Gills take center stage...:)

[Nathanael Deloach]

   I just thought I'd share this article that was in the Duluth News Tribune today. There has been a lot of talk about panfish in our area lately since one of the best lakes had such a huge fish kill (See my blog "The Death of Something Grand"). So the paper decided to get some good news out there. The reporter and I had an excellent outing, I was able to get him on a lot of good gills and crappies. It is really great that folks are taking notice and we can promote our wonderful fish this way, please take a moment and read! (fyi, Sam Cook the author is the one in the attached picture with the blue gill:)

Hooked on bluegills: Saginaw man plies area lakes for his favorite panfish By: Sam Cook

 DULUTH, Minn. — Nathanael Deloach and his dad were walleye fishing on a Duluth-area lake back in 2007 when his dad decided to take a nap.

“I thought I’d try for panfish,” said Deloach, 34, of Saginaw. “By the time my dad woke up I had caught 40 bluegills. That got me going on these local lakes.”

These days, Deloach will fish walleyes on opening weekend. But that’s about it.

“I’m always panfishing first,” he said.

He pitched his bobber and pink ice-fly over some emerging reeds on Fish Lake early on a June morning. He waited 5, 10 seconds.

Bloop. His egg-shaped bobber — actually a strike indicator — dimpled the lake’s surface. Deloach had another bluegill.

This happened countless times throughout the morning as the two of us enjoyed nearly nonstop action. We could have kept count of how many we caught, but with two of us reeling in bluegill after bluegill, we simply lost track. We figured we had caught about 75 by the time I left at midday. Deloach went back for more.

“Normally, if I’m out four or five hours, I’ll catch 100,” Deloach said.

He is not a boastful person. He is matter-of-fact about this kind of fishing. Deloach has refined his techniques and presentation. He knows the biology of bluegills. He catches a lot of fish.

And there’s still a lot of little boy left in him.

“There’s something about watching that bobber go down,” he said, reeling in another 8-inch bluegill.

Setting limits

While Deloach catches a lot of bluegills and fishes frequently, he limits his take. The Minnesota bluegill limit is 20, but he won’t take more than a dozen.

“I slot-limit myself,” he said. “And it goes lake-to-lake. On Grand Lake, there are a lot of 8- to 9-inchers, so that’s what I keep. On Fish Lake, it’s the 8- to 8½-inchers I’ll keep. They’re plentiful.”

Grand Lake, however, is out of the picture for a while. The lake suffered a fish kill at ice-out that took an estimated 35,000 fish, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The kill was a result of low dissolved-oxygen levels. Lots of the fish that died were panfish.

The bluegill rig

Unlike a lot of people who fish for bluegills, Deloach doesn’t use live bait. He has developed a bait-free system that works well for him. On his 6-pound-test line, he ties a large swivel and then 18 to 21 inches of leader. Above the swivel, he uses a 1¼-inch Thill strike indicator as a slip-bobber.

At the end of his line, he uses a snap to which he attaches his 1/64th-ounce “ice-fly” feathered jigs. On each jig, he threads a tiny Berkley Power Wiggler, a scent-impregnated soft-plastic that resembles larvae.

“They act like the thorax of the fly,” Deloach said. “And they help keep the jig horizontal in the water.”

He typically tosses the rig over the reeds and lets it sit for 5 or 10 seconds. If nothing happens, he reels it in slowly. Small wave action also helps give the jig life.

He prefers flies in pink or black this time of year, with matching Power Wigglers. Later on, he’ll go to green or yellow flies with white Power Wigglers.

He uses one word to describe this rig: “Deadly.”

And it would be if he didn’t release so many bluegills alive. We happened onto a school of crappies, too, and must have taken a dozen or 15, releasing most of them.

“I call them my bonus fish,” Deloach said.

Where it began

Deloach’s original fascination with bluegills occurred during a stint in North Carolina, where he hoped to become a NASCAR driver. He crewed with several drivers before giving up the pursuit in favor of a family. He picked up a small boat in North Carolina and, one weekend at a friend’s lake place, tried fishing panfish. He was using a couple of $15 Wal-Mart rods.

“My first cast, the bobber went down,” he said. “It was a bluegill. We caught a whole bunch of panfish that day. It just grew from there.”

Once back home, he dabbled with walleyes. But since that day in 2007 when he caught all those bluegills while his dad napped, he’s been almost exclusively a panfish guy.

He’s hooked on bluegills for two reasons, he said.

“They’re the best-tasting fish you’re ever going to eat,” he said. “And pound for pound, outside of smallmouth bass, if you use light gear, they’re the best-fighting fish.”

When you hook a bluegill, it doesn’t dive. It begins carving wide arcs in the water, resisting with surprising force. Deloach swung another 8½-incher aboard. It was a male, with its characteristic swatch of orange behind its jaw and the deep blue tab on its gill, from which the species derives its name. Its mouth is tiny — thus, the little jigs with their diminutive hooks.

“Pretty fish,” Deloach said. “We’ll keep him.”

Deloach caught bluegills up to 10¾ inches long in North Carolina, he said. He measures the big ones like a walleye angler measures big walleyes. That morning on Fish Lake, he caught bluegills up to 9¼ inches. Ten-inchers are rare in Minnesota.

“The biggest I’ve caught here in Minnesota has been 10 inches, on Lake Vermilion,” he said.

At midmorning, we moved to another shoreline and began catching bluegills mixed with crappies on nearly every cast. If you set your rod across the gunwales and left your jig dangling in the water to take a photo, the rod would invariably begin bouncing on the gunwale. Another bluegill wanted an ice-fly.

We worked our way down the shoreline. Bobbers blooped. Deloach smiled.

“This is the way it should be,” he said.

- See more at: http://www.northlandoutdoors.com/event/article/id/233963/#sthash.wiUKBHdR.dpuf

[Bruce Condello]

This is fantastic!  A big 'feature'!!

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

Very nice piece on a great Bluegill angler.....

[Jiggy]

great article!  I still get excited watching the bobber go down.  Question...where do you get the  1/64th-ounce “ice-fly” feathered jigs mentioned in the article?  Do you make those?

[Nathanael Deloach]

   There are some good companies that sell the Jigs I like to use. Lindy has them in 1/16,1/32 and 1/64th oz they are callled "The Little Nipper".  True Floos, Peakock Jigs and Foo Foo Jigs are a few others. I look for the ones that have "bands" of shine in the feather which really seem to make a difference.  I have purchased these jigs at my local bate shop Fisherman Corner, or at the Gander mountain here in town.

 My cousin has been tying flys for a couple years now for his stealhead fishing and the past year started tying panfish flys. I got him into panfishing a few years ago so he decided to start making his own, he has done a really good job with them. If you are interested in something custom you can contact him through his facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Edge-Custom-Jigs/265470906936755

[jim cosgrove]

nice job nathanael.how many days does it take to produce a half hour fishing show annd you wore the reporter out in a few hours it seems.wish i lived some where that a fishing story is featured.thanks for sharing

[Nathanael Deloach]

Come on up Jim, I'd love to show you around! :) There are lakes like mine everywhere in the country, once you find them you'll get into 100 fish in 4hrs as well. Spending time on the water is key. I've been blessed to be able to get out a lot the past 4-5 years, with my kids joining me for most of them. Sometimes I think my son knows more than I do....lol

[Tony Livingston]

Well done Nathanael! And thanks for the BBG shout out!!

[Nathanael Deloach]

  Can't leave my fellow Gillers out, I wouldn't have half the knowledge I do now without y'all! 

[Mike Schmidt]

Great article Nathanael! You are a bluegill ambassador. Maybe it will catch the eye of some DNR folks and they will rethink their "plan" for Grand Lake.

[Nathanael Deloach]

Boy I sure hope so, I have tried to contact them and open a dialogue but haven't had a response yet. I may need to get some of my local Gill friends on board and contact them. Maybe numbers can get their attention....

[carl hendrix]

just read it Nathanael!!  a great write up buddy!!  congrats on being a great gill fisherman!

[Nathanael Deloach]

Thanks guys, tho, like a mentioned in my response to Tony, I would not be the Blue Gill fisherman I am today without the knowledge of my fellow Gillers on this site. A lot of what I've learned has been here. So in reality, my outing with Sam Cook for this article was a reflection of this site and the great fisherman here.  As much as I'd like to think I know it all, I know that I don't and there is much, much more to learn. So lets continue to use this great forum and keep the ideas coming!