Bluegill - Big Bluegill

Do you love big bluegill?

I made a few floats from my first crop of ornamental grass/bamboo/reeds I transplanted to my yard summer before last. I painted these but I wish I hadn't, the body material is very slick and the paint doesn't adhere very well. My painting isn't great anyway and having a slick surface didn't help. I will only paint the stems from now on. 

Views: 597

Replies to This Discussion

Nice. Very nice.

Thanks Damon the reed replaces cork or balsa. One stalk produced these.

I wondered if bamboo could be used like this.

I don't know if this is true bamboo but it is a close kin. The floats in this pic are made from black bamboo the ends are sealed with cork.

nice. Right on the knuckle.

DAAM GOOD LOOKING FLOATS KEITH !   YOUR ALWAYS THINKING AHEAD; OF WHAT TO MAKE; PLUS THE MATERIAL NEEDED !   GREAT JOB BUDDY !

KEITH;; IVE FOUND OUT THE HARD WAY;; ANYTTIME I PAINT FLOATS;; I HAVE TO USE EITHER A SPRAY; POLY; OR SOME KIND OF CLEAR COAT;; OR; USE VARNISH TO SEAL THE PAINT ; AND TO KEEP THE PAINT FROM; JUST PEELING OFF.  IT ALSO MAKES THE FLOATS; A LITTLE SLICKER FOR THE  RUBBER TYPE STOPS

Yeah, I use four coats of varnish on all my floats after painting.

DAMON;; I DIP MY QUILL FLOATS IN VARNISH ALSO;; AND IT USUALLY TAKES 3 DAYS; BEFORE I CAN RE- DIP THEM AGAIN;; THEN; 3 MORE DAYS;  TO LET THEM DRY OUT ENOUGH TO  HANDLE THEM;; BUT; I ALLOW; 2 TO 4 MORE DAYS; TO LET THEM AIR OUT BETTER;  

They are dipped twice in polyurethane so they won't peel. The paint was so fragile before dipping you coldly even handle them. I spent as much time touching them up as I did painting them. They look good natural and painting the stem will be plenty of color.  

Those are great. Nice job!

I have put a corn cob float coated with Polyurethane in water on my bench and it floated for over two weeks. So if you keep them dry when you are not using them they should last a long time. If you don't lose them or break them.

RSS

Latest Activity

Jeffrey D. Abney commented on Troy Dorman's photo
Thumbnail

1000003891

"Pretty Northern strain bluegill Troy!"
yesterday
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on Troy Dorman's photo
Thumbnail

1000003887

"Great fish….this is the right kind!"
yesterday
Troy Dorman posted photos
yesterday
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on Jeffrey D. Abney's photo
Thumbnail

Picked up Several Nice Yellow Perch Shallow…..4/29/2025

"Thanks John….never get tired of quality perch bites…"
Wednesday
John Sheehan posted photos
Wednesday
John Sheehan commented on Jeffrey D. Abney's photo
Wednesday
John Sheehan commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

493726391_10238746707466370_4942384414329687790_n

"Good job ,Jeff! The ones I caught were probably in 5-6 ' but long cast from shore. These…"
Wednesday
Jeffrey D. Abney posted a photo

Picked up Several Nice Yellow Perch Shallow…..4/29/2025

Also caught two nice white perch shallow also…
Tuesday
Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
Tuesday
Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
Tuesday
Jeffrey D. Abney posted a photo

Dock Crappie…..4/29/2025

We had blue skies with 81 degrees…strong southwest wind but our water was still blown out from the…
Tuesday
Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
Tuesday
Jeffrey D. Abney posted a status
"It was still windy but a friend and I splashed this afternoon, nice mixed bag ….low water at 70 degree surface temperatures…good times…"
Tuesday
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

493726391_10238746707466370_4942384414329687790_n

"Nice John….I caught several white perch this afternoon very shallow…"
Tuesday
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on Troy Dorman's photo
Thumbnail

1000003851

"Pretty specimen Troy!"
Monday
John Sheehan commented on Troy Dorman's photo
Thumbnail

1000003857

"Posting some nice Fish, Troy!"
Sunday
John Sheehan commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

492222666_10238698533862060_5336729201480880262_n

"Fish are flopping around like its July up here and we haven't seen May yet! Very weird year!"
Sunday
Bruce Tomaselli commented on Troy Dorman's photo
Thumbnail

1000003857

"I can just taste the fillets!"
Sunday
Troy Dorman posted photos
Apr 26
John Sheehan commented on John Sheehan's photo
Apr 26

© 2025   Created by Bluegill.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service