The best rig and bait for Bluegills.

[Maison]

Yeah... So.... Ive been trying to fish for some Bluegills now and been wondering what is the best rig? Ive been using a very small hook ( Don't know the exact size of it because i buy them rigged ). Then for my bait I use Mill worms. I usually go for bass and trout and don't know anything about bluegills. Please Help! =)

[Jim Gronaw]

Hey Maison...traditionally, most snelled or leadered hooks are tied with mono that is too heavy for good panfish presentations. Try buying #8 and #10 hooks of the circle variety or the thin wire Aberdeen style for fishing small earthworms and mealworms. Tie them directly to quality 4 pound limp monos and pinch on a BB or B sized split-shot about 12 to 16 inches up from the baited hook for weight and fish this simple live bait rig in and around weed beds, pads and off of docks. You may want to suspend this offering with a small float such as a 2 in Conal Weighted foam bobber from 2 to 5 feet from the bait. Gills should still make some shallow movements for a while so experiment until you find the fish. Good Luck! Jim

[Ricardo A Mejia]

Hi, speaking of the bait. I use earthworms cut up to cover just the hook. What I have in mind is how mealworms different to maggots that are coated for crappie?

[Maison]

Meant Meal worms when i posted the discussion, Well thanks guys for all the info. Going fishing at the same lake on Thursday, hoping to catch some big Bluegills, If i find my camera charger ill take some pictures and post them up on my page. Thanks again for all the info, Maison

[Dan Gwaltney]

I'll echo what Jim and Walt said about the ready-made snells. I use snells, but make my own out of 4lb line. I just tie the hook on one end of a 1 foot piece of line, and throw an overhand loop in the other end. I use 8 or 10 pound line on my rods and poles. My sinker and bobber goes on the big line above a barrel swivel. The eye of that swivel is large enough to slip the loop of the snell through, so I just poke it in there, drop the hook through the end of the loop and I'm ready to go. I am catching a lot more fish like this because I can be bolder in casting toward heavy cover. Before, I was real timid around the really good spots because it takes so long to totally rerig with a new bobber, sinker and hook whenever I would get hung up. Now, all I lose is the hook, and I have a bunch of them already tied on and ready to go. If they're biting good, I can catch 3 fish in the time it would have taken to assemble a whole rig.

[John Sheehan]

Good ideas Dan thanks.Do you know the best directions I can find on how to tie a snell knot?