targeting diferent sunfish species - Bluegill - Big Bluegill2024-03-29T02:08:52Zhttps://bigbluegill.ning.com/forum/topics/targeting-diferent-sunfish-species?feed=yes&xn_auth=no Great subject, I'm a Flyfis…tag:bigbluegill.ning.com,2012-06-30:2036984:Comment:2854772012-06-30T14:40:26.295ZLeehttps://bigbluegill.ning.com/profile/Lee
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<p> Great subject, I'm a Flyfisherman so my perspective is probably off kilter with most but here goes.</p>
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<p> I fish small lakes and rivers throughout Florida. The major panfish availible to me are Bluegill, ShellCracker also known as Red Ear, Warmouth, Specks ( Crappie to northeners ) Spotted Sunfish and Red Bellies. I target the different fish because I know where they most likely are and I use the flys each individual prefers. Different places for different…</p>
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<p> Great subject, I'm a Flyfisherman so my perspective is probably off kilter with most but here goes.</p>
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<p> I fish small lakes and rivers throughout Florida. The major panfish availible to me are Bluegill, ShellCracker also known as Red Ear, Warmouth, Specks ( Crappie to northeners ) Spotted Sunfish and Red Bellies. I target the different fish because I know where they most likely are and I use the flys each individual prefers. Different places for different fish!</p>
<p> Spotted Sunfish and Red Bellies are river bream so I target them in rivers, they'll both take poppers/spiders/small sinking flies and tiny crawfish imitators. Fun fish to catch and very colorful normaly smaller than other bream.</p>
<p> Bluegills, ShellCrackers, Specks/Crappies and Warmouth are lake fish that like different types of lakes or parts of the lake.</p>
<p> Bluegill and Shellcrackers both like clearer water lakes and shoreline cover both will take poppers, spiders, sinking flies and small streamers but Shellcrackers prefer bottom flies and get Bigger.</p>
<p> Specks/Crappies are ( with the exeption of spawning season ) are out in the middle of the lake and like streamers. During spawning season they get up shallow and will hit most anything subsurface.</p>
<p> Warmouth may be my favorite panfish to flyfish for! Their strong aggresive live in the jungle of swampy areas and Cyprees trees they Attack poppers, streamers and crawfish imitators. There's never a doubt you have a Fish On when they hit BIG FUN on a Flyrod.</p>
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<p> I did'nt mention Bass but their darn near everywhere pesky bugger's but Fun!</p> That's an interesting subject…tag:bigbluegill.ning.com,2012-05-27:2036984:Comment:2730392012-05-27T01:17:26.182Zdick tabberthttps://bigbluegill.ning.com/profile/dicktabbert
<p>That's an interesting subject and one I never thought about cause usually when I'm out fishing I'm after any pan fish. That would be interesting breaking then down to even smaller and specific groups. Really don't even know if it would be feasible it would depend on feeding habits and cover I think there habits would be so closely related don't know if it can be done. Its and interesting subject and I'll have my ear glued to the BBG for any input when the subject comes up. Thanks Federico…</p>
<p>That's an interesting subject and one I never thought about cause usually when I'm out fishing I'm after any pan fish. That would be interesting breaking then down to even smaller and specific groups. Really don't even know if it would be feasible it would depend on feeding habits and cover I think there habits would be so closely related don't know if it can be done. Its and interesting subject and I'll have my ear glued to the BBG for any input when the subject comes up. Thanks Federico for an interesting subject at best I think it will get our brain fluids flowing.</p> Okay, and the problem is ? Yo…tag:bigbluegill.ning.com,2012-05-26:2036984:Comment:2732302012-05-26T23:38:49.440ZJoe Hintonhttps://bigbluegill.ning.com/profile/JoeHinton
<p>Okay, and the problem is ? You are catching fish right ? So many of us who fish from the bank feel fortunate to catch anything. Fitting fish into a select group should never be a concern for a bluegill fisherman, catch a fish and enjoy !</p>
<p>Okay, and the problem is ? You are catching fish right ? So many of us who fish from the bank feel fortunate to catch anything. Fitting fish into a select group should never be a concern for a bluegill fisherman, catch a fish and enjoy !</p> Recently we fished a spring f…tag:bigbluegill.ning.com,2012-04-08:2036984:Comment:2569192012-04-08T15:22:48.688ZRude Alinskahttps://bigbluegill.ning.com/profile/RudeAlinska
<p>Recently we fished a spring fed river which has varying depths and during the day, which was at first bright sunshine until about 2pm fishing was spotty. We would pick up a shell cracker here and there but I caught a lot of small gills next to the shallow shoreline that had a lot of weed growth. We we started moving about and hunting spots we stayed away from the shallows and started casting our bottom rigs into deeper holes (10-15 ft) away from our boat. Cloud cover came and so did a…</p>
<p>Recently we fished a spring fed river which has varying depths and during the day, which was at first bright sunshine until about 2pm fishing was spotty. We would pick up a shell cracker here and there but I caught a lot of small gills next to the shallow shoreline that had a lot of weed growth. We we started moving about and hunting spots we stayed away from the shallows and started casting our bottom rigs into deeper holes (10-15 ft) away from our boat. Cloud cover came and so did a stiff breeze. Bam! We started getting big gills and ended up with 23 nice size fish. It took a while to realize the big fish wanted to eat a big hunk of crawler and we were not pestered with smaller fish. I defer to all the guys that answered the original question as their answers were full of great suggestions. Our fishing has been really good this March and into April. Fish On guys.</p>
<p></p> The two are not too distant c…tag:bigbluegill.ning.com,2012-02-13:2036984:Comment:2411382012-02-13T13:48:27.071ZDavid, aka, "McScruff"https://bigbluegill.ning.com/profile/david553
<p>The two are not too distant cousins, after all. They share the same waters and orient on the same features. I think its safe to say that most gillers have at least a few bass lures in their bag of tricks.</p>
<p>As for targeting different sunfish species, I'm still tempted to say it is a simple bottom versus column orientation. That said, there are only a few sunfish species that are predominantly bottom feeders. Even they are opportunistic, though, when given the chance. And they usually…</p>
<p>The two are not too distant cousins, after all. They share the same waters and orient on the same features. I think its safe to say that most gillers have at least a few bass lures in their bag of tricks.</p>
<p>As for targeting different sunfish species, I'm still tempted to say it is a simple bottom versus column orientation. That said, there are only a few sunfish species that are predominantly bottom feeders. Even they are opportunistic, though, when given the chance. And they usually share habitat except in strictly managed waters, like a fed pond. My unscientific guess is that your odds of catching ONLY one species in open waters is pretty slim.</p> Bluegill are food for lots of…tag:bigbluegill.ning.com,2012-02-13:2036984:Comment:2411962012-02-13T12:51:49.347ZDwayne Denisonhttps://bigbluegill.ning.com/profile/DwayneDenison
<p>Bluegill are food for lots of other fish. Almost always bass near, when fishing for gills</p>
<p>Bluegill are food for lots of other fish. Almost always bass near, when fishing for gills</p> I fish farm ponds in NW Illi…tag:bigbluegill.ning.com,2012-02-13:2036984:Comment:2410432012-02-13T11:41:49.363ZDavid Dillmanhttps://bigbluegill.ning.com/profile/DavidDillman
<p> I fish farm ponds in NW Illinois. My experience is that the crappie will be deeper, but I still will catch blue gill even when I count it down to 6 feet. Also redear sunfish are supposed to be bottom dwellers cracking snails down deep, but I catch them shallow under cover. So I think you will always catch an assortment of species. </p>
<p>I fineese fish using jigs and plastics. I have the best luck on curly tail grubs, charlie brewer vibra tail grubs, and small 1 inch swim baits. I…</p>
<p> I fish farm ponds in NW Illinois. My experience is that the crappie will be deeper, but I still will catch blue gill even when I count it down to 6 feet. Also redear sunfish are supposed to be bottom dwellers cracking snails down deep, but I catch them shallow under cover. So I think you will always catch an assortment of species. </p>
<p>I fineese fish using jigs and plastics. I have the best luck on curly tail grubs, charlie brewer vibra tail grubs, and small 1 inch swim baits. I usally put on a crappie nibble or a gulp alive waxie on the hook for scent.</p>
<p> I fish out of a float tube, and I recently bought a cheap hand held fish finder which I want to try out asap. I also bought a new esp 6 foot power lite rod. I really want to see how sensitvie this rod is. I cant wait to go fishing</p> Yes Federico, I mean just tha…tag:bigbluegill.ning.com,2012-01-11:2036984:Comment:2325922012-01-11T02:45:19.507ZDavid, aka, "McScruff"https://bigbluegill.ning.com/profile/david553
<p>Yes Federico, I mean just that. I also use a bead above the weight.</p>
<p>The bait is important, too. Worms are the universal bait, and seem to be good for both bottom and column feeding sunfish, or so it seems. A few others are small shrimp for the bottom feeders and crickets or grubs/maggots for the column feeders.</p>
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<p>Yes Federico, I mean just that. I also use a bead above the weight.</p>
<p>The bait is important, too. Worms are the universal bait, and seem to be good for both bottom and column feeding sunfish, or so it seems. A few others are small shrimp for the bottom feeders and crickets or grubs/maggots for the column feeders.</p>
<p></p> Thanks guys for all the relie…tag:bigbluegill.ning.com,2012-01-11:2036984:Comment:2326932012-01-11T01:45:05.304Zfederico del torohttps://bigbluegill.ning.com/profile/federicodeltoro
<p>Thanks guys for all the relies I'll keep in mind that redears spawn earlier. What is the water temp that triggers the spawning?</p>
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<p>I agree with the water depth. anything shallow usually the smaller fish will get to your bait, I love to fish 10-20 foot depths except when I;m targeting rio grande cichlid the I would go shallow and really tight to cover. I have a brush pile that is still producing trophy fish right now in the middle of winter</p>
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<p>David, when you say…</p>
<p>Thanks guys for all the relies I'll keep in mind that redears spawn earlier. What is the water temp that triggers the spawning?</p>
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<p>I agree with the water depth. anything shallow usually the smaller fish will get to your bait, I love to fish 10-20 foot depths except when I;m targeting rio grande cichlid the I would go shallow and really tight to cover. I have a brush pile that is still producing trophy fish right now in the middle of winter</p>
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<p>David, when you say slider rig, is that a lindsey rig with a slider weight right after the swivel?</p>
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<p>Anthony, you are right when I use cricket I hardly get any redears, my biggest redear 13 3/4" came on a super mealworm</p> I see it as bottom feeding ve…tag:bigbluegill.ning.com,2012-01-11:2036984:Comment:2326822012-01-11T01:22:32.556ZDavid, aka, "McScruff"https://bigbluegill.ning.com/profile/david553
<p>I see it as bottom feeding versus column feeding. Shellcrackers, stumpknockers - these fish are more common near to the bottom.</p>
<p>But there does seem to be a universal connection to depth. Almost all the time the small piddlers are in the depths above 4 feet. 10-20 feet of water seems to be the magic zone for bigger fish. And right on the bottom with a slider rig is the place to catch Shellcrackers and their bottom dwelling kin. But, there is no surprise that you may catch a mix of…</p>
<p>I see it as bottom feeding versus column feeding. Shellcrackers, stumpknockers - these fish are more common near to the bottom.</p>
<p>But there does seem to be a universal connection to depth. Almost all the time the small piddlers are in the depths above 4 feet. 10-20 feet of water seems to be the magic zone for bigger fish. And right on the bottom with a slider rig is the place to catch Shellcrackers and their bottom dwelling kin. But, there is no surprise that you may catch a mix of fish. They are opportunistic and will follow the food.</p>
<p>However, I tend to see the selection for different species in terms of the two micro-environments mentioned, bottom and column environments. For example, shellcrackers here in SC are almost always targeted on the bottom with fishfinder rigs. Meanwhile, not 20 yards away, I'm catching spotties beneath a slip float.</p>
<p>Fish both and see what happens.</p>