All Blog Posts (1,103)

I can actually participate again in BBG.  I've been going through withdrawal.

Assuming I still have a few minutes to fish an old reliable soft plastic or a new innovative jig......I have to have a place to document my results and catch it here first..........

Looking forward to a full season with Tripp's baits in tow......an incredible array of panfish splender.....follow it here on BBG.com in 2014........

I had tremendous success late last year after receiving some great baits from Dick......they are some incredible shrimp patterns in a wonderful collection of colors.......

James ties some beautiful bugs and I was stunned when I opened the box last month to see his baits in person.....He also ties some great jigs and we are both looking forward to see how things turn out........Find out here first......

From one Carolina to the next......we believe we are on to something here and I look forward to see what David's baits will do here in the other Carolina.......

No picture does his baits justice.......he has created them in all of my favorite colors and in several sizes as well......Throw in a Phyllis Diller or a Sunrise Spider and I think we're going to make some noise on the Albemarle this season.....

Allen has taken advantage of my personal love for jigs and has turned out some awesome baits for 2014.....I'm all stocked up and you can follow along here for the story of the "Mantis Jigs".........

I will follow the success of a great line of baits known affectionately as the "Silent Stingers".....New for 2014 are several refinements with the most significant for me being the creation of a # 6 bug........Will I ever be able to take off that Cotton Candy this year?........Fine out here first with testimony and great photos along the way......

This is where I will follow the 2014 results of some great bugs from Jim Gronaw's collection.....This is the third year that I will fish Jim's baits and it will be a challenge for other baits to top these proven baits such as the Gronaw Grass Shrimp and the Green Darner to name a couple.......

This was my first catch of a bluegill on artificial bait. It was a Trout Magnet grub. Up 'til now it's always been worms and the occasional scrounged-up grasshopper or cricket.

Shortly after, I got a crappie on the same bait. The fish was small but stout. I haven't seen a lot of crappie yet, but this one seemed really bulky and thick-muscled. It might grow up to be a really rewarding catch for someone.

A little after that, I snagged the grub and lost it, and…

My first cast with a fly rod was not brilliant, it was not even okay. To be honest it was downright terrible, but that's not the end of the story. I got given my fly rod on 14'th December 2013, I remember the day was cool and cloudy. I was a bit nervous casting the fly rod, to me there was always something special and almost magical about throwing a weightless fly. I had received some instructions from the person who gave me the rod, not very good or helpful. So I stripped some line form the…

I got to meet with Don today. He lives about 20 miles from me and we got together to tie a few flies and yak about fishing.

I also met his gracious wife, Dianne and shared a bowl of her home made, award winning chili... and they shared the secret recipe with me. The Schmotzers share a lovely, welcoming home and a long marriage spanning decades.

Don is the kind of fly tyer that likes his work to look as good as it fishes. He has a supply of tying materials that is to be envied,…

 have you ever  or somebody you fished with-- or some one fishing close to you-- knocked a fishing rod over board??  and its gone for good!!  a good little trick I just learned!!  take a chain metal stringer-  open up all of the hooks on it- except for the main one!! tie it onto you other fishing rod- and try to snag the one lost!! 

The area that comprises Greene-Sullivan State Forest lies divided between Eastern Sullivan, and Western Greene counties in South-Central Indiana, and was originally established in 1936 with a land donation of 3067 acres from the Indiana Central Coal Co. Further…

Got the book, "Simple Flies... Flies You Can Tie With Three Materials or Less," by C. Boyd Pfeiffer.

This is an interesting study in what is really essential. Mr. Boyd strips the fly types we know to their basic elements, proving simple can be as good as complicated.

How about an Upside Down Winged wet fly?

Bend-Back Streamer?

Coffee Bean Beetle?

They're in here. 

I got the book used on www.alibris.com. A lot of…

Adventure #2

I made a resolution for this year to have one fishing adventure every weekend, this is one of those New Year’s resolutions that will be easy to do.

I spotted a beautiful dam, using Google earth, deep in the hills. So this morning I set off, with my rod slung in its tube slung over my back, like a medieval great sword. I was sure I had forgotten nothing behind.

I started the long cycle, mostly uphill, to the dam. It was long,…

Jim Gronaw must surely be accustomed to wearing many hats.....husband, father, grandfather, talented outdoor writer, angler extraordinaire, and last but certainly not least, one of our very own moderators, right here at http://bigbluegill.com/ !

Residing in Westminster, MD., You're liable to find Jim Gronaw either casting a line at one of several local hotspots, or busily putting the finishing touches on his latest outdoor themed article. Jim's…

 Being a lifetime bluegill fisherman I often reflect on the past and what baits worked well in what type of conditions.....For many years, I would often just fish a plain hook with live bait or a plain ball jig tipped under a float and experienced great success in many different settings, whether that be the swamps and canals in southern Louisiana, farm ponds of friends and family, lakes and reservoirs throughout the south......I always had pretty good luck......I would occasionally pick up…

Blog Post #2

I decided on the spur of the moment to cycle

to the town dam this morning, so with my rod safely in the pvc pipe case I made. And all my stuff in a back pack. The cycle was tiring, but the scenery is beautiful. On my way there I disturbed a female…