All Blog Posts (1,103)

BEEN ITCHING TO FISH AT NIGHT, BUT SCHEDULE HASN'T ALLOWED. SO, I GOT UP & GOT TO  MY NIGHT FISHING SPOT, AT LEAST 2 HOURS BEFORE DAYLIGHT. NEAR FULL MOON. IN DOWNTOWN PARK WITH A LOT OF LIGHTING NEARBY. CAUGHT THE BOWFIN, RIGHT AT DAYLIGHT. CAUGHT THE BIGGEST BULLHEAD(ALMOST 12") WITH A 3" GILL(DON'T KNOW WHY THE SUNFISH BIT AT NIGHT - GUESS HE COULDN'T…

OK, looks like July 2, 2012 will go down as one of the all-time great panfishing days in history with a slew of high-end specimen of many species hitting the board tonight. Congratulations to all! Here's how my day went, the short version...

I hit a pond at about 3:30 pm that we had caught big red ears from in the past...had caught my previous PR there two springs ago. Saw some big fish bedding 2 weeks prior but could not get them to bite ANYTHING! The bluegill were still on bed, and…

    I have been bitten by the fly tying bug. I'm told the bite is vicious, and the effects can be long lasting. My only source of cheap flies has moved, and now Bass Pro seems to be my only other option for flies that I can actually see before buying. I have tried tying some jigs with no real success. I guess a bench vise doesn't work as well as a fly tying vice? Like I mentioned in a earlier post, my jigs came out looking like a mad cat that had been dipped in water. I tried using hair from…

CAUGHT ON A 3" BERKLEY MINNOW WITH A POGY TAIL FIRETIGER. WAS PITCHING IT UNDERHAND WHERE THE WATER FALLS OUT OF A SMALL DAM. ALMOST NO WATER WAS COMING OUT & I SAW SOME BIG FISH. I THREW IT UP AGAINST THE WALL & BAM I HAD ON A NICE FISH. ANYONE HAVE A NET? NOPE. ONE GUY LAUGHED NOW WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO. I WAS FISHING ON A HILL 15' ABOVE THE WATER. THIS IS AN INTERMEDIATE ARE WITH ANOTHER STEP DOWN WITH 3' OR ROCKS BEFORE YOU HIT WATER WITH THE LOW WATER CURRENTLY. THERE WAS A…

I have been getting a lot of response and questions about the simple-to-tie grass shrimp hairjig patterns that Jeffrey Abney is having so much success with in North Carolina. Believe me, I never thought such a simple, easy to tie pattern would prove so deadly, but I am nonetheless delighted with our success with them. In the photo above are several olive/ green / gray…

I just had such a good experience buying a fly rod that I want to give public recognition to Ron at Hook and Hackle (hookhack.com). I ordered a Bug Launcher outfit on Friday night for my daughter and she needed to get it by Friday to take on a trip with her. Ron saw to it that it shipped from TFO's warehouse by expedited shipping and got it here on Thursday! Way to go!



Have yet to try it out, but the Bug Launcher feels great just in my hand. Went with the 7' 4/5 wt as recommended by…

I think i have really found gold!!! the spot i been fishing for the last month has been awesome,never seen so many big bluegill and shell cracker,and the amount im catching crazy. 30 of some of the biggest bluegill i ever seen. their wasnt a baby in site and hasnt been this whole month. today the sun was high and it was hot.most days i hit the honey hole between 7 or 8 but i was their before noon today and they were hitting my cricket as if the never seen one before in the hot sun no…

theirs alot of thing that happen around me on a daily that reminds me of my granddad.  still live in his old house. he was a very well known and respected man. he was a bluegill angler,nothing else. he tault me alot about fishing and fishing for bluegill. he love the fish so much when he died the pic of him at the ceromony was him hoding up two bluegill from his favorite lake. i been doing alot of fishing lately,but a week ago i cault the biggest bluegill i ever seen in my life. before i…

im not trained to use jigs or any fake bait. only live bait is wat im use to. whats a good bluegill jig or lure and how to use it

I had to take my kayak out today.  It was a beautiful morning, with light winds.  Perfect morning to take my fly rod out to play with the sunnies.  Here’s a shot of the first spot I was headed to:



[IMG]http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/7460/20120624prettywaterlake.jpg[/IMG]



I tossed a bug around for a bit.  Had a few takes, but only connected with one fish, a Warmouth.  It hit the popper a…

Managing big bluegill



Bull Bluegill a rare breed indeed!

By Mike Pehanich

“One-pound bluegill!” cried my boyhood fishing buddy, Bill Auten. He had just returned from his aunt’s cottage at Camp Lake, Minnesota, and, with youthful zeal, we were already plotting a sales pitch to our dads to fish there together the following…

 Folks have been taking advantage of information sharing on this site since it's inception.....I personally approach bluegill fishing like I can learn something from every member on this site...That's 3200 pieces of information that I can employ in my pursuit of the different Sunfish species.......Many things are important to me but I protect my family and my Bluegill fishing with a passion........I feel that three things make me a successful bluegill angler almost year round as I work to…

I've been more into the saltwater since mid May but have been doing some local freshwater fishing.

2 days within the past 3 weeks I took it easy close to home by going to the local river system. A Rapala Husky Jerk HJ-6 is what was getting me a number of rock bass. Those aggressive redbreasts are starting to go crazy for anything they see. Have caught a few with one being a strong 6 incher.

Still sticking mostly with saltwater for now but will still be getting…

Logan and I got to get back out on the water last night for an hour or so with one of my best friends.  The boat ran like a champ and I believe I resolved the fuel line/tank issues.  Headed straight for a spot that I thought was going to hold fish and we had the first fish on within 10 minutes of getting on the lake.  The first cast went down before it ever hit the water…

Despite all the challenges at home these days, featured member Jim Gronaw took the time to make and send me some great hair jigs and grass shrimp in pink for me to try in my local waters..Been out twice since I received them and it is with great satisfaction that I report tremendous success on the blackwater rivers with Jim's creations......Great talent and a good imagination can create the luck every fisherman is hoping for....Thanks again Jim for the kind gesture.....Here are a few…

I bought the city permit for this lake today.  I went up there to fling a fly around, and maybe dunk some minnows if the fly fishing slowed down.



As I walked to the spot I was going to fish, I noticed a bunch of small grasshoppers in the grass.  I made a note to try my hopper pattern, but I wanted to start off with a chartreuse popper.  I got set up on a floating platform, and since it's in a corner, I have access to two banks, plus the shaded side of the walkway leading to the…

I just wanted to show you guy's my Carp that I have caught in my 2yrs of fishing for them. Some of these Carp I waited for 5hrs from peck to set hook. Carp are nowhere near dumb like everyone think's this Fish are very smart they will shy away from a hook in a second. I don't have many Carp under my belt but I did do pretty good in just 2yrs. I have caught a total of 25 carp and missed 30, some picture's I'am not able to find. I was using a Bread dipped in honey I would take the end's off…

Got a late start Saturday morning.  Couldn't wait to get the kids out on the water.  They were as ready as I was.  Dropped the boat about 8:30 but it would not start.  I went twice last week and no issues but it just would not start.  Dropped the trolling motor and went on out to a couple of close spots so we could get some lines in the water.  Got about 6 lines out and started slow trolling a cove.  No takers so I decided to head out to a little deeper water and attempt to start the boat…

On occasion, I work in the windy city.....one of my superiors asked me if I wanted to see a cool fish market...I said yes. We stopped at the corner of Halsted and Fulton Place for a peek....this place was awesome....it was literally a self serve fish market.....all types of fresh fish laying on crushed ice....everything I put a nose to smelled very fresh....Walleyes, Crappies, Sunfish, Striped Bass, Perch....this place was the bomb....grab a pair of gloves, a plastic bag....grab what you…

Looks like I missed a good chance.  I did not measure or weigh the fish.  I did, however, release it.  So I will have another chance.  I am heading out this weekend again.