I have legal access to a gravel pit lake in Westfield by the outlet mall, I've caught the biggest fish of my life out of this place and there are some giant bluegill. This guy I fish with that lives there tells me that there has to be a state record gill in their. They've had gills break 8 pound test and they've caught them 13'' long and fat. We're going back soon and I want to target these giants. Any baits that would kill the bigger ones?
I've always got the BIG ones on a Beetle Spin. If they are big enough to get it in their mouth, then they are usually trophy size. You can cover alot of water with a Beetle Spin to find them too. Hope this helps, good luck.
__________________ Throwing icecubes in the lake all summer long!
i always just use live bait for big gills. i take about half a nightcrawler and thread it on my hook and leave about 1/2" below the hook. cast it out let it go down then just reel it in real slow, pausing ever so often. then i use crickets, use them the same way or use a bobber.
good thing you live so far away, i would bug you to death to take me with you and show you how i like to do it,LOL.
SHERMAN
The above posted lure/bait choices are typically a good way to go, but here are my thoughts on the hunt for Bull 'Gills.
Artificials:
1. Inline-Spinnerbaits : 1/24oz. - 1/16oz.
If your inline-spinner is running shallow and you are only getting smaller 'Gills, place a split-shot on your line just above your knot. This will get you down deeper and put your spinner in front of bigger 'Gills.
2. Jig-Spinnerbaits (beetle spins) : 1/32oz. - 1/16oz.
I'm not that big of a fan of the original "beetle spins", and I prefer to make the jig-spinners myself using higher quality jigs, spinner arms, and blades. I use 1"-2" trailers, either being twister tails or crappie tubes.
3. Crankbaits : 1" - 2"
These are my favorite. They wont always out fish other options, but when the Bulls hit them, they hit them hard. The key is having size #12 - #14 trebles on the cranks. Slow and steady retrieve is all you need.
4. Pre-Rigged plastic worms : 4" - 6"
These are also great for catching monster 'Gills. The pre-rigged with 3 hooks are best, since most of your 'Gills will be on the tail hook.
Live-Bait:
I hate using live bait for panfish. But if I do with the intent of going for world class bluegill, then nothing will beat a 2" minnow. Every bluegill you get on one is a beast.
One last thing. The biggest of the big Bluegills are pretty much solitary the entire year, and will not be in or immediately around schools of smaller 'Gills. The schools of small 'Gills have big bass (or other predators) camped on the outskirts of their locations, and the big 'Gills know this, and are usually several feet deeper than the small 'Gills. Big 'Gills' favorite spots are weedbeds in 4-10 feet of water, which during most times the big 'Gills will be buried in the weeds, able to feed off of insects in the weedbeds, but completely protected from predators, including fishermen.
If the place you are fishing is void of weedbeds, then you will have a much easier time putting your lure/bait in front of the big 'Gills.
Good luck and take some pics dude, I want to see some of those monster 'Gills.
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Originally Posted by Random Observer
At least he validates the need for Moderators.
Last edited by Bluegill_Guru; 06-10-2012 at 01:21 PM.
Reason: forgot
My son recently caught a couple 10.5 inchers while Crappie fishing, I only had a couple 10's...they hit 2 and 3 inch Keitech Swing Impact swimbaits (they are skinny like a minnow) with a Chartreuse Crappie Niblet....and they had the whole Swimbait IN their mouth!
i caught 4 11+in gills out of a farm pond in ft. wayne on saturday )june 9th) on a 7 in plastic worm. was fishing it only about a foot under the surface. biggest gills i have ever seen. one went almost 13in and about as fat as my forearm.
only thing u need man is leeches under a bobber....we usually use small ice jigs tipped with a leechy deechy.....we pound em bro im serious....get leeches and u r golden dude! POST PICCSS!!
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I got a 13 1/4incher on a fly rod 3 years ago. Other than that I typically pull a lot of 9-11in fish on a crawler with a hook. Nothing else. Let the crawler free fall and they'll crush it
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Josh
John 3:16
Tuna fisherman/Great Lakes Fisherman
I personally have caught random big ones while bass fishing in a farm pond... even on a full sized bass spinnerbait. I've caught some really nice ones on the fly rod with epoxy minnow flies too. However, my best producer so far for big gills is the trout & panfish series chatterbaits. They come with translucent minnow bodies that have built in foil for flash, and the flash/vibration of the chatterbait blade drives the big gills crazy. If there are a bunch of 8 to 12 inch bass around though, they tend to hammer the chatterbaits before the gills.
Those are sme dandy gills guys - For gill bait I like to use either a hair jig tipped with a wax worm or half of a minnow. However, I did catch one about a week ago on a top water torpedo night fishing which was amazing. It was 10 and a 1/2 inches long and nailed the lure like a bass.
This time of year to late fall is when I catch my biggest gills. And guess what, the bait is FREE!! Go to the baitstore/Gander/WalMart etc and buy a cricket cage. The day of or before, go to a grassy are with the kids and kick out hoppers, locust, an crickets. Fill that cage to the brim an go fishing! The little guys will peck at them, but can't get the whole bait. Usually, the bigger boys will then show up and push the smaller ones out the way for a juicy hopper. I can't believe NO ONE has mentioned this bait before,lol. Even the oldest, wiset bull can not resist a juicy hopper. Make sure to use light wire, long shank hooks to keep it alive and be able to retrieve it out their throats, lol.
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Rather be outdoors than in bars..
All the above suggestions are great ones. I'm still going to add mine though. I've consistently caught big bluegill on a small torpedo topwater lure. Not the teeny one but the next size up. The smaller ones may hit it but the bigger ones can take it. Entertaining to say the least and its bass fishing too.
Big gill baits
Big gill baits
Throwing icecubes in the lake all summer long!
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