The most important thing you can do to catch a nice mess of Bluegills.

[Tony Livingston]

Okay.....I'm curious, and would like to get everyone's thoughts on this....

What do you think is the single most important thing you can do to improve your odds of catching nice Bluegills consistently? ONE THING.....any aspect of BG fishing, but only one item per person...what do you hold critical to success above all else????

I know what I think, now I want to know what YOU think................

[jim cosgrove]

fish where the fish are.the wild big gills are getting harder to find so when you do find em let them big males go and remember loose lips sink ships.now is the time to do research for when the weather changes.go to local baitshops ,listen in,chase rumors and gossip.i find as i get older that a lot of public waters that do not allow big boats or gas engines are good places to scout.if you have clear water like pits and quarries just go as soon as it starts to warm up and stay on the north side and walk the shore with good sun glasses and just take your time and look.even if you don't get a take you will usually get a good look and no where to go when it gets warmer.i have also noticed most i know who fish like to fish where they can launch their big bass boats so stick to the quiter places for panfish as they are less spooky.i now return to places i fished as a young man that everyone assumes are fished out and i encourage this this thinking.

[Tony Livingston]

Others have alluded to it on this thread, but Jim Cosgrove puts it down in print very nicely!

[Jason Preslar]

yes sir, good reply. This is one of my favorite tactics: finding and utilizing places that nobody else fishes! Keep these places to yourself, I've always tried to live by this rule: "You learn more from listening than you do talking".

[Tony Livingston]

My tackle box.....exposed. It's ready for a spring cleaning and restocking of some terminal tackle, but the only thing missing are some of the homemade floats I'm experimenting with. Every piece of tackle I currently own is in here. The two smaller boxes in the lower right contain ice jigs.

 

 

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

A nice collection....now I know what I need if I ever get to fish Pound Class Hybrids! LOL

[Tony Livingston]

I'd be willing to bet that you have all you need to catch big hybrids right now, Jeffrey!

[Allen Morgan]

Keep a log of your fishing trips!

I do this.  I record where I went, when (arrival and departure), water level or flow rate, water temp, water clarity, weather, wind speed/direction, moon phase, and I have a slot for air pressure but don't record anything (yet, gonna get a portable barometer).  Then, I record how much, or what species, I caught on X technique, colors of lures, etc.  Any oddball info that I think might help also gets mentioned.

I haven't actually run some cross-referencing on these records, but what it does, is to put the info into my mind for further processing.

I've been keeping logs of my trips for several years now.  Things are starting to click, and I'm figuring out patterns for some of my favorite holes.  This past year was just a taste.  THIS year should see some significant hauls.

[Tony Livingston]

Okay, for my money the most important thing you can do to ensure a successful BG outing? Fish productive water. It sounds simple, but oftentimes there's quite a bit more to it than what appears on the surface. Baits are important, technique plays a critical role, timing shouldn't be overlooked.......but I believe that the water, and the fish that live in that water, are the foundation that everything else rests on. I think it's like building a winning racecar... tuning up the engine is certainly important, but that's not where most car builders start. They begin with the chassis, or frame, and work up from there. I consider successful BG fishing to be much the same.

All of the fancy jigs or name brand rods won't enable you to catch good Bluegills consistently if there's none to be found in the water you're fishing. And, just because there are smaller Bluegills present, doesn't always mean that the larger ones are there too. But productive water doesn't always mean water where big BG's are found, at least to me. It can also mean water where the bigger fish are cooperative....and lots of times that is a function of angling pressure. A BOW or area where fishing pressure is heavy, can sometimes lead to conditioned fish....especially where catch and release is the order of the day. Other members mentioned the importance of selecting the appropriate pond or lake to try your luck, even going as far as seeking out those areas that other anglers avoid, or that don't receive much pressure, and I couldn't agree more.

I feel that unpressured fish can take a lot of the pressure off the angler as well. And this is probably more relevant to the bank fisherman, who tends to utilize the same spots as everyone else, due to convenience or practicality. Boat ramps, docks, and piers can provide some good fish that are attracted to the structure....but they also tend to attract other anglers as well. I've caught good fish off a dock at certain times of the year, but many times those areas give up a lot of smaller fish also, and I feel that may be due to angling pressure. The fish have become conditioned to anglers, and their methods. Sometimes you can overcome this by switching things up.....changing baits or methods to something the fish haven't seen day in and day out. And if you know you're fishing somewhere that holds good fish, it's worth a try.

Myself, I prefer to search out a better spot. Either a different BOW, or even a different spot on the same BOW. This is where the boat angler has the advantage....ultimate mobility, and the means to search out those unpressured fish. But all is not lost for a savvy bank angler either....I tend to hit the brush and get my feet wet, looking for a promising spot.....one that looks like it hasn't seen another human being in years. That's where I want to fish, and if my efforts lead me to believe that good fish are to be found there, then it's time to fine tune my approach.....that's when the gear, the lures, and the techniques come into play.

[wag]

      

   -----> excellent  informatiom <-----    -----> well  said <-----  

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

Good information and advice Tony....

[Bill Purmort]

Get off your butt and actually go fishing...the rest will come

[Vince Fusco]

Pick one body of water known to produce big gills and learn it well. Sometimes fishermen seem to run from one body of water to another, based on "reports," and do not have the proper knowledge of that body of water to catch the better gills.Each body of water is different, although some of the basic principles of catching big gills remain the same, no mater where a person fishes.