I had my phone set for 5 AM Tuesday to make my first bluegill fishing trip on Smith Lake this year. After eating a bowl of cheerios, oatmeal, and some fruit I
made it out the door. Tuesday’s forecast was cloudy skies and the chance of rain in
the afternoon and through the night; my kind of forecast fishing before a
front.
My plan was to search and
find bluegill spawning in as many sloughs as I could before the heat and
humidity force me to leave. My first slough had numerous gills and
one redeye native bass but not the big bulls I was searching for. The bass and female gills were killing the Caddis!!!
After fishing through five
more sloughs I finally made a connection on my 7th slough. Three of
kind here using the Caddis; my five weight was the
perfect combo to land these bulls.
Unreal fight put forth by
this gill, which left a few fibers of the Caddis sticking out of its mouth. During the spawn, the male bluegill will attack anything that comes close to the beds. This bluegill was spawning in super clear water 11 ft. deep. It is unusual to find any more than 5 or 6 bluegills spawning in the back of any of the sloughs on
Smith. With over 500 miles of shoreline, the fish are spread thin.
I continued to fish the
back of nooks that I thought bluegills would spawn in. I seldom find them
in the same sloughs year after year spawning. All the fish I found today were
in new spawning waters. A lot of fish brought to hand today will make an excellent meal with hushpuppies, coleslaw, and french fries. By the way, guys have I mention how much fun it is landing these monster bluegills??
Bill, Great to see you have a really nice day on the water. Awesome fish! Some really nice slabs for dinner. They slam that FBC don't they? Something about it triggers them. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteReally nice start of the slam this year Bill. I'm getting hungry!
ReplyDeleteBill your on your way to meeting your goal.
ReplyDeleteFine eating, 100% natural.
Another good day on the water.
ReplyDeleteRalph
ReplyDeleteLetting the Caddis sit still for 10 to 15 seconds was the kicker to get a hit, and sometimes it was explosive. Thanks for the comment
Alan
ReplyDeleteI've been playing around with the quest for a while now; in fact this is my 5th year and I haven't made it yet. Hopefully I might make it happen this year. thanks for the comment
Mark
ReplyDeleteNext to the trout which is my favorite to land on the fly; the super size bluegill comes in a close second. Thanks for the comment
Howard
ReplyDeleteThe big bluegill is a feast with coleslaw, French fires, hush puppies, tomatoes, and of course tartar sauce. Thanks for the comment
11ft... that amazes me, I rarely see spawning bluegill in water deeper than 5 feet here.
ReplyDeleteSome nice slabs there. Fun to catch & good 'eatin. Hard to beat that.
ReplyDeleteQuest on! Excellent weather, hefty bluegills, fun on the fly. Thanks Bill!
ReplyDeleteHi Rowan
ReplyDeleteThe sunlight penetrates the clear water at 11 ft. or better to easily produce the hatch. I've never found bluegill in Smith spawning in less than 8 or 9 ft. One can see fish at 15 ft. depths or better in the super clear water on this lake. In fact it is considered one of the clearest lake in the South. Thanks for the comment
Lester
ReplyDeleteThe heat and the humidity is my worst enemy, especially now that I am getting older. I've found out something else as get older, getting up at 4:30 or 5 AM is tuff, but I'll keep doing it if I can land quality fish. Thanks for the comment
Walt
ReplyDeletePound for pound the super size gill is one formidable fighter on the fly rod; got to love it!!! Thanks for the comment
Michael
ReplyDeleteYou're living in the state that has some major size bluegill, such as the coppernose. Thanks for sharing