new guy

[micheal young]

Hey guys my name is Michael all my friends call me mike. I love to fish and hunt. I have been bowfishing for a few years and now I'm wanting to get into bream fishing but don't no a lot about it. Any info y'all can give me on any thing as far as tackle bait what to look for etc. would be helpful thanks in advance.

[Keith Ritter]

Depends on the time of year. In the spring and early summer shallow woody structure. Downed trees, stumps or any irregularities on or near the bank should hold fish. Bluegill bed in early May usually around the first full moon. Look for shallow depressions on the bottom the male fish have created for the females to lay eggs, these will be in shallow coves or bays in ponds or lakes. In the hot summer and winter they go deeper, how deep depends on the body of water. I try to find the deepest water I can reach when fishing from the bank and here again I try to find some kind of structure. Hope this helps. Where are you fishing? Ponds, lakes or streams? What part of the country?

[Joe Angelucci]

Mike

The beauty of bluegill fishing is that many techniques are used by many different people and they all work. Fixed line, Tenkara,  Fly, and Ultra-light are just to name a few. People fish with live,  hard and soft baits, artificials, plastics, flies as well as lunch meat and they all work. The trick is to find which method works best for you. The good news is that most people on the site are willing to share information . The better news is that if you ask you will get much in the way of information . After that, it's up to you to develop your own style.

JDA 

[micheal young]

Thanks Joe and Keith i live in Mississippi there are several lakes here that i want to try out and a few rivers. I'm also going to try out the reservoir here. I grew up fishing in a pond in my grandparents back yard but they have moved from that place and i wish they still had it. Like i said before i got away from rod and reel fishing for a long time while bowfishing and now I'm trying to got back into it. I guess u can say i just about forgot everything that i knew lol.

[Allen Morgan]

Hi Mike!

One lure I love to use is an in-line spinnerbait.  Think Mepps, Blue Fox, Rooster Tail, etc.  I actually assemble my own.  I find I can control the colors of the blade/body/tail more easily, as well as the size/weight.

For Bluegill and other panfish, I've pretty much settled on a size 0 French blade spinner (think Mepps).  Paired with a size 8 treble hook tied with white marabou, those get me a lot of fish every year.

That said, I have another model that I make, size 3 hammered copper Colorado blade, size 6 treble with chartreuse or olive marabou tied onto the hook.  This one was intended for murky/muddy still water, targeting LMBs, but danged if I don't catch a lot of Bluegill with it!

The already-mentioned Rebel 7700 series crawfish crankbait is a must-have for all fishermen.  Those things flat-out catch fish!  So do the Strike King Bitsy Minnow.  I prefer a natural minnow color, and a Fire-tiger.  Natural colors for clear water, Fire-tiger for when the water gets dirty.  I've also heard that a Chartreuse/Blue combo works good when the water gets a lot of algae in it during the summer.

If, and that's a big IF, you can find a Rebel minnowbait in the 1 1/4" size, I recommend getting some.  Unfortunately, I'm not sure if Rebel makes those anymore; or if the Wally Worlds around here just don't carry them.  Arkie makes a minnowbait that's almost identical.  I wonder if Arkie bought the molds from Rebel????

I've been fly-fishing now for almost three years.  I know you've said you're into spinning rods, but if you pair a weighted float with a dry fly, popper, or even a small weighted nymph, you can catch alarming numbers of fish like that.

That said, I've started getting into tying jigs pretty heavily.  Small, 1/80th oz jigs custom-tied with materials/colors that I like have proven highly successful to not only myself, but several of my friends.  Again, use a weighted float, put the jig about 18" - 5' below the float, cast out, and twitch it back.  You'll be surprised!

You said you don't have a boat.  I've been in your shoes for many years.  Several years ago, I bought a fishing kayak.  Much cheaper than a bigger boat, no motor to tag, don't usually have to tag the yak itself, just throw it in the back of a truck or on top of the car, and go!  Cheap, easy, way to get off the bank.

I like to drift my boat about 15' or so away from the weedline on the bank.  Most lakes here in OK have a water weed called "Water Willow" on the bank.  I will cast towards holes and pockets in those weeds.  If you're quiet, and watchful, you will occasionally see one of the weeds get a "thump" from below.  I usually take this to be a 'Gill or Shellcracker trying to dislodge a bug.  Sometimes, you will see quite a few of these weeds move, indicating a BIGGER fish hiding in the weeds.  When I see that, I like to toss a topwater lure or a foam bug out.  A LMB will usually slap it within seconds.

[micheal young]

Allen i will keep that in mind about the yank and lures that u mentioned and thanks for the advice bud. So can anyone tell me the best kind of ultra light rod to get for a reasonable cost?