Overlooked Bluegill Hotspots

[Jim Gronaw]

Hey guys and gals, I've been thinking. I know that most of the big gills we see on this site come from smaller, private waters. But I can't help but think that there are overlooked public opportunities for the vast majority of us right under our noses.

Within 1 hour of my house are several small, public lakes that are either county or local park owned lakes that get very little fishing pressure and have a good population of medium to even trophy sized bluegills.

Some lakes go through a phase where big fish are in the mix...the word gets out...and then as big gills are caught and kept, the size structure goes down and smaller fish prevail. Over time, anglers move on and then these small fisheries have the chance to rebound, offering several more seasons of top-notch bluegill fishing. Or, few anglers pay attention to the gills and focus on the hordes of 12 to 15 in bass that are there. Go figure?1?

Even today, the very idea of releasing big panfish seems to be a hard pill to swallow. Yet I believe it is a viable tool to sustain trophy fisheries. Some larger lakes of 150 acres on up can take some pressure and cough up big fish. In others, the dynamics of angling pressure, weedgrowth, predators and other environmental factors can greatly impact panfishing success and quality.

My advice would be to keep a sharp eye out for little known lakes and parks that just seem to fly under the radar yet produce big, even trophy fish. And, be careful who you tell. Heck, I know some waters that are so good...I'm afraid to take myself there!

[Jim Gronaw]

Cool stuff guys. And FH, I'll second that gig about spillway plunge pools. I fish the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Delaware where small millponds are the order and almost all of them have spillways. They are great, 'cubby-hole' type hotspots where any thing with fins can be there in the spring. We've caught bass, gills, crappies, white and yellow perch, White and hickory shad and herring, chain pickerel, channel cats, bullheads, carp and even walleyes in some inland spillways of bigger impoundments. They can be absolutely packed with fish from early April to early June.

Some of those tanker crappies on my photos section came from tiny spots few would even bother to fish. It's funny what can be right under your nose!

[Jay Fogle]

Hey Bruce - your comments fit the "CLEAR" strip pit discussion I started to a T. The place I was fishing is a former strip pit right on I-70 in Indiana. And by right on, I mean they filled in part of the pit when building the highway and the highway shoulder forms one shore of the pit. Your suggestions also go along with what others have been telling me. Thanks - Jay

[Bruce Condello]

My best "overlooked" hotspots are borrow pits along the U.S. Interstate Highways. Sometimes these lakes are so clear that the average fisherman may become frustrated by their lack of daytime success. This, combined with the ample vegetation in these clear waters means that the largemouth populations often become high density, with low relative weights. Consequently, the bluegill are often low density, high relative weight fisheries. If you hit clear waters really early in the day, when the water temps are just reaching the 70's you'll absolutely hammer the panfish. Float tubes are often an essential element.

[Farm Hunter]

I had an interesting BG afternoon recently. I was looking recently at a Mill Pond culvert outflow recently for a Brown trout. I was pleasantly surprised to catch a few 10-11" Full Spawing Colored BG in the plunge pool along with a few Brown Trout I was targeting.

This isn't the first time a tailrace plunge-pool has produced multiple species success.

In my experience, if the outlet is from a warmwater/coolwater manmade lake - the outlet can sometimes produce a smorgasbord of fish. I use Jig to target BG and Trout here.


FH

[Jim Gronaw]

For years, Deep Creek Lake, at 3900 acres and MD's largest lake, was known for stunted yellow perch and smaller wallleyes. But for the past 15 yrs it is the best public venue for pound sized gills in the state. And any lake that can produce pounders consistantly would have to be considered a high- end fishery. Indeed, some big lake produce, I just favor close to home, smaller lakes that recieve little pressure. Good Luck!

[steve b]

I'll go the other way on this. There is a rather large impoundment type lake 20 miles down the road. Its known for its walleye, early pike, few bass tourneys every year, etc.. Was very surprised to see it listed by the state as amongst the best lakes in Ohio for bluegill, for both size and number. I'd not thought of it for bluegills. steve b