05am

20170618----~~<")))))><(---*Post Spawn Period*--79°

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Permalink Reply by Slip Sinker on December 16, 2017 at 7:27pm

20170618-28%/79°~ today found me on one of my favorite lakes with my son Kenny, and Dennis (Kenny’s future father in law). What a great way to spend some time.

Kenny has developed into a master jigger in no time mainly stays with the long-cast/.016 oz jig/1” Apex Minnow but switches now and then to the ice jig/waxie combo when I start to out fish him … ha!

At only 28% solunar activity for the day it is still June and pre summer to the fish with some spawning activity going on with the Lepomis. June rocks with me when it comes to fishing. Water temps are on the rise and the food chain is on fire it seems.

We had some great activity with the B.Crappie, P.Seeds and B.Gills with the occasional LMB crashing the panfish party. This little lake seems to give up the numbers to this boat every time we show up. Today was no exception. Most of the activity was 6-0’ or below with the Long-Cast/tiny jigs.

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