071016- BFOTD!! ONE OF A FEW 9" CLASS B.GILL

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Comment by dick tabbert on July 16, 2016 at 8:41am

Allen I do have 100's of maps from Michigan, Ohio and Indiana so if you can't find a map let me know I'll see if I have it. As much as Michigan DNR charges for licenses you would think they would have some decent DNR lake maps but it the opposite there map are very poor vary best in my opinion..

Comment by dick tabbert on July 16, 2016 at 8:26am

Allen went through my old maps and found Gilletts Lake. Not a good copy kinda big for my scanner but if this doesn't work I'll try and get a better copy.

Comment by Slip Sinker on July 16, 2016 at 6:08am

Here is the link to the Navionics Web app…

https://webapp.navionics.com/#boating@13&key=gz%7D%60G%60iraO

Gilletts Lake:

Comment by Allen Morgan on July 16, 2016 at 5:53am

I have not been able to locate a lake map for Gillette's on the DNR website.  There's a deep hole from the launch to the northeast that slowly comes back up to about 5 FOW.  There's a sandbar on the other side of that hole, that ranges from 4 FOW to about 12 INCHES for much of the surface area.  On the northeast side of that flat is another deep hole that plunges down to 30 + FOW.

I've been on Michigan Center, once.  The area I fished never really got deeper than 8 FOW, and usually averaged 5 FOW.  Weeds everywhere, fish everywhere.  Only problem with that lake is all the freaking speedboats zipping around.

Farwell is on my list of places to go.  Just haven't made it there yet.  My boss and his buddy like to fish that one.  They caught a 19" Trout out of there on the 5th.  The only problem I have with Farwell is the launch is a good paddle from the fishing grounds.

Comment by dick tabbert on July 15, 2016 at 8:06pm

Allen I couldn't find a lake map of  Gillette's Lake. I was looking on the state map and south of you is some prime waters in Michigan Center with lot and lots of water. Michagan Center is a great crappie Bass and Pike lake. The other end is Wolf bluegills smallmouth, largemouth and pike. I spent many a hour on that lake a great fishery.Then there is FARWELL LAKE. Lot of panfish crappies and gills Bass both small and large mouth. Also trout in Farwell itself. Just some food for thought. GOOD FISHIN....

Comment by Allen Morgan on July 15, 2016 at 7:47pm

That lake is a little over a mile from my home, but I've only fished it a couple times, and only once from my kayak.  My Sonar is out until I can get the wiring fixed/replaced.  I basically did a trolling run around the lake.  I didn't realize it at the time, but I was pretty much straddling the drop-off the entire time.  Only caught a small LMB.

What I noticed:  Very few weeds.  The only "weedbed" I saw by visual search was on the south near, near the inlet.  I would see one or two scattered weeds elsewhere, but nothing solid.  The area you circled is actually a county park, and that's where the swim area is.  Have to stay out of that.

I've fished Gillette's Lake probably 6 or 7 times.  I've got a good feel for the topography of that lake.  I'll have to try a vertical presentation, deep.

I have not noticed a thermocline in the lakes here.  Of course, I haven't really been out in deeper water with the sonar ON in several weeks.  I can usually see the thermocline easily on my sonar.  Maybe the thermocline has set up since then, but I'm not sure.

Comment by Slip Sinker on July 15, 2016 at 4:22pm

… Allen maybe you have to fish different then the crowds to find the big gills on this busy lake. Just like June stated below I also believe the big gills are a different animal … they certainly act like it. Looking at the Navionics map and have never fished this lake before during the summer period… id not only start at the thickest possible shallow slop weeds, then the thick weedline shallow then deep. No luck then I would find the established thermocline usually 15-20 ft depending on the lake … find that intersection of depth and lake bottom and fish that depth in the more horizontal sloped lake contours with a drop shot baited with a waxie or night crawler bit. While most fisherman are pounding the most obvious structures there are colony’s of gill that are growing big in the harder to fish spots right under are sight.

yeah ... i miss the fight of an 8" plus gill on the fly rod

Comment by Allen Morgan on July 14, 2016 at 7:30pm

Slip, that's probably why I haven't caught any really good-sized 'gills out of the lake I've been fishing.  Public access (DNR launch and a county park), and a very LARGE shallow flat with bullrushes that EVERYONE pounds for fish.

The only Bluegill that I've caught since moving up here that came close to 8" were the few that I caught a week ago.  I was fishing the Hex hatch, after dark.  Stopped off on my way home, so no cooler, no camera, etc.  I tried to take a pic from my phone, but but there's nothing in the shot for scale.  Those 8 inchers sure gave a good pull on my 8wt fly rod!

Comment by June bug on July 14, 2016 at 8:25am

You may be surprised how many more are caught that never get turned in. I fish Montcalm,Kent Gladwin,Clare, and some counties south. Not all lakes produce 10'' gills or larger and big gills are a totally different animal than the dinks and average size fish most people are happy with. We catch most of our "certificate" fish through the ice when most people struggle to find them. Tall green weeds and a suspended bite over open water produces most of our largest fish.

Comment by Slip Sinker on July 14, 2016 at 7:27am

oh i hear ya on that one... though the program allows only certificates for free public access to the lakes ... ive had a few rejected beacause they didnt have the required access. any lakes around here get pounded by the blue gill fisherman hook and keep. very few big ones left. wixom lake back in the day used to be a great bluegill lake trophies were in abundance... everyone in michigan knows about the b.gill lakes i fish. wixom lake has had only 2 10" plus gills reported in 10 years... thats along time.

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