Bluegill - Big Bluegill

Do you love big bluegill?

As I turn the last page of the “SLIP’S 2017 LOGS, STATUS AND STRATEGIES” log book on an astounding year of angling… I think back on the initial strategies and goals for the year. I wanted to tag at least (4) Trophy Master Angler Panfish and that would include one thru the ice which would be a PB using that method. I ended up with 2 trophy P.Seeds thru the ice with a PB at 9.8" as well as(13) total Master Anglers thru the rest of the open water season!

To accomplish this feat I would greatly scale down my presentations to micro lite equipment… rods, reels, lines and baits. Careful considerations of lines were incorporated into my methods which would not exceed 2# mono diameter…and super lines that would approach 8# test or above to handle the trophy quality of fishes sought.

I would also aim to make my time on the water more productive by timing the trips with solunar periods… majors and minors on New and Full Moons. I've discovered big fish follow the moon… period! 2017 proved that especially considering the hard water Ice Period. I was on the big fish spots on the peak periods and it paid off!... BIGly!!!

I think I coined a phrase “Fishing for the Numbers by the Numbers” by incorporating all methods and strategies to gain my odds on the water for numbers as well as numbers of trophies. By the end of the day and all the numbers were tallied for 2017 I broke many records for the Master Angler Program in at least 2 counties.

I’m hoping for an even better season for 2018 and success for the fishermen following BBG!

Ken

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20180811-I nearly gave up on the Major/Major!

What an amazing day on the water... I didn’t make any extraordinary tags or impressive numbers of fish… what I did was I did not give up! I made a recovery… and I chalked it up to a memorable learning experience.

I arrived at the launch with what seemed like ideal lake conditions calm seas, warm air temps with water temps in the low 80’s and clear water conditions… one thing did cause me concern was a sign posted of recent weed control herbs within the past few days. This has proved as a negative in the majority of failed fishing trips in the past.  I pushed forward.

I immediately headed towards my first and favorite waypoints. Waypoint number one proved to be a bust after several casts with favorite presentations.  I then proceeded to one waypoint after another with failed results.  I tried deep water presentations I tried shallow-water presentations I threw my favorite jigs tipped with my favorite baits and nothing!

I then tag one little bluegill with a deep water presentation on micro jig.  I was ready to call it quits what I noticed some weather coming in.  After checking Accuweather the radar showed a line of thunderstorms just missing my position.  I was tempted to head back to the launch and call it quits.  I decided however to stick it out and find a pattern of success… any form of success.  Thinking about it I just fished the whole Major.Period on the new Moon day with barely a hit... that is severe failure In my book. I just finished fishing the Major/Major and came up empty…  I normally do very well during these circumstances.  

Glancing at my fishing rod bundle for the day I focused on two slip-float rigs one was rigged with the slip float fly waxie and the other with a tiny circle hook.  I headed to a small cut in the lake and sent the circle hooks presentation close to the bank under the shade of a overhanging hanging birch tree... voila!  The float went under and I set the hook into something solid…  It felt immediately like a large Lepomis…  As the fight progressed to the boat I noticed a large trophy pumpkin seed 10” plus in proportions at the side… as I attempted to hoist the fish in the boat without a net, the fish tore free from the hook.

I shook off the disappointment of the loss of the trophy-size fish then continued seeking out the dirtiest water next to docks boats overhangs and trees.  I set the slip/float/fly /waxie rig to less than a 1 FOW and made repeated casts into the dirtiest water with renewed success.  My best bite of the day came from a dock presentation in less than a foot of water… I was rewarded with a 10 inch class B.Gill.

The fish count continued to accelerate for the rest of the afternoon.  With one fish after another on the slip float fly waxie presentation method.  I stuck it out and found the bluegill pattern!

 

...

20180811-Slip/Float/Fly/Waxie was key method for today's success

...20180811-nice tag P.Seed lunker class... slip/float/fly/waxie

...20180811-today's best tag... Bull B.Gill 10“class

...20180811-Dirty Shallow water, banks, docks, trees and boats in combination with the slip/float/fly/waxie method were key in today’s success.

...20180811-Excellent recovery which started out as a bust! A Lunker Bull B.Gill 10†class in the mix.

...

20180813-~~<")))))><(-*Summer.Peak*--71%/80°s

...ran out of GULP Waxies!... all local suppliers are out and they claim it is flying off the shelves and tough to keep in stock!... had to order from PRIME and get it in the mail today. i will be able to fish again!

20180814-~~<")))))><(-*Summer.Peak*--57%/lwr 80's

20180815-~~<")))))><(-*Summer.Period*--43%/Lwr 80's

20180817-~~<")))))><(-*Summer.Period*--17%/Lwr 80's

20180817- Kayaking with Kayden

 

Today Kayden wanted to go fishing out of his kayak... So I selected a launch close to the house that entered a shallow bay area that was filled from a creek and emptied into a large Reservoir. The cove is only 1’ deep on avg. not exceeding 2'. Perfect for a young boy to learn the sport of kayaking.

During the summer the bay fills with lily pads and weeds to the surface with plenty of places to explore.

 

This bay offers ample opportunity for tagging multiple species of panfish. I so happened to tag my first certificate bluegill from this area. During the summer the only option to fish this area is with a slip float. I thought This would be perfect for Kayden to tag his first fish out of the kayak slip/floating.

 

So first thing, I have a battle with Kayden he wants to throw a jig. There is no arguing with him it is the only way he knows how to catch a fish LOL. After a short while, he agreed to have a bobber attached to the line above the jig to keep it out of the weeds. He eventually connected with a fish, reeled it in, got off the hook, hit the bottom of the kayak and flipped into the water before I could get a picture. He wasn't happy.

 

I continued tagging a few 8 inch Class bluegills and Kayden took off exploring.

 

After a handful of gills, I joined him on the expedition before the rain settled in. What started out to be a serious lesson in slip/floating the slop ended up just Papa and Grandson having fun exploring and paddling!

the picture of Kayden, Fish, and Kayak will just have to wait for another time.

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20180819-~~<")))))><(-*Summer.Period*--24%/Lwr 80's

20180823-~~<")))))><(-*Summer.Period*--70%/upr 70's

20180823~ “Another Bluegill Certificate!”

Everyone as you know… I’ve been stuck in a very productive rut… fishing the flats with the tiny micro-jigs. it's been so productive the past few seasons i dont want to try anything else! Basically casting out a very simple bait combination I call the LCD jig (Least Common Denominator). in most cases I use an unpainted .016 oz round jig head tipped with a Gulp Waxie in pink or chartreuse. That’s it! I fish this vertically when I spot fish under the boat and more frequently I long cast out on super line loaded ultra lights twitching the jig on the bottom, swimming thru the weeds or casting to weed or structure edges.

On this day I loaded up my usual rod bundle comprised of micro-jig setups and a slip/float setup and headed to the lake. I knew I was in store for some fishing productivity. Summer high water temps, excellent weather pattern and a Solunar 70% rated day.

Missing most of the morning Major.Period I would be fishing the Tail end or decline of the intraday Major.Period thru the Lull.Period the rising leg of the Minor.Period approaching sunset.

Settling in on one of my favorite productive waypoints I started tagging quality fish straight away. Thinking I should have gotten out on the lake a couple hours earlier. Some days though the spine just does not let that happen. I fish when I can timing to the intraday solunar periods the best I can.

On the end of the Major.Period is when I tagged my best fish… a 10” certificate B.Gill on the LCD Method swimming thru the weeds. Amazing battle and fish. The Bull was quickly photoed, measured and released. At this point in time there have been 13 registered Certificate B.Gill for this lake in 20 years time… I own over 30 percent of those certificates! They are a true needle in the haystack!

I then struggled thru the Minor.Period with scattered fish tags here and there, really had to work hard for them. Once the Minor.Period came into play the fish activity started to turn on again with some quality tags and frequency.

The Crappie bite was strong and consistent thu-out the trip with fish approaching the 12" class

I left in the middle of a good bite to beat the sunset home…. Another memorable trip for the books!!

>20180823-above avg sized B.Crappies for the day Micro-Jigging

>20180823-Trophy class B.Gill Micro-Jigging the tungsten/waxie.

>20180823-A memorable day on the water tagging a trophy B.Gill Micro jigging the weed edges.

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20180825-~~<")))))><(-*Post Summer*--70%/mid 70's

20180826-~~<")))))><(-*Post Summer*--70%/mid 70's

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