Do you love big bluegill?

Splash Jig Bull.....Memorial Day Afternoon

A Little River Luxury.....

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Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on May 30, 2013 at 6:26pm: No problem.....I'll send you a personal when I get it posted in the weeks ahead....

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on May 30, 2013 at 6:25pm: I'm interested, for sure!

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on May 30, 2013 at 6:22pm: Sure is David...I haven't featured it much on my page....don't know if there is any interest.....basically twice a month on a weekday afternoon a group of gillers get together at a local lauch/bait store and fish for four hours with any technique of tackle fishing that they want to employ......you can weigh in up to 30 sunfish in any combination of species as this represents the N.C. limit.....Some people fly fish, some fish with telescopic, light tackle....you name it and somebody is probably executing it.......This has normally been 6 to 8 scheduled events with two thrown out so that if you have an obligation such as work or other you still have a chance at the overall......We agree to release all gills voluntarily which is a good thing.....I'll take some pictures and talk/show more about it if a few folks are interested......Many anglers including myself are somewhat competitive so it satisfies that itch from time to time......

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on May 29, 2013 at 4:37pm: There are bluegill tournaments???

PS some good observations, guys. stuff I've thought, myself.

Comment by Tony Livingston on May 28, 2013 at 7:43pm: Yep. That's part two of my idea on unpressured fish.....I believe an unpressured fish will be much more likely to take anything....lure choice is not as critical. But a highly pressured fish, one that's "seen it all", needs to see something different to be enticed enough to hit. That fish has become conditioned to anglers, and their usual methodology.

That's why I don't believe in "killer" baits as much as some....I do favor certain colors, and more importantly, size (usually small), but I place greater emphasis on distinctiveness, rather than design.......I'm looking to present those highly pressured fish with something different.

Unpressured fish? I sometimes wonder if I couldn't catch them on a cigarette butt painted red!

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on May 28, 2013 at 6:16pm: I'll give you another example.....I fish a local Bluegill tourney from time to time and I never like to prefish/practice in that waterway.......I routinely place ahead of people that pound the tourney location for days ahead of the tourney and seem stunned when I bring out 30 most often, usually quality gills.......My belief is I present something new/different techniques that the fish haven't seen......Baits I use there have never been featured here on BBG...something similar but not the bait I use there....I want to be the only one fishing it.......In that area I'm looking for an advantage where anglers have applied pressure to catchable gills.....Just my two cents....

Comment by Tony Livingston on May 28, 2013 at 6:01pm: I agree. I think we all have our favorite lures/baits, techniques, and strategies.......but I absolutely believe that most of that stuff will play second fiddle to finding unpressured, cooperative BG when it comes to making consistent catches of good fish.

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on May 28, 2013 at 1:09pm: Unpressured fish is a big key in my opinion Tony.....I understand that many anglers do not have the versatility of multiple locations that are productive.......I first used this practice on the 188,000 acre Toledo Bend reservoir in the 80s and 90s..........It isn't scientific but I have employed this strategy for more than ten years here in N.C. and would argue that much of my sustained success can be attributed to rotation of my fishing.......

Comment by Tony Livingston on May 28, 2013 at 9:48am: Jeffrey, your comment about purposefully avoiding certain areas to, I assume, hopefully provide good fishing to your family, brings up a question I have been meaning to ask you: How much of your success as a BG angler do you attribute to fishing for unpressured fish?

I know you've mentioned before about rotating your fishing spots, in order to try and visit the same spot every few weeks, rather than days, and I believe I've heard you comment on the general lack of boats filled with other BG anglers when you're on the water. I have always stated that unpressured fish are easier to catch, when compared against those fish that see a lot of anglers and their presentations.

Rotating your fishing spots to avoid acclimating the fish to catch and release is savvy, and in my opinion would surely make for somewhat easier catches. Not that this will take the place of spending time learning one's water, or finding locations that continually harbor good fish........but I often wonder how much difference it makes.