The Phenomenon of the color PINK in Brackish Waters for Sunfish......

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

As an active member of Bigbluegill.com the last several years, I have learned a lot and shared many ideas that have proven successful for Sunfish in the waters I fish. Prior to becoming a member I had several secrets that remained in my pocket and only my closest fishing buddies had ever even shared in this success. This isn't to say others weren't fishing the same baits in a similar style and catching fish or using baits of their choice and finding similar success.  I was a young kid with numerous anglers in my extended family and I learned early from my grandpa Foster Abney, who always told me to listen when I got around fishermen and think about things that might help me or work where I was fishing.  I was fortunate to be pretty close with an Uncle on my mother's side of the family that lived one town over in Southeastern Louisiana. He grew up and lived near the banks of the Tcefuncte River in the small town of Madisonville, Louisiana and only fished two bodies of water during his eighty plus year life.  A fact that many folks close to him never knew is he fished live grass shrimp for some 60 to 70 years and I couldn't begin to tell you how many Bluegill, Shellcracker, Warmouth and Crappie that he caught over the years.   One Thanksgiving day in the early 1970s as our 100 member family assembled in Folsom, Louisiana for the best dinners we ever ate, Uncle Kenny walked out to an acre pond that was dug on the family farm to stock with fish for the 20 plus grandkids in the Sharp family.  I was there casting a beetle spin when he asked if I had a scoop net with me. I did and we went over to some grass beds near the shore and made a quick scoop and filled a bucket up with little crustaceans called Grass Shrimp. He said put a cork and a bream hook on there and let me show you something. I eagerly followed his instructions and a few moments later we were pulling out big bluegill one after another.  This went on for quite some time and my Uncle explained if you ever run out of Grass Shrimp "Jeffie" and can't find more, take a pink soft plastic jig and fish that in the same areas. He explained that I wouldn't be disappointed and don't be afraid to tip the hook with a worm, grasshopper or a cricket if you have some.  I went home armed with the advice and went through seven or eight tackle boxes my dad and I had but no pink in any of them. I couldn't believe it but surely I'll find some the next time at the bait shop.  A few short days later my dad and I visited the local bait shop and I rushed the fishing tackle, both shelves and found two packs of little curly tails that had a mix of white and pink, they were mine and I was excited to let Uncle Kenny know I had found some and was eager to try them as soon as I could. His only clue was Pink was the best match for live grass shrimp in our brackish waters. He explained saltwater anglers have realized it for some time but freshwater fishermen have failed to make the correlation and they are truly missing out. In the weeks ahead I will go into detail how I fish these jigs and hopefull answer many of the questions I have received about the mystery of pink.

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

So all my preparations are complete and I'm eager for the arrival of the remaining members of Team Abney. Handfuls of different pink jigs are getting crushed in 1 to 4 feet of water and many of the fish are approaching a solid pound......I'm counting down on my work calendar ready to shut off my work cell and threaten all my employees with bodily harm if they even consider entering a North Carolina area code.....LOL...I work in Virginia!

So as Memorial day weekend draws closer, fishing trips are accompanied by threatening skies on occasion as day time heating fuels thunderstorms......By now my family down South is making final preps to visit North Carolina and I'm finalizing my early scouting on local rivers logging miles in the Bluegill Chariot and planning out my first fishing vacation of the season, an extended Memorial Day weekend.......Water temperatures are stable now above 70 degrees and Coppernose are pushing shallow everywhere and providing viscous fishing.......I'm checking all the little details on my boat so we can fish hard daily when my family arrives.......

So with a mild winter an average rain and temperatures.....I have one of my best MAYs ever....catching over a 1000 gills and setting up nicely for the second best month of the year....JUNE.....On my list, MAY ranks third for quality gill fishing but is normally more comfortable than the Summer months so that shouldn't be lost on it all either........Spectacular Bluegill fishing is underway and many different baits will catch fish but I just happen to enjoy and believe in pink jigs.......You don't have to spend a fortune to give them a try next spring in your neck of the woods....Please share your results in this discussion when you do.....Thanks in advance and the June Ice breaker will be here soon!

[Leo Nguyen]

I don't think any one of us can beat you in any month Jeffrey. However, your capture rate from the months of great harvest indicate greatly of their feeding habits and their preferred food sources in the wild. Keep the info coming!

[Jacob Hill]

Awesome post!

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

Thanks Jacob...

[Tony Livingston]

Jeffrey I worry about you.... you already fish more, post more fish photos, and talk about fishing more than anyone I know....and you haven't retired yet. Being passionate about one's hobby is great, but wow, you take it to another level entirely. I love to BG fish no doubt, but I don't ever see myself devoting that much time to it, even if I had that kind of time available. I would be afraid that I was missing out on some aspect elsewhere in my life.

I enjoy reading your posts, (although I admit to wondering sometimes if your fish might be taken on an old cigarette butt painted pink and tipped with a cricket!), and I look forward to your future exploits.

I've got to ask though...what do you have planned for retirement????

[Leo Nguyen]

You know what Tony, Jeffrey has his hobby dialed in. I mean..stocked, locked, and loaded as a pro game chaser for the locals and out-of-towners when he retires. With his knowledge of fishing in his waters, like you, I worry about him too since he turned into a powerful fish-whisperer. I wonder what would happen to all the fish when we finally get a chance to fish there? LOL

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

Appreciate it Tony.....Retirement promises a mix of trips that Helen and I want to take......I'll have to trade a week on the Ozark lakes for the Bahamas or a Sandals resort....but that'll be cool......Possibly park the Bluegill Chariot for a Disney Cruiseliner but again if I'm retired there will be plenty time......Officially I have retired once,  22  years of Naval Submarine Service but that just set me up for my current position......It's all good....I do 90% of the cooking in our home by request......We have date night several times a month and three grandchildren between the ages of one and five.  I have attended more than 100 nascar races, sailed around the world twice and been to 27 different countries, none that I like more than the good old USA.......My Grandfather was the Sheriff when I was growing up, he and several others inspired me to be the best at what ever I did...... Bluegill fishing provides many things and it's just a part of my Personal Mastery.......All of this and much more before the age of 48......as long as I get 6 hours sleep a night.....I'm good to do it all again.....It doesn't work that way for everyone, but the best part of a free world is setting my own priorities and enjoying our freedoms, that's the pay back for defending it for 22 years....I didn't get to fish as often back then but that will not happen again as long as I have my health......Thank you all......

[DAVID L EITUTIS]

WELL JEFFREY YOU ONCE AGAIN surpassed my wildest expectations with this last post!!!!!! Your style us just like my favorite author , ROBERT RUARK!!!!! I unlike some don't worry about you having no interests other than fishing cause I know better! The Grandkids, church, and all else that goes into ones life, unseen by most.
Your pics and comments are lengthy and I appreciate it for one and I know I'm not the only one on here either!
Another reason I don't worry about you is" LITL" . MY intuition tells me that she looks out for you in all aspects of life and shares in some of your hobbies too like crabbing!
I KNOW ALSO that you could retire and haven't as yet for what ever reason: that is probably a good thing for the gill , crappie, flyer, populations in your parts not to mention all the other species you catch incidentally . I"m glad you haven't retired yet and have a selfish reason, THERE WILL STILL BE SOME FISH LEFT THERE WHEN I ARRIVE IN MAY 2013 !!!!!!!!
TIGHT LINES BUDDY
TOOTY

[Tony Livingston]

That's good to hear Jeffrey, I won't worry that you're going to burn out before you do decide to retire! This particular commentary between us has got me to thinking, but I'll save it for a new post so I don't hijack yours any further...

[Jim Gronaw]

I have been retired for almost three years now, and I can't keep up with Jeffrey even when he's working! I have been very fortunate to have some outstanding waters near my home...about two dozen private lakes/ponds and another 5 smaller, public lakes that are just too delicate to expose for public review. And that is within a 30 mile radius of my home. But oh how I wish I was at the doorstep of larger, public venues like the tannin-stained rivers or N Carolina and other coastal regions.

Being a freelance outdoor writer for several publications means I have to be a multi-species angler, and I cannot always key in on my favorite fish...the bluegill...or else I would never sell material to these publications. It certainly is not a occupation that one can make a living on, but it helps to pay for my habit! Currently I have to produce 64 columns a year for two newspapers and one regional outdoor magazine in the Mid Atlantic, along with a few features a year for the In Fisherman magazine. Although I would like to devote as much attention to bluegills as possible, I still have to write about bass, trout, crappies, catfish, carp, pickerel, smallmouths, kids fishing, striped bass and as many other topics that I can report on.

And despite all those other species out there that we all love to catch...I still would rather go gillin' than any of the rest.

When it comes to bluegills...SOME KIDS NEVER GROW UP!

[Jeffrey D. Abney]

Well put Jim on all accounts!

[Tony Livingston]

PINK....it's not just found at Victoria's Secrets anymore.....

Give it a shot........try it in your own water. I firmly believe that good BG fishing is within a few miles of most of the BBG membership. I also don't believe that there is a singularly consistent, perfect BG bait...but you need to experiment, and pink is a good place to start.  It catches fish for me......