Gettin' Sloppy

[Jim Gronaw]

Hey guys and gals...just got back from a local pond from an after super quick trip. Lots of surface algae an all on the edges of the pond and it makes fishing a little tough.

Threw a small Rapala F3 perch pattern mini-crankbait and got a dozen gills up to 8 + inches. Tried to take some cool photos a la Sikkila and Thompson style but struggled a bit. Big bass tend to show up at this pond when gills struggle at the bank.

Had a bait rig handy, so I put one of the gills on a circle hook and bobber and got a nice 20 incher in the slop. Had to go in the water and dig the fish out of the salad. So what!? This is the same pond that has given up fish in the 8 pound range.

If you all have any tips on fishin for gills in the slop then please pass them along...I think the tailgunner rig would have scored well today, but didn't try it.

[John Sheehan]

Jim You always catch great fish!

How big a gill did that Bass eat! 2o " You look so calm.You saw my face on my 20 "er not quite the same reaction.Ha Ha!

[Jim Gronaw]

John...I used about a 4-5 inch gill for bait about 20 inches below a bobber.

[Steve Fleckenstein]

Jim,looks like the pond we were fishing tonite.The topwater bite was great tonite.A buddy and I were using flyrods and foam spiders and my girlfriend was using a spinning rod,casting bubble and a spider.I thought about using a til gunner rig also.My buddy uses something similar on a flyrod,spider with a short line and a smaller fly on the end.Sometimes the spider acts as a strike indicator.We caught a bunch of gills and a couple bassnothing big but a fun time.

[Patrick "Bullworm" Olson]

Jim, you did great photographing that gill! Awesome shot! When I'm throwing small cranks for gills I like to remove the front treble, leaving nothing up front and replacing the rear treble with a 8 or 10 sized circle hook. If I have time the night before I also like to lock that hook in a fly tying vise and dress it with a bit of marabou! Just a little tip! Keep up the good work!

[John Sikkila]

Nice fish and photos Jim!....I see your using those rapalas!...gotta love em...great results to!...those Finn's sure know how to make a fishing lure...lol!...(Finnish ancestory here also..lol!)