Bluegill - Big Bluegill

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There are companies with artificial replicas of live bait that make the claim they are better than live bait.Lets here some unpaid expereinces with these products.I realize the conveneince these products must have for the sunfish angler.But are they worth the money,and that you might be missing fish because you arent using a product of mother nature.Thanks for yalls replies!

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i tip flies and jigs with power maggots and have great success.


heres a good recipe. take a very small dry fly that is meant to look like an ant. thread a power maggot on it. dance it on the surface above shallow gills for about 30 seconds. then let it sink, twitching occasionally. works wonders!
I think if you have a lot of hungry gills, artificial replicas may work well, but not if you are struggling to get the big fat gills to bite. I only use my Berkley gulps to make the live bait show up better in a cloudy water.
I carry gulp redworms with me in my fishin bag as well as a assortment of micro jigs tipped with plastics. I have not found a better bait than real redworms. Icefishing for gills redworms are my top choice!
Great tips. I use mostly flies for sunfish, but from my experience in saltwater, gulp is great. I'll mess up a cast and be fixing a birds nest, and when I reel it in, there will be a fish on without me having worked it. Also when I go trout fishing powerbait is popular with the stationary fishing crowd, and from their results, works great. I usually stick to my guns with flies or jigs though.

I am a jig fisherman. If I am not catching with a jig I change locations or try different jigs. Most times they can be caught without live bait. I am currently fishing crappie but thinking of changing to Gills. I just don't see why gills should be any different and I always (well some days are tough) catch fish with a jig. Any tips would be appreciated.

I fish "Gills" alot and the new plastics can be fantastic, however/ I have seen (through my Aqua-Vu underwater camera ) that OCCASIONALLY there is no substitute for a fresh waxie but  my experience is that it is the exception more than the rule I fish plastics 90% of the time with consistent success.Next time you go out and get on a hot bite switch to plastics.It will give you confidence and you will find you can catch more fish faster because you wont be spending more time re-baiting!! GOOD LUCK!!
Last resort - maybe if I were stranded on a deserted island where the local fishes mostly ate artificials all day.
I use the spoons first vs. Gulp as well for big gills! Notice they say "outfishes" NOT outCATCHES. Maybe because that is not English but I think if they put up $100,000 I would bet $250,000 tha live bait would catch more.
Outfishes means -lasts longer in jar, stays on hook longer ( because of reduced action ) and you don't have to refresh dead bait- it was dead to start with.

I will say this- seriuosly - if I have bait that is nealy dead or it got too warm or it is old, I am not so excited to go use it. I am much more excited with grade "A" superlive bait.
I do know lively bait outfishes dead bait...

With a spoon, you get action, flash try those as your bait backup or vs. Gulp.
Gulp. Who is in contact with a Berkly rep. ? I'll outfish some Gulp. We'll set it up, get it insured and get two checks ready.
Gulp alive black minnow..Its an amazing lure..very versatile lure..I buy them by the huge buckets..

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