Thursday, May 17, 2018

Bluegill Bonanza Fishing the Caddis

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?? 

15 comments:

  1. 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.

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  2. Really nice start of the slam this year Bill. I'm getting hungry!

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  3. Bill your on your way to meeting your goal.
    Fine eating, 100% natural.

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  4. Ralph
    Letting 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

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  5. Alan
    I'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

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  6. Mark
    Next 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

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  7. Howard
    The big bluegill is a feast with coleslaw, French fires, hush puppies, tomatoes, and of course tartar sauce. Thanks for the comment

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  8. 11ft... that amazes me, I rarely see spawning bluegill in water deeper than 5 feet here.

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  9. Some nice slabs there. Fun to catch & good 'eatin. Hard to beat that.

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  10. Quest on! Excellent weather, hefty bluegills, fun on the fly. Thanks Bill!

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  11. Hi Rowan
    The 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

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  12. Lester
    The 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

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  13. Walt
    Pound for pound the super size gill is one formidable fighter on the fly rod; got to love it!!! Thanks for the comment

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  14. Michael
    You're living in the state that has some major size bluegill, such as the coppernose. Thanks for sharing

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