# Best Bluegill Lake



## OptOutside440 (Feb 3, 2019)

For Northeast Ohio I would like to know which lake would be considered the best for bluegill. It certainly isn't Ladue as I rarely catch bluegills there ever. I have had success some at Mosquito, but Pymatuning has been better than Mosquito for sure for bluegills. I need to travel to more lakes this season and would like some input on the best lakes for bluegill. Looking forward to getting the ultralight rods set up here soon.


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## BuckeyeFishin07 (Apr 10, 2017)

Mogadore comes to mind for me!


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## crappieboo420 (May 16, 2013)

Portage lakes


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## cement569 (Jan 21, 2016)

1. plx for redears 2. pymatuning 3. mosquito


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## DBV (Jan 8, 2011)

If you drive a little bit to East Harbor, I think it is the best, just too crowded. Variety of bluegill at EH and good size too.


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## cast-off (Apr 14, 2005)

New Lyme wildlife area is a good lake for bluegill. Its a small lake with very little shore access. I go in the spring to get a couple dozen every year. Good hand size fish.


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## brad crappie (Sep 29, 2015)

Can’t say cause of no limits on gills!


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## bobberbucket (Mar 30, 2008)

brad crappie said:


> Can’t say cause of no limits on gills!


Bulls Bulls ,Bulls! 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## guppygill (May 8, 2004)

Portage Lakes, then Mogadore, then Mosquito


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## bobberbucket (Mar 30, 2008)

Springfield lake, Summit lake & Nesmith lake. 


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## cement569 (Jan 21, 2016)

you been drinking? and what are you doing up so late?


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## chaunc (Apr 11, 2004)

Linesville at Pymatuning is good.


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## Moo Juice (Jan 20, 2021)

Zeppernick is loaded but they're all dinks.


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

Farm pond.... Any of them


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

Hahah aint that the truth! I used to have a couple i had permission to fish. Never kept anything but man they were fun to fish the gills and bass were monsters. Also the sneaky snappers the size of 15" wheels were plentiful. Watched one go after a duck and almost get it till my dog jumped on the turtle. That was a scary moment


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## bdawg (Apr 14, 2009)

Portage lakes for redeared sunfish. Get plenty of 8-9 inchers there! 
Haven't found any big bluegills since the last time I fished a golf course pond.


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## Bass knuckles (Sep 23, 2014)

bdawg said:


> Portage lakes for redeared sunfish. Get plenty of 8-9 inchers there!
> Haven't found any big bluegills since the last time I fished a golf course pond.


Yeah them golf courses have some pigs, we used to sneak into one and I remember everything was hand sized or bigger


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## wglasgow (Jun 5, 2012)

cast-off said:


> New Lyme wildlife area is a good lake for bluegill. Its a small lake with very little shore access. I go in the spring to get a couple dozen every year. Good hand size fish.


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## OptOutside440 (Feb 3, 2019)

Thanks for all the replies, everyone. I am looking forward to trying some new lakes this year. While we are on the topic of bluegill, what is your favorite presentation for them? It seems like they have amazing vision because I have noticed a lot of times throwing spinners for them they would actually be chasing the barrel swivel (Fluorocarbon Leader) on the slow retrieve in.


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## tudkey (Sep 24, 2014)

Small wax worm or red worm under a small bobber. Or drop shot. Small hooks. Keep it simple. 2-4lb test.


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## Moo Juice (Jan 20, 2021)

We use chunks of nightcrawler under a bobber.


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## atroyernodoubt (Oct 14, 2021)

Small hair jigs tipped with waxys r my go to for gills


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## chaunc (Apr 11, 2004)

atroyernodoubt said:


> Small hair jigs tipped with waxys r my go to for gills


Mine too. I also will tip my hair jigs and hand ties with a crappie nibble.


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## ohiotuber (Apr 15, 2004)

My passion is fly fishing for big gills. My absolute #1 presentation is, whether floating or sinking fly,....cast & let the fly sit! Yep, no retrieve at all. The gills sometimes will lay under my popper or spider & then attack (tough to do, but don't move the fly. There are times they will swim off, but usually come back. The key to BIG gills (at least in my experience) is SLOW & PATIENT!!!

Mike


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## OptOutside440 (Feb 3, 2019)

ohiotuber said:


> My passion is fly fishing for big gills. My absolute #1 presentation is, whether floating or sinking fly,....cast & let the fly sit! Yep, no retrieve at all. The gills sometimes will lay under my popper or spider & then attack (tough to do, but don't move the fly. There are times they will swim off, but usually come back. The key to BIG gills (at least in my experience) is SLOW & PATIENT!!!
> 
> Mike


Which fly pattern works the best for you for big gills?


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## set-the-drag (Jan 13, 2013)

I used to have real small rooster tails id cast at pymi and catch some monsters


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## ohiotuber (Apr 15, 2004)

OptOutside440 said:


> Which fly pattern works the best for you for big gills?


More than you asked, but here goes:

*FLIES*: Foam spiders, woolly worms, & poppers.
The spiders & woolly worms work for me because I tie them POORLY!! I honestly believe that predators pick on the weakest or injured prey. Well, I'm a lousy fly tyer & those are MY flies!! LOL
*TECHNIQUE*: My "technique" that is VERY effective is to "cast & die". That is, I don't move that fly (yes, even a popper) once it hits the water. I may move the woolly worm slightly to get it sinking, but when it starts dropping, I stop. The gill in my avatar was caught on a size 12 yellow woolly worm with grizzly hackle & I lengthen that red wool tail to about 1/2".
When they prefer a moving bait, I fish UL spinning for gills & it's either a real small chartreuse rooster tail with gold blade or a 1" twisty tail on a tiny jig head.
*TROPHY GILL WATER*: C & R is a key. I only keep gills 2-3 times a year & ALWAYS release any gill over 8" unless it's gut hooked (if live bait fishing, try circle hooks (size 8 or 10) or you wish to mount it. Unless injured to where they won't survive, I release ALL bass.

Not bragging, but I catch MANY Fish Ohio gills each year (yet have never registered one), following what I stated above.

Mike


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## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

My two best days for larger gills have occurred at Wingfoot abt. 5 yrs ago and Mogadore perhaps 35 years back! At Mogadore, I found a shallow hump/bedding area in the middle of a large area of the lake while fishing from a canoe on a windy day with considerable chop and light whitecapping. I was using the smallest sized poppers on a flyrod. It was so choppy, I couldn’t see them hit the poppers(or see the poppers!) but watched to see every one jump “completely” out of the water and inhale the popper on re-entry! When I saw one come down to the water, I set the hook. I kept abt 25 of the nicest gills I’d ever encountered(probably caught 75), all 8-10”, dark males with “humps“ behind their heads. I truly loved the flyrod and poppers for gills back then. At Wingfoot, using “tiny/micro” Gulp grubtail jigs under a small bobber in wood along a shoreline fishing for late-spawn crappie and the crappie were done but the gills had moved in. Started catching great sized(for Wft!) squirting, humpneck, male gills and kept twenty, again while catching perhaps three times that number! This combination(on UL spinning) has become my “searcher” rig for big gills.


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## chevyjay (Oct 6, 2012)

bobberbucket said:


> Springfield lake, Summit lake & Nesmith lake.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


 i pass nesmith twice a day and have rarely seen anyone fishing. guess thats good as there is no fishing pressure


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## bdawg (Apr 14, 2009)

chevyjay said:


> i pass nesmith twice a day and have rarely seen anyone fishing. guess thats good as there is no fishing pressure


My dad has fished it a few times. He's never done really well. He does better at the other Portage Lakes. I've seen some nice redear spawning along the shore there. Haven't fished it much though. Early in the year, people fish where Nesmith outlets to the canal for crappie at night. I casted around a bass jig at the concrete wall that goes across the canal down a ways from the outlet and hooked into a nice bass one evening when they were catching crappies there. It got off before I got a good look at it. The bass come into the canal to spawn.


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## chaunc (Apr 11, 2004)

Haven’t found a lake that has bluegills as big as the ones in Conneaut lake, Pa but Mosquito lake and Pymatuning Lake have some good ones too. I’ve released 10” gills back into Conneaut. Too pretty to keep.


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