Bluegill - Big Bluegill

Do you love big bluegill?

Anyone has any good winter gill tactics? Please no ice fishing tactics.

Views: 323

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

I fish winter gills from 6 to 11 am. I bring 100+ crickets and nightcrawlers for back-up. Most fish where i live are 16-19 feet deep. In the early morning hours they are suspended up high like 7-10 feed deep in 16-19 feet of water. After the sun is out for a while and it warms a bit, they head to the bottom and fast. I usually us a double dropshot rig with a large splitshot as the weight. If the bite slowes i go with a small splitshot 12inches before a small hook.

A good thing to remember the fish suspend after sunrise and before sunset. Between that there almost smack dab on the bottom. Most of my fish after 10am are off the bottom. Crickets catch more fish but the nightcrawlers catch larger gills, in my opinion.

unless you know where the fish are going to be, a fishfinder is a must. Look for deep points and drop-offs for the gills, aslo deep humps produce large fish. Deep docks are pretty good spots, at my lake i fish there feeding so there hanging out under the docks feeding. Look around and you'll find them.

Where do you live and what lake do you fish at??? Maybe i can help
Hey William...I have actually caught some of my biggest gills in the Mid-Atlantic region in small farm and millponds in Jan and Feb. I fish with 1/64th oz jigs and tip them with either worm pieces, waxworms or Gulp. I like to suspend a bait with an attached bobber so that the lure is just off the bottom, maybe a foot above the bottom, and let the wind push the bait around until I encounter fish. Many of the waters I fish are no deeper than 8-10 ft deep so a fixed bobber fished on a longer 10 -12 foot rod does nicely.

Sometimes on mild, sunny mid winter periods the fish will move up in the water column and you can catch them as shallow as 3 ft below the bobber. Use sensitive Thill Wagglers or other pencil shaped floats for the best strike detection. I also use small weighted foam clip-on bobbers when the fish get a little more aggressive and you need casting distance to get to suspended fish without spooking them. Try to avoid oncoming coldfront conditions.

These tactics work for me in small, shallow lakes and ponds as the gills may 'hole-up' in the only deep water available in the system...that being the 7 to 10 foot hole at the base of the dam. There can be very high concentrations of fish in very small areas...be cautious of overharvest if you hit the motherload.
Well thanks for the information. Christopher to answer your question i fish at my families pond for them. I know were a lot of them hang out at, but i am not sure what they will hit this time of year. Becuase the gills in our pond slow down this time of year, but i am mainly fishing for trout at the river this time of year instead of the gills. The river is to high and dirty so my back up is fishing for these gills. I mainly don't fish for them untill spring and early summer. Oh the max depth of our pond is 14ft.
that's cool. i can't wait to move out of california and get a nice pond of my own.
fishing open water in the river pools with green sanjuans or crappie candies flies has still been paying off.the sun need to be high the shaxows seem to shut them down. well at least until last week . i love fishing but not below zero

RSS

Latest Activity

Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
10 minutes ago
Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
11 minutes ago
Jeffrey D. Abney posted a status
"I found an influx of salt water in some creeks and the bite was muted, moved inland to locate better water conditions and it paid off.."
18 minutes ago
Jeffrey D. Abney posted a status
"We finally started settling down from crazy water level swings from Hurricane Erin, coolest surface temps in August in 15 years here…"
20 minutes ago
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

augpick

"Distinct colors and markings……pretty chain pickerel……"
24 minutes ago
John Sheehan posted photos
2 hours ago
John Sheehan posted a photo
2 hours ago
John Sheehan commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

late augspoongill

"Me too ,Jeff!"
16 hours ago
Jeffrey D. Abney posted a photo

Picture of our Water Level Impacted by Hurricane Erin….8/26/2025

You see where I placed the yellow circle we lost two feet of water level which empties many…
yesterday
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

late augspoongill

"I enjoy using small tackle…..I always go to it when the water temperature dips below…"
yesterday
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

late augspoongill

"Having a little fun with the gills….."
yesterday
John Sheehan posted photos
yesterday
John Sheehan commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

Mid August shore

"This Bass was wound  , Dick. High 70-80 degree water temp."
Aug 21
John Sheehan commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

md august shore 2

"I hear ya Dick ,but its been a long time finding numbers of these great critters for me !"
Aug 21
dick tabbert commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

md august shore 2

"I can take these all night long."
Aug 20
dick tabbert commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

Mid August shore

"Nice LMB."
Aug 20
dick tabbert commented on Jeffrey D. Abney's photo
Aug 20
dick tabbert commented on Jeffrey D. Abney's photo
Thumbnail

We Dodged a Bullet on This Hurricane……8/20/2025

"I hope you continue being on the lucky side. Best to you Jeffrey."
Aug 20
Jeffrey D. Abney posted a photo

We Dodged a Bullet on This Hurricane……8/20/2025

Our last big fish kill on the Albemarle Estuary was in September 2003 when Hurricane Isabel smashed…
Aug 20
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on Jeffrey D. Abney's photo
Thumbnail

Fresh Crappie Fish Fry….8/18/2025

"I understand Bruce…..just one of those meals I would hang around the kitchen when my mom…"
Aug 20

© 2025   Created by Bluegill.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service