Bluegill - Big Bluegill

Do you love big bluegill?

Okay, recipes time. I made these in the past, tested them out in the SoCal waters, from the mountainous waters to the valley's lakes. Hope the recipes will work out for you guys. Oh, don't forget to post yours for comparison. I will update mine with your ingredients if you allow me to:

 

YAP CHEESE RECIPE

I took the Yap Cheese For Fishing recipe that I found back in early 1990s, and experiment with my own concoctions, and readapted the recipes based on the water's and the fishes being tossed into the lake. You have to experiment each water body, based on the nutrients content, salinity (salt), plants/weeds due to the nutrients, and of course the fishes themselves.

 

Here's an example of Lake Gregory, Big Bear Lake, Silverwood Lake, Lake Perris:

 

Lake Gregory, Big Bear Lake, and Silverwood Lake have moderate nutrient levels contributed by the local forest floor, irrigation fertilizers, producing light salinity due to the evaporation and minimal input of water during summer months. Since the fishes are pretty much exposed to light salty content already, you have to increase the content of the salt even higher to deliver the content of your bait into the water even faster and higher. So here's the bait's ratio I came up with..

1/4 oz Velvetta cheese
1 cup of powdered garlic (chunky dried form is fine too)
1/4 cups of sea salt, or just basic salt. DO NOT USE IODIZED SALT!
1 to 1.5 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 cup of either dried shrimp/krill or dried anchovies (not both)

1 cup of corn flour/corn meal/masa flour on the side for thickening.

OR

instead of 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil, switch it out with 1 to 1.5 tablespoons of sardine oil from the can, and take one sardine and mash it into the ingredient. Mix the sardine with dried anchovies. If you're using krill, stick with the olive oil.

Put all the dried ingredients together, and blend/stirred until evenly mixed. Mash the wet ingredient together in a dough mixer or use your hands to really grind the mesh of ingredients together.

Once well blended, you can add a bit of cornmeal, small pinchful at a time, until the bait becomes nice and mold-able. Toss a bit of a compacted ball into a bowl of water, and see how well the bait holds together. The Velvetta cheese will hold things very well together. Let the ingredient sit in the fridge a day or two before heading out if you want. If you have left over, shove it into the freezer. Let it thaws out overnight before using. If you can find the seaweed agar powder, mix 1 cup of hot water to 2 cups of agar and stir like crazy. Let it cool down a bit until it forms a gel like material. Mix it into the existing cheese bait. If you wish, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil into the mix, and you've increase the oil saturation level even more. The oil will linger in the water like no one's business. The cats will hunt that bait down like it's a freaking hot nuke. Use drop shot rig with two hooks on a " to 48" leader, depending on the water's dept. Can't go wrong.

 

Lake Perris, Diamond Valley Lake, Lake Elsinore, Canyon Valley Lake, etc., they are much saltier than the mountain's lakes, due salty water being transported to the valley via the aqueducts. And with the local urbanization around the lake, higher level of nutrients being loaded into the water, causing the salinity to go even higher than normal. So, instead of 1/4 cup of salt, try with 1/4 cup of salt first, and if needed, add at a rate of 1/8 cup of salt on top of the 1/4 cup of existing. You may be adding as much as 1/2 cup and towards 3/4 cup as time goes by. The more salt you add, you need to increase the total oil by 1tspn each time to increase the dispersion rate of the salt in the water.

 

Good luck, and report in.

Views: 2306

Replies to This Discussion

I don't think there is a strong enough detergent for that wash!

good ol lye soap,vinger and bleach all worked. Might have to use that again, seems I never wanted to eat for a few days

I believe it is the protein/amino acid connection that draws catfish to cheese baits. Is that so, Leo?

You got it! Add the smells that can peel your skin off, you got the ultimate bait.

And I thought that "sour bait" I made from some cut bait was bad.  ROFL.  Last week, I found the jar in the fridge, been in there for a few weeks.  I cracked it open, gagged, sealed it up quickly, and chucked it in the trash.  I counted myself lucky for not tossing my cookies right then and there.  A minute later, my other half says, "Ronnie!  Did you just rip one off?"  Our son looked at her, and said, "No".  Then he laughed.  I had to tell my other half that I had just cracked open that jar of sours.  She got all furious, she didn't realize it was in the fridge.

OH HEAVEN'S MERCY! My wife finds that in the fridge, she would have gone to town with me..just if she had found the maggots. She would have disinfected the entire fridge from top to bottom. I'm surprised you didn't try to fish with it. It would have been the perfect bait.

RSS

Latest Activity

John Sheehan commented on John Sheehan's photo
7 hours ago
John Sheehan commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

491348751_10238683890455984_2672104245638727985_n

"Yes and very aggressive that Day!"
7 hours ago
John Sheehan commented on John Sheehan's photo
8 hours ago
John Sheehan replied to Bruce Tomaselli's discussion Unable to Log in
"No idea ,Bruce . It doesn't happen from my end! Hope it gets straightened out for you ."
8 hours ago
Bruce Tomaselli posted a discussion

Unable to Log in

It's curious. I can go for 3 to 5 days straight without being able to log in here. It happens quite…See More
8 hours ago
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

Ringwood Brook Rainbow Trout

"Smoker time…..enjoy John!"
23 hours ago
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on John Sheehan's photo
23 hours ago
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

489926224_10238683871295505_5852549182092207622_n

"Seeds always come to the party if they are in the area.,,,"
23 hours ago
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

492222666_10238698533862060_5336729201480880262_n

"Nice gill John…..on the little rap……..my dad loved putting that bait on a fly…"
23 hours ago
John Sheehan posted photos
yesterday
John Sheehan commented on John Sheehan's status
"Somewhat surprised because it seemed like a quick turn on."
Thursday
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on John Sheehan's status
"Good deal John…..were you confident or somewhat surprised by today’s success from…"
Wednesday
John Sheehan posted a status
"Some decent Gills and Crappie today from shore. Wish I got a Water temp. They were active between 11-noon!"
Wednesday
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on Jeffrey D. Abney's photo
Thumbnail

In the Net….4/20/2025

"Look how little my popeye jig looks by the tail.......catch so many bass every year on these small…"
Monday
John Sheehan commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

491836771_10238604253985122_2836813665102144302_n

"Mid-May is a guess without checking my records, Jeff. "
Sunday
John Sheehan commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

wacky Bass on the Flats

"Thanks Dick, this lake is not producing like it has for Greg and I like it has in the past. We hope…"
Apr 20
Jeffrey D. Abney posted a photo

Pretty Colors to the East Minutes Before Sunrise…..4/20/2025

Beautiful sights fishing so close to the ocean…..
Apr 20
Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
Apr 20
Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
Apr 20
Jeffrey D. Abney posted a status
"Finally had winds below 20 knots this am so I splashed for three hours ….found 66 degree surface temps…..20 bites, caught 19 bass on jigs"
Apr 20

© 2025   Created by Bluegill.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service