Bill "Musky" Modica

Male

Kenosha, Wi.

United States

Profile Information:

What type of animal is a bluegill?: No...I live on a lake, and after my 2 hr ride home from work in the concrete jungle....it's my little piece of heaven.
What state are you from? This can help us get together for fishing trips!: Wisconsin

Comment Wall:

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patrick j mclaughlin

mine go to the garen great compost

Aug 29, 2009
mike rowden

I just watched your video Spoon Surprise and Blue Fox Spoon. Liked them both. Thanks for posting them. I have never fished with a spoon before, not even for walleye. I am going to give it a try. I'm in Mo. and am able to fish mostly all winter from a boat. Thanks again for the info.

Sep 2, 2009
Eric White

Bill been out to Green lake Yet?

Sep 15, 2009
seneca b

i threw up so much the perch stop bitn 4 real.out of the 30 ple on the boat at least 20 were hurln chunks so much we came in 1hr.1/2 early...lol

Sep 20, 2009
Rudy Reynosa (True Shot)

Hey Bill the boards are made by Neoflam . It also has Antimicrobial product protection,it's dishwasher safe, reversible use on both sides, non-porous, non-absorbent, doesn't slip on countertops, has a juice collecting groove all around the boards, and the beast thing is it dosent dull knives. I got mine in a pack of three from Peoples Bank because Iopend up a new chechikng account. For more info go to www.neoflam.com hope to see you get some till then Good fishing.

Oct 1, 2009
Dale Fortin

what is the best way i can catch lots of bluegill?

Oct 8, 2009
Brendon Geary

thanks you got some nice tunes urself

Oct 8, 2009
Dale Fortin

what is the best way for you to catch sunfish?

Oct 10, 2009
Dale Fortin

i have never fished at the finger lakes because i am in white plains, so it's kind of far.

Oct 11, 2009
Jim Gronaw

Hey Bill...Yeah, I'm a little hesitant to toss spoons in the brush because this is the same area where I slay slab crappie but lose a lot of jigs.

Sounds like you guys are doing a big move on the technology end of things, good for you all...keep me posted.

Oct 11, 2009
Dale Fortin

about what temp do you catch them?

Oct 13, 2009
Bruce Condello

...By the way, your music selection is awesome. Any chance of you coming out of retirement to do a bigbluegill theme? You and Sheehan could collaborate!!!!!!!! Think about it!!!
Delete Comment

Oct 15, 2009
Bruce Condello

I'll be chuckin spoons for big gills in about seven days!

Oct 15, 2009
Dale Fortin

"Big bluegills are biting spoons right now!.......Start chuckin" "start chunkin?"

Oct 31, 2009
Dale Fortin

i sent you a message (2, 2 be precice)

Oct 31, 2009
Dale Fortin

hpefully i didnt send too many of the same message it didnt say it was sending so idk if you got it. if you did and there are repeats just delete and im sorry.

Oct 31, 2009
Dale Fortin

i like pics #s 42,81. and pic #s 45,46. nice selection of spoons you got there.

Nov 2, 2009
Dale Fortin

what are the names of the lakes you go to? i wish there were about halph a dozen or more lakes in the white plains.

Dec 11, 2009
Greg McWilliams

Musky, how did yall get your boat out of the ice last week? Aaa I'm assuming you got it out? So are ya ice fishing yet?
Greg

Dec 12, 2009
Jeremy R. Mayo

Hey BiLL!!!!! Its been a while! Hope all is good in your neighborhood.

If she calls you could you be her big bluegill>>>>> SLEDGE HAMMER!

MAYO

Dec 15, 2009
Lance A. Cashler

Hey Bill, just a note to let you know that your videos are not only fun to watch, but very informative. For years my kids have always been finicky about fish if any bones are present, even the miniscule pin bones. I've taken up your cleaning method. The video worked.You definetly have a knack for teaching and entertaining. Anyway, thanks again.

Dec 29, 2009
Magnolia Rick

Bill thanks for the chat this Morning, I have been on a Texas pond form most of the afetnoon about my pond. Seem I just need to try and keep feeding and the real review will be in the spring. Keep the foxes away from your catch lol Magnolia Rick

Jan 2, 2010
cameron rogers

thanks i like your music to

Jan 10, 2010
cameron rogers

can you give me any advice about ice fishing

Jan 10, 2010
Jeremy R. Mayo

I was gonna ask something but Sledge hammers got me bobbin my head and I forgot!

Feb 19, 2010
Jeremy R. Mayo

Next time Im gonna have a trick for that joker in my box of goodies

Feb 21, 2010
Jim Gronaw

Hey Bill...that slab was caught in the mild Feb of 2008 when we had no ice cover that winter. Now, we got thin ice with a bunch of snow on it...can't fish. I'm hopin to got to the hot water sometime this week if the weather co-ops.

Feb 22, 2010
donald w canady

hey mod how are you, i was wondering how well do those underwater cams work , we dont have ice fishing here but i think it may help to locate crappie here in the winter time, thanks

May 4, 2010
John Sheehan

Bill- Immediately recognized your voice on the Johnnie Wilkins radio Blog.Seen enough of your vids to have your distinctive voice patterns in my head. It was great hearing you talk about gill fishing!
Hope alls well with you!
John

May 27, 2010
james r baun

hay bill i found this site last night and was watching your videos i have been fishin delavan must every day i love the gills but the bites been slow all week been fishin the south end. i was hammerin them bull gills for few week and alot of northers 28 to 40"

Jan 28, 2011
james r baun

i am going to have to start bringing a camera with fishin the pic thats on here my buddy took of me its the only i have of me fishin good luck fishin everyone

Jan 28, 2011
Rob Garner

Bill you ever ice fish geneva at all.

Feb 8, 2011
Greg Rogers

Thanks! i did fish the ice there 4 times this year. Only found some nicer gills one day. My biggest this winter there was 9 3/8. Kept looking for the 10's but they seem to be fewer the last couple years. 2 years ago there was a die off of big gills shortly after iceout and I don't think they've recovered yet. May have been VHS but I think it happened at a time when no one noticed so no research was thought to be necessary. I mentioned it to the DEC and they put it off as "winter kill". I did better on the perch over there and actually caught a couple of decent walleyes. The bass seem to be running larger as well. The snow and wind around here was tough this year. I actually live on Silver Lake. You can fill a bucket here any day but very few will truly approach 9. I hear about loads of 9's but any time you actually see them or put a tape on "em , they're only 7 to 8 1/2's. I just love catching them on the light rods

Mar 13, 2011
Patrick "Bullworm" Olson

Mod, Great article in the newest In-Fisherman!! You are the "Spoon-Man"! A little Soundgarden refrence there!

Apr 2, 2011
BCrowe

Hey Bill, loved the article is In-Fisherman! My dad hooked me on bream fishing as a young child and it's still my favorite fish to chase!
I live in Alabama on a deep clear water lake, never had much success catching bluegills in our lake but I'm anxious to give your technique a try.
I was wondering if you had ever had a chance to try your technique anywhere in the south where the water temp doesn't fall as low in the winter and heats up sooner in the spring.
My dad and I usually take a bream fishing trip every spring to an old oxbow lake off the Mississippi river called Lake Washington in Greenville, MS. The bream in that lake are huge
But can be very fickle to catch. Th lake is relatively shallow (only about 20 feet at it's deepest point) and has tons of shoreline cover. The west bank of the lake has cypress trees from the upper to the lower end of the lake.
These cypress trees extend out from the bank into the lake anywhere from 20-100 yards from the shoreline. Most of the fish we have caught have been amongst these trees fishing with crickets.
My question to you is if you where fishing this lake for the first time would you start at the upper shallow end of the lake and work your way down along the tree lines or would you suggest looking at a topo map
and starting where the old river channel meets the treeline? I've been fascinated looking at your YouTube videos and can't wait to try this technique out for myself. Thanks again for sharing. Bobby Crowe (email: bobbycrowe5@hotmail.com)

Apr 29, 2011
Greg McWilliams

Morning Mr. Musky, I would like to help with your "BUCKET List" on an OKIE PUMKINSEED!!!!! Then I want to come up that way and you take me for a boat ride when it is an ICE BREAKER!!!!! That looked like fun!!!!!! :-)

May 12, 2011
Rob Hilton

Hi Bill... I have a question... I am interested in trying your spoon methods here in California for some of the Bull Gills ... We catch lots of hand size fish but there are some Monsters here... and I think they may go for the spoons if fished properly.

I'm having trouble finding a single hook with a large enough eye to accommodate the split ring. My Question... If I cut two hooks from a small treble leaving a single behind... do you think that would throw the lure or hook off balance... I.E. It wouldn't run properly... Typically wat size hook do you use...

By the way I found some interesting spoons at hofmanns lure.com quite pricey but looked like they would do the job very well.

Thanks for any suggestions...... Rob

Jun 12, 2011
Rob Hilton

Hi Bill...

The only spoons I could find (and I'm not sure if they qualify) were needlefish by Luhr Jensen. The hook is a single (which was the main reason for my buying them) and if you lay the lure on the table with concave side or if you prefer, the unpainted side UP... the hook rides up... it comes with a small willow leaf blade. I had some nice gills with it yesterday... But had problems setting the hook. Went to half a crawler but still missed a bunch... did a little better with meal worms... but missed a lot there too. To be absolutely honest... I have never fished them before and really wasn't sure how to retrieve the lure... tried reeling it straight in and also tried up and down zig zag...... the lure is very light and took a while to get down where I wanted it. I see incredible potential for spoons here in California... like I said before I don't know if Needlefish qualify as a spoon... But I did well enough to make me want to try and get better at it. Thanks for your advice... by the by... I couldn't find those Eagle Claw hooks anywhere ? Regards Rob...

Jun 14, 2011
Nathanael Deloach

I happened to pick up the in-fisherman magazine on a whim a few months ago and was more then pleased to see your article in there. Well Done! I enjoyed the information greatly. I have known of your spooning methods ever since I joined this web site 2 years ago but never considered trying it until I read your article. Keep up the good Gill work!

Jun 16, 2011
Jeffrey D. Abney

Thanks for your comments Bill. The Limit in my home state is 30 per person and my family is in on vacation so my dad and nephew have joined me the past couple of weeks. 30 isn't the target and I actually don't keep the limit very often since there is no better tasting fish than fresh! Growing up in Louisiana we had no size or creel limit and my father catches more quality and numbers in locations that my family has fished for more than 75 years. I fish a spectacular "catch and release" park in Virginia but it turns out Hurricane Isabel ravaged that fishery in one morning. Its now starting its comeback 8 years later. In the South, preserving the wetlands is more significant than an ethical fisherman enjoying his favorite past time. By the way I'm jealous of those temperatures, we're back in the 90s with nasty humidity. I enjoy your page and you catch some bruisers up there on spoons. Also enjoyed the bedding video, that was cool! Good luck to you this week Bill.

Jun 23, 2011
Jeffrey D. Abney

Bill is your profile picture gill from Lake Geneva? I was just interested in the story behind this fish. Its a beautiful Bluegill by the way! Thanks

Oct 19, 2011
Jeffrey D. Abney

Thanks Bill. I've never fished the midwest for anything. I find it very interesting the different techniques that fishermen employ to catch our beloved bluegill. I'm definitely going to try the spoons just to add some diversity to my fishing. Look forward to the folks from the North keeping things going on Bigbluegill.com because we'll be slowing significantly in Carolina in a few short weeks. I'll still be out there trying!

Oct 20, 2011
Craig Eckerman

Yes, pure yellow! Will post a picture soon! It was quite a surprise!

Nov 13, 2011
Joe Shallbetter

Bill I have yet to find your artificial on spoon fishing for Big Bluegills but have seen lots good comments.

How can I can get a copy?

Also where do you get your spoons? Any "I cannot live without" ones.

Any you would recommend for Kentucky Lake? Little or no weeds.

Thanks

Dec 6, 2011
Greg McWilliams

Bill, You are a Talented Angler, Lucky enough to live in a GREAT FISHING LAND!!! One of these days I want one of those PUMPKIN SEEDS!!! They are a BEAUTIFUL FISH!!!!!

Dec 13, 2011
dink dailey

thank for the invite in az most of the lakes are stocked a couple times a month we fish alot with kastmaster,and powerbait,

Dec 15, 2011
Bill Wiswald

Thanks Musky Mod,

I joined this site after reading your Lake Link post.

I live in Trevor-just north of you. My wife and I moved here in 92 after living in Antioch for 15 years-We lived in Morley's New venice sub. off of north ave. We were on the channel that some call Trevor creek but I refered to as north shore creek.I fished the chain daily for 15 years and caught a lot of nice fish.Its been the last 10 years or so I have been spending most of my time on Geneva-Delavan-or Powers.I'm looking forward to fish Catherine and Channel when I get back- I don't care what anyone says about the chain- I will eat the blues I catch through the winter and early spring any day of the week.I look forward to meeting you some day either on the ice or in the boat.

Bill Wiswald. (Ponytailbill)

Jan 14, 2012
Terry Marker

Looking forward to learning more about spooning for bluegill. I love fishing for them.

Jan 18, 2012
James Sullivan aka Jimmy/Sully

Thanks Bill ! !

one of these days perhaps we will connect... socially or on the water.. I do want to try Geneva this year.. where do you normally launch out of?? and do you have a "normal" weekly adventure over that way? I know I have seen your name on Sterling as well... I am available ANY weekday if you have an open seat, anywhere.. The water should warm up soon ! !

Hope to meet you one o' these days..

Jimmy

Apr 27, 2012
Robert Eskew Jr

Bill, after reading your article in In-fisherman magazine I had to give it a try on one of my favorite bluegill lakes, Devils Kitchen in southern Illinois. After gathering all the required equipment ( I didn't even own a spoon) and modifying the spoons with Mustad hooks. I set out on the lake yesterday morning to give this technique a try. After trying a couple spots that I knew the bluegill used, I finally connected with my first spoon bluegill, a little 7" female. As I continued and was figuring out a pattern, I found I was having the best luck fishing the spoon parallel to the grass edges in this very deep and gin clear lake. The spoon I was having the best luck with was an 1/8 ounce silver Kastmaster tipped with a 1" berkley gulp alive minnow in chartreuse, the majority of the bites were coming on the initial fall. Ended up finishing the day with 14 bluegill and 3 monster redear. Thanks Bill for this technique and insight, it has certainly changed the way I fish and has added an entirely new element to my fishing. If you ever find yourself in southern Illinois and would like to try an extremely beautiful lake give me holler, I would love to share a boat with the "Spoon Man". God bless Bill.
Robert Eskew

Jul 4, 2012