best live bait for big gills

[Eric Jacocks]

anyone have any good suggestions ive been using crickets but i fish them like i use a fly let them crawl on the surface ive had some pretty nice size ones smash it but i wanna hook into even bigger ones

[James Chavis]

Try using live small crawfish. The big ones love them!! I fish them on bottom with a small weight about 2' above the bait so it can move around some and BAM...hold on for a fight!! I also tight line them sometimes and drag them across weed beds and shorelines...especially rocky shorelines and BAM BAM....hold on!! Also get smallies and LM like this. If I use a bobber...I set it just off the bottom a bit...works pretty good as well. Give 'em a try...you'll see what I mean...good luck!!

[Vincent Ventura]

try using salmon eggs on a size 10 hook smash down the barb add a tiny spit shot and a clip on pencil bobber big gills on the bed cant stand it

[Tom Beauchamp]

If you find yourself catching small fish, go down another foot or two, the little ones often suspend just above the big ones. This doesn't always hold true though, the last time I was out the big ones were above.

[Eric Jacocks]

thank you guys for these good ideas

[bluegillboogieman]

Also, Walt's recommendation of a tiny sinker was spot on. A single "B" sinker is tiny and a cricket falls slowly with it. That is good, plus when they suck it in they don't notice an unusual weight on the line. They can suck it in fast and spit it out fast. Same cocept with a light float. I like a porupine quill or balsa pencil float if porky ain't in season. They are both long and skinny and offer little resistance to a gills sensitivity. A light weight line and # 8 long shank hook on a real sensitve pole or rod and you are set. I caught mine Saturday in about 9 ft of water with my float set about 8 ft. Took a few seconds for the cricket to get down that deep, a nice slow, natural looking fall. If you get bored haulin' 'em in, (assuming you are fishing where they are) switch baits. Single hook a redworm or wiggler near one end, same set up but put it on the bottom now. Might get one of those 3 lb shellcrackers been on here lately. Good luck!

[bluegillboogieman]

Walt Foreman, your first reply to this has it right on. That is exactly how I fish and I rarely catch tiny ones. As to coming off the hook too easy, they are a tender bait. Try hooking them like I do. Insert the point of the hook behind the cricket's head under it's collar. Bring the point out the bottom of the collar, then TURN the point down and reinsert it into the abdomen. I've caught as many as 3 gills on a single cricket, although the last one was getting some strange looking leftovers. The point is, that is how good a live bait crickets are. Caught about 80 8 to 9 inchers Saturday just on crickets. It was so much fun I let every other one go.

[Changus]

Wax worms are by far the best for me when the visibility is low. I caught some on meal worms and small minnows though but they don't work as well for me.

[John Cachel]

leech is great bait and use few more BB shot and bigger float to let the bait down quickly deep to pass small fish to large bluegills. Many bass, walleye and catfish on leech for me! Great from late Spring to early Fall. Worms is almost all year around! Maggots and waxworm for ice fishing! Small minnows is also good, too!

[Kenneth Born]

oh, my opinion on crickets is that they are great in the morning and evening when they are surface feeding, otherwise personally I think they attract too many small gills and are stripped off the hook too easily. I might be fishing them wrong or even hooking them wrong when using them below the surface, but personally I prefer minnows or crawlers for under the surface gill action.

[Kenneth Born]

something I haven't seen where I live now but when I lived in NW Indiana worked great on the gills was bee-moths, little soft skinned larva about half inch long, I fished them about 3/4 way to the bottom about 10-15 feet from shore in places I knew the gills where bedding close to shore. in Arkansas here I use small minnows, about 2-3 1/2 inches long, fish them 5-10 feet from shore close to the bottom by beds, or nightcrawlers(1/2 - 1 inch lengths) at about the same depth and distance from shore. if you want more frequent hits try using an ice fishing jig with a nice bright color as a hook instead of a straight bait holder. or just a bright leadhead jig head, bluegill are sight predators so anything that will draw them in to your bait will help.