Do you love big bluegill?

They're moving deeper...

Spent half the weekend at a family reunion and the other half running a chainsaw, but I finally managed some time to wet a line late this afternoon. I spent the first hour picking up a fish here and there while figuring out where the fish were at, and what they wanted to see.

I was finally able to get all my ducks in a row on pond #5, where I took 31 fish in 30 minutes. It was literally non-stop....cast, set the hook, bring in the fish, unhook and cast again. I was fishing from the bank, casting long....over 50' from shore. I had a Jim Gronaw jig on, suspended below my homemade slip float at a depth of around 9'. They were all over it, many times hitting it before it had reached depth. Another reason I love a falling bait!

I would've liked to be out in a boat, as I think doing away with the float and weight would've allowed me to fish the jig in a more natural fashion, untipped. As it was, I tipped it with a waxworm. I need to take the boat over and see how I do with a cast and retrieve, or even a simple vertical jigging presentation.

The fish weren't large, but they were all within 1/2" of each other at around 8.5".

Here's the jig , a Jim Gronaw creation. I requested some with red involved, and Jim kindly obliged. All I did to it was mash down the barb:

I was worried that the fish might remove the red "tail", but my fears were unfounded. No damage suffered.

I can't speak for the rest of the country, but the fish are definitely feeding heavier in my neck of the woods. They're also moving out to deeper water. My water temps were 70 degrees on the surface.

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Permalink Reply by Jeffrey D. Abney on September 30, 2012 at 5:15pm

Good report Tony....69 degrees on the surface at first light in Carolina this morning and my river fish have dropped down several feet as I caught most at five to six feet in Eight feet of water.....Nice steady bite......finished with 65 total fish from two creeks off the Pasquotank....tipped jigs under a float......All released today because I have a fridge full of Crappie from Friday!

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Permalink Reply by Leo Nguyen on September 30, 2012 at 5:36pm

I made about 20 of these, and scattered to my friends. They reported in that the panfish and bass around here torn the tails off the jigs like they're candies. I'm trying to find more durable materials to make as tails. I tried braided poly yarn, and large floss, but they don't move well like these plastic legs. Hope Jim, Greg, Jen, Tooty, Mike, and the rest of the fly masters could chime in.