Nice Spoon Gill

Comment

Comment by Tommy Winton on September 2, 2009 at 3:14am

Nice fish on the spoon. I havent gotten that technique down pat yet but hoping one day. Nice color also.

Comment by Jim Gronaw on September 1, 2009 at 7:38pm

Hey Bullworm, I don't know the exact dynamics and environs of the lakes you fish, but I am assuming they are all natural lakes and that the species are somewhat consistant from one body of water to the next in terms of predator/ prey relationships. You may have found a reason as to why the gills vacate one area in pursuit of another.

In MD and southern PA, almost all lakes are man-made, and have a diverse set of environs per lake...some have rocks, some have weeds, some have flooded timber, clear and off-colored water. Some have all and some only have a few characteristics, and yet some, like quarries, have their own set of circumstances. All this can make for tough choices, even on the panfish front, when choosing tactics and techniques for big gills.

In Delaware, most of the public venues are small, canoe style millponds that are no deeper than 8 feet and less than 100 acres. Dark, tannic water is the norm and the catch is almost always a shallow presentation of some sort. I question whether spoons would work there in any season other than the spring due to exccessive and overwhelming weedgrowth during the summer that doesn't die out until mid winter.

Also, in this part of the world, the largemouth bass is the dominant predator for most of the panfish species, to include bluegills, and, other than millpond chain pickerel, toothy critters are not in the mix very much. My spoon experience is scant, but I like the results and I am sure there are times when it would be the primo tactic, even if other techniques are working also. My guess is that every lake is different and has its own set of conditions for spooning.

Sorry to ramble...see ya!

Comment by Patrick "Bullworm" Olson on September 1, 2009 at 9:53am

Nice "spoonage" Jim! I'm trying the spoon frequently but come up with those dang walleyes and pike up here! I know gills use deep water up north here but my timing maybe off a bit. I believe that gills are sometimes forced out of the abyss due to high predator consentration..walleyes and pike, and take cover in shallower water with weeds. And when the walleyes and pike move in to feed late in the day, the gills head back to deep water. Am I somewhat correct in my hypothesis here?

Comment by Jim Gronaw on September 1, 2009 at 6:10am

I don't lose too many lures, John, as a lot of my fishing is in areas that don't have much cover other than weed growth. At Piney Run, I'll lose lots of jigs as I fish off of a 110 ft pier I built that we placed alot of brush and timber in and around.

Comment by John Sheehan on September 1, 2009 at 5:34am

Great Fish! From shore huh...you dont lose a lot of lures ?

Comment by Rob Garner on August 31, 2009 at 9:31pm

Nice gill as always jim