Do you love big bluegill?

I could sure use some Bluegill advise..

I have been fishing an abandoned company pond since last year, primarily I have been catching Bass, but I caught several monster Bluegill last year, one tipping the scale at just over 2 pounds..I caught those few on a Rapala minnow..I would love to get advise on a more reliable lure/bait. I'm fishing an 8 acre pond, with a center depth of about 45 feet. The water is fairly clear to very lightly stained, if that matters..Any help would be appreciated.

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Comment by John "Formerly Pig Man" Waldrop on March 28, 2014 at 2:59pm: There are only two rules to follow, because of the corporation that owns the property, there can be no firearms or alcohol on the property.

Comment by John "Formerly Pig Man" Waldrop on March 28, 2014 at 2:56pm: I'm available every day..Even if I'm too busy to join you, your welcome to fish.

Comment by Allen Morgan on March 28, 2014 at 2:42pm: That sounds like an invite???? Are you free Monday around lunch?

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on March 28, 2014 at 2:33pm: What a project! Cool!
And bass during this early Spring season are good on the table

Keep in mind what has been said. Don't take TOO MANY out. They serve to keep the lesser fish in check.
But a few less bass might mean a few more bluegill. This could reduce their overall size in time, of course. More bluegill eating the available food means less to go around. But 8 acres is a mighty big pond...

Comment by Walt Foreman on March 28, 2014 at 2:29pm: Don't want to sound like a broken record, John, but finding an unmanaged pond that produces two-pound bluegill is slightly less probable than winning the lottery; I've been doing pond management and targeting bluegill as my main species since 1987, and have found a total of zero such ponds. Lots of private ponds have good-sized bass; the pond you presently are fishing, in terms of its bluegill fishing, is the equivalent of a pond that just produced a fifteen-pound largemouth. I have never caught a two-pound pure-strain bluegill myself; I have caught one hybrid bluegill that size, but I'm guessing yours was a pure-strain if the pond has not had anything done to it for a while, and if so, what you have stumbled across is an extremely rare and precious thing. If you like catching the big bluegill, don't remove a single bass. Not one.

The decision is ultimately yours, but what you have is incredibly rare, and not easy to achieve even with intensive management; with no management it is akin to tripping over something in a field and discovering it's five pounds of gold.

Comment by John "Formerly Pig Man" Waldrop on March 28, 2014 at 2:20pm: So far, I have added the Strike King Bitsy Minnow firetiger and white to my collection. I just had to buy more of the Storm Wildeye Live Crappie and Sunfish.A nearby farmer has a agree to take some of the Bass of my hands and put them in his pond. My boss came by work today and collectively we caught over 80 Bass in a hour, half of them weighing 2 pounds or more.He is not opposed to ridding the pond of a few hundred smaller Bass.

Comment by John "Formerly Pig Man" Waldrop on March 28, 2014 at 2:13pm: So,who in the Tulsa area wants to give it a shot..just let me know..I have a gate key 24/7.

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on March 28, 2014 at 12:39pm: Here, "bugs" means bluegill flies.
And I don't mean poppers.
Think size 10-12, rubber legs, small bodies, fuzzy tails, etc.
If you don't fly fish...

• You can present them below a float, which you just barely keep moving.
• Tie them to the bend of the hook on a small popper, instead of a float - but bass might like this more than you like,
Try them any where from 18-48" deep as this kind of "dropper,"
You can also work them on a telescoping pole, if it can reach to where they are holding.
The idea is to downsize to a bluegill sized mouthful.
But be earned - bass will also go for small flies and baits.
The hope is you might escape their notice...

Comment by carl hendrix on March 28, 2014 at 12:03pm: lots of guys here that also make rods to!! mark steine-- tooty-- walt foreman;; just a few I know of!! try some bugs for gills!! you might be surprised!!

Comment by Lord of the Fly , Rods on March 28, 2014 at 11:53am: John , living in Tulsa you should be pulling the fish out of that pond like a " Hurricane ", rustle those fish in like a " Cowboy" , and " Sooner " or later you will find the right combination to achieve the target fish your focus 's is on. Get out to the Keystone Dam Spillway, I hear there is lots of fish out there . LOFR