# Bluegills After Dark



## Ruminator

I have a small pamphlet on bluegill fishing that briefly discusses night fishing for them.

What are your favorite ways to do so?


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## bkr43050

I have caught a few in the dark but only when targeting crappie or even bass but I have never felt that they bit well enough at night to target them. Perhaps I am missing out on something here.


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## 01mercLS

I dont really fish for them at night, they just arent really active enough at night. I've caught a few fat ones off chicken liver fishing for catfish, but I never really target them at night.


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## Fish-N-Fool

Mixed results here.

We tried a few times on good Gill waters - private gravel pits from 6-20 acres, etc.. with mixed results.

We never smacked them like you do in the daylight which led us to believe the were not too active throughout the night. We tried a number of things:
put a glow sticks in green 2 liter bottles & floating them around, top water fishing, glow bobbers. I'm not sure anything helped or not lol The one night we did well and caught about 40 keeper size gills in a few hours we were floating the bottles around and fishing with nothing but a small hook and redworm. We would toss the bait around the floating "lights" and let it sink slowly. It seemed to die around midnight though.

I would like to hear from those that have been able to consistently catch gills at night and possible tactics.


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## MSmith2004

I have a book that says not to even bother at night cause they are too afraid of getting hit by the predators to go out. I have fished at crystal and it's funny cause they pretty much trained them to feed on bread and hot dogs and will bite no matter how many times they get hooked and every time you drop a line in they hit it. then right around 8 o clock all of the at like the same second just turn off and disappear.


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## Ruminator

Funny you should mention using lights. The auther suggests them also.
The booklet is about chasing bull bluegills.(big boys)
He says that your best bait for this situation would be small minnows and not to be surprised if you also catch some crappie and white bass along with the bull bluegills.
Other than using a light, he says that they can be found along the shoreline shallows as well as the middle of the lake sometimes schooled up along the surface cruising and hunting.

"When the summer sun has been glaring down for weeks in succession, the big bulls will prowl the shoreline during the cool of night looking for insectivorous food."

"You can locate them by listening for slurping gurgles and a commotion as if they were playing leapfrog." 

-quotes from: Secrets For Taking Big Bluegills, by Ralph Bashford, located in Cinncinnati, Ohio

So, I thought its a good topic for discussion here, for us to learn about from each other. :B

Anyone else ever catch some bluegills while night fishing with a light for crappies?


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## Bubba bass bigfoot

i have heard nightfishing for them is a bad time.


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## Flathead King 06

the only time we have done any good for big gills after dark was when we used a combination of a lantern hanging over the water and the submersible q-beam lights...it draws them in but once a big fish comes through...hang it up, they disappear until daylight....


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## jamiekeasler

I have never heard of fishing for them at night either!Come to think of it I dont think that I have ever caught 1 even by accident at night hmm!!!!!! Daytime jiggin and its fish on!!!


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## Ruminator

I just ran across this thread I started a while back and thought someone might enjoy it and maybe learn from it.


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## boonecreek

Flathead King 06 said:


> the only time we have done any good for big gills after dark was when we used a combination of a lantern hanging over the water and the submersible q-beam lights...it draws them in but once a big fish comes through...hang it up, they disappear until daylight....


going to be getting a several under lights ( triple a powered ) do u use them a lot?, and any tips would be great. going to us them of a boat dock in about 20 foot of slightly stained water.


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## Rod Hawg

I've got them before at night in the winter months on open water at the pond. Generally when they are feeding and the predatory fish are dormant. Crawlers sitting on the bottom with a marabou jig 1/8oz. Make sure the marabou is bright. Its easier for them to see considering they are sight oriented predators unlike Catfish. I don't even bother fishing for them from Spring to Fall but winter time. I'll fish for em up till 8 or 9 oclock from December all the way till April. Just what I've seen in years past


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## TCK

I have this floating light thing, pretty much a headlight encased in styrofoam that you hang over the boat. I have never used it but plan to give it a shot.


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## Ruminator

Light helps crappie fishing after dark, the floating headlight in styrofoam, the sinking types of both white and green light, all work.
Do some searches around the forums, I and others have started threads on lights in prior years with good discussions in them.

The bottom line is that some prefer the green light, while others prefer white light. But they both work at creating a food chain starting with zooplankton leading to minnows coming in to feed on it, and crappies, etc. coming in to feed on the minnows.

I've found that light is not a cure-all. You can set them up and never get a school of minnows going if in a bad location.

Pick a good location and its sweet to see the minnows schooling around the boat and under it with flashes of silver flying through - the crappie.  :B


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## Rod Hawg

Ruminator said:


> Light helps crappie fishing after dark, the floating headlight in styrofoam, the sinking types of both white and green light, all work.
> Do some searches around the forums, I and others have started threads on lights in prior years with good discussions in them.
> 
> The bottom line is that some prefer the green light, while others prefer white light. But they both work at creating a food chain starting with zooplankton leading to minnows coming in to feed on it, and crappies, etc. coming in to feed on the minnows.
> 
> I've found that light is not a cure-all. You can set them up and never get a school of minnows going if in a bad location.
> 
> Pick a good location and its sweet to see the minnows schooling around the boat and under it with flashes of silver flying through - the crappie.  :B


I've got a lot of Crappies at night too. Float Bobbers with minnows about a foot below the bobber. You'll also mabye get an alusive Catfish that comes by


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