My Forgotten Bluegill Web Page

 Three weeks ago, I was following my afternoon routine of enjoying my afternoon coffee while scrolling through some of my old fishing folders. Surprisingly, I discovered the Bluegill website page I created in 2010 on the BLUEGILL-BIG BLUEGILL WEBSITE. In fact, that was the year I created my fishing blog, Fishing Through Life. I was using the Bluegill site to connect with bluegill fishermen nationwide. I decided to create a few posts to reconnect with some of my bluegill buddies on the site. If you would like to take a look, follow my page link, Bluegill-Big Bluegill---

The main reason I stopped posting on the site was finding time. I found it challenging to post on the Bluegill site and share info on my Fishing Through Life blog, not to mention work and attending tennis matches involving our son and daughter at the time. In other words, my wife and I were busy working, and time was limited 15/16 years ago: thank goodness for retirement! 

Quote of the day: Enjoy every minute of fly fishing from March through June!!

 

Spawning Cycles of the Bluegill

 

As I was fishing one of the bluegill spawning beds the other day on Walker County Lake, I wondered if these beds would be used during the next spawning phase of the full moon in June. After doing a little research, I discovered that the bluegill will sometimes use the same beds from one full moon to the next during the spring and summer. I know this is true in some Smith Lake and Walker County Lake areas. I have fished Smith Lake and Walker Lake for years now and found that the fish are often not in the same area bedding each year. Several factors affect their location from year to year, such as changes in water level, vegetation growth, temperature range, and fishing pressure, which can influence their choice of spawning sites. 

As for the depth, I have found bluegill spawning in water as shallow as a couple of feet or less. If they are pressured from spawning cycling to spawning cycle, then they will move to deeper water to avoid spawning beds from being seen. This is especially true in small lakes where there is heavy fishing pressure. The 15-acre lake my son lives on is a prime example of what I am talking about. The bluegill in this lake always spawns in shallow water and always in the same area of the lake each year. They choose the same bedding areas in this lake each year because of less fishing pressure on the lake. The lake is there mostly for the beautiful scenery around the lake, and the walking trails next to the water's edge. In other words no one is interfering with the spawning process of the bluegill here but me and my son. 

The bluegill was probably the first fish a small child landed while using live bait, such as a cricket or redworm. That is how I got interested in fishing years ago as a youngster fishing our small farm pond. The fish was easy to catch, even with cane poles and live bait. Once my dad taught me how to land the fish using a fly rod, there was no turning back, I was hooked for life, and will be until the day I retire from fly fishing, and I hope that is years from now. For me, landing a large bull bluegill or an average-sized bluegill on a lightweight fly rod is the ultimate in warm-water fly fishing!

A Challenge Landing a Carp

 Guys, I had to share a catch of a lifetime regarding landing Carp. I was fishing for bluegill on Walker County Lake this morning using my 7 1/2 ft. two weiight flyrod rigged with a tiny Bream Bug. I was casting the small popper next to the weed beds when this Carp just sucked the fly under like all the bluegill had been hitting all morning. The minute I set the hook, I knew the fish was enormous from the feel of the headshakes. I thought it was a largemouth bass, but after noticing how it raced to deep water, I knew it was a giant catfish. I was wrong guessing on both accounts; it was the largest Carp I had ever landed on any lake. 

What transpired next was the fish pulling my Pelican boat a hundred yards across the lake---which was actually in my favor. I knew if I could get the fish near shallow water, I would have a chance to land it. My little shorthanded bluegill net would never encompass the length of this fish. So I headed out with my little two weight in hand, bent to a U-shape for the entire ride across the lake, thinking my 6X tippet would pop any minute, but to my surprise, it completed the fight. So for the next 35 minutes, the Carp and I were having fond, at least I was, don't know about the Carp. Once we reached the launch, I knew I could get someone with a long handle net to net the fish. The caretaker's grandson was the help I needed. He was as excited as me when he finally laid it on the grass. He said he had never netted a fish. It was quite a thrill for the fly fishermen and grandson!

Moments like this morning make me thankful my Dad taught me how to use a fly rod all those years. The Carp weighed 8 1/2 lbs and was 27" long -----Tight-line guys!!

This little bluegill popper got the Carp's attention and stayed hooked in the upper part of its mouth for the duration of the fight. Tiny flies or poppers do catch big fish!

The Bluegill, Start to Finish

The bluegill is probably the most common warm water fish caught throughout the United States. A lot of us started fishing as youngsters fishing for the bluegill. These fish will hit almost anything that moves in the water. I remember catching this fish as a boy fishing from the bank in our pond near our house. The first fish my grandchildren landed when they started fishing was the bluegill. Any size bluegill will produce a bend in the light fishing rod. The excitement on the face of a small child landing bluegill is priceless. I know I have witnessed that excitement. 

Bluegill and Crappie are the only fish I keep to dress for table fare. Both these fish are excellent to eat if they are dressed and prepared right. I'm not a fan of the so-called tried and true method of cleaning these fish. Scraping the scales off their sides and cutting their heads off is how we prepared them for the skillet years ago. My family and I thought they were delicious to eat at the time. 

It took years for me to discover that a filleted fish has a much better taste than a fish fried whole with the skin and bones. You eliminate the fishy taste when the skin and bones are removed from the fish. I filleted my first bluegill 45 years ago one afternoon on the back porch of my school Principals house, dressing bluegill we had landed that afternoon. The first fish I filleted on my own wasn't perfect but over time I mastered the process. 

This little Rapala 8" fillet knife is all one needs to fillet bluegill and crappie. The knife needs to be razor-sharp. A dull knife will not get the job done properly!

Both these beauties were taken off the rock walls on Smith Lake using the Boogle Bug poppers this past Thursday. A meal for two can be prepared from the meat taken from 5 or 6 bluegills this size.  

I created this video some time ago explaining exactly how to fillet quality-size bluegill. The same technique can be used on the crappie as well. 

The Receipt for delicious bluegill and crappie

Take all fillets and place in a pan with water and add 3 to 4 tablespoons of salt and stir until all the salt is dissolved into the fillets---let sit overnight in the frig--the salt removes all the blood from the fillets

Remove the fillets the next day and wash all the salt off the fillets

Spray a cookie sheet with pam and coat all the fillets with cornmeal mixed with lemon pepper, salt, and black pepper

Bake all the fillets on 450 in the oven and turn the fillets over in about ten minutes and continue to bake until done. The process of baking the fillets takes about 20 minutes or less. You want the fillets to be tender and not overly baked which will make them tuff.

For those of you who like the fillets fried use a fry daddy adding Crisco, or Coconut oil to fry the fillets until they are golden brown--remove the fillets and let set on a paper towel to drain the oil 

French fries, coleslaw, and hushpuppies are all sides dishes that are delicious to eat with the fillets. Don't forget the tartar sauce and catsup---almost forgot a cold beer to top the meal off!!

Enjoy the meal!

Big Bluegills Scarce Until Next Spring

 The time for landing supersize bluegill is over for this season if you are a fly fisherman. I proved that statement to be true Wednesday when I made an afternoon trip to Walker Lake. I was using my Pelcian boat which is ideal for fishing this particular lake. No one on the water but a few individuals fishing for catfish and me. In other words, I had the place to myself. This time of year one can expect to land lots of hand-size gills and smaller which was exactly what eat my tiny poppers. 

Notice, the fish were hitting a variety of poppers and even one bass joined in on the activity. The 2 wt. is the ideal fly rod when fishing for this size fish. It was s great way to spend a couple of hours on a cloudy day. Next week I start my trout quest on the Sipsey---stay tune for a report.

Meal Time

 The weather was picture perfect yesterday morning on Smith Lake if you were fly fishing. Those individuals fishing for striped bass, and largemouth bass were doing a lot of motoring. Which tells me they were searching for active fish. Jeff and I were the only ones fishing the rock walls. In fact, I've never seen anyone fishing the rock walls the way I fish these structures. 

The weather was perfect with a cool 68 degrees, overcast skies, smooth surface film, and "NO HUMIDITY" This type of weather in the deep south is unusual in August. One would think they were fishing in the Spring or early Fall. If you fly fish with poppers you want a silky-smooth surface for your surface flies or poppers to land on; most of the morning that was the case. Around 9:30 AM the boat traffic started and the bite slowed. One needs to make the most of the 3 to 4 hours you're given at daylight and beyond to land fish this time of year on Smith Lake!

 One of many bluegills taken off the walls using the 3 and 4 wt fly rods. Don't think you know what the fish will be hitting from one trip to the next. Last week the red poppers were working, this week the blue poppers were getting their attention. 

I am blessed as are all the guys that fished with me to have areas such as this to land the bluegill and spotted bass found lurking on these walls. This rock wall towers up at least 75 ft. which is a sight to see if you enjoy fishing this type of structure. The crystal clear water near its base is between 20 to 30 ft. deep this time of year. When the lake is full pool you can add another 5 to 10 ft. to that depth.  This one wall produced at least a half dozen meal size bluegill. Don't think one run on this wall has produced all the fish that is feeding there. On the sixth run, it was still producing fish. The only thing that stopped me from making a seventh run was the heavy boat traffic that sent us to the boat launch.

The results of Thursday's trip ending in me dressing 10 meal size gills that made the trip even more rewarding! Baked or deep-fried these fillets are special. 

Left-over fillets are delicious in a fish sandwich. Lettuce, tomatoes, pepper relish, Deion muster, two or three fillets and you have a hardy meal. The rewards of a fishing trip can always be topped off by enjoying the fresh catch of the day!!

 

Fantastic Popper Fishing with Jason

Spring fishing can be some of the best times to land some really quality fish. The fish are much more active this time of year with the water temps warming and the spawn occurring. Feeder fish such as small shad is the number one prey for the bass on a lot of lakes this time of year. If one can mimic the tiny shad then you are in for some fantastic surface action for largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass on most large bodies of water this time of year. Some of the favorite lures Bass fishermen used to get a hit is the Rapala, fluke, or prop lures. Fly fishermen used a variety of patterns to imitate the shad as well, such as streamers, soft plastic shad patterns, and poppers. If given a choice to fish with the bait casing gear or the fly fishing gear, I would choose the fly fishing method hands down. There's nothing like landing a quality bass using your favorite weighted fly rod. Well, let me restate the bluegill would have to be near the top as well.

I look forward every year for Spring to arrive knowing that I am in for my best fishing of the year. Jason and I got to experience the Spring fishing at it's best this past week. Jason was home for seven days and we spent four of those days fishing beautiful Smith Lake. Some good times were had landing countless bass and huge bull bluegills using the poppers at daylight and afternoons fishing Smith Lake! Jason was using his new IM10 fly rod which was a birthday present from me and his mom. The bass was killing the Glow After Dark Cream Boogle Bug Popper!! 

Another spotted bass took on the cream Boogle Bug. There is something about the Boogle that gets the attention of bass. We were working the popper to mimic a wounded shad; it worked every day we fish the Boogle! 

Early morning still a little cool on the lake until the sun starting peeking through the clouds. 

The afternoon didn't slow the bite down

All the bass taken during the days we fished were taken on top using either the solid black Boogle Bug or the Cream Boogle when the shad were active. 

The big bulls were active as well using the Barr Nunn black and yellow poppers. The spawn will begin the last of this month. At times both of us thought we had bass on when landing these bluegills because of the tremendous fight they would put forth. I'm already looking forward to our next outing when Jason will return for more topwater action in June!!

Adding a Little Variety to The Fly Fishing Mix

I have always been a fly fisherman who changes flies often if the bite is slow. On Wednesday I had a chance to put the fly flipping process into practice after the sun appeared. I was fishing Smith trying to improve on my bluegill quest for this season. Daylight is the best time to land all species of fish on Smith; after the sun comes up I start experimenting with different poppers sizes and colors. I guess the appearance of the sun on Smith is a signal to the better fish to go deep and wait for an unusual fly pattern to light on the surface to get their attention.

This bull is the first of the morning headed for the baking pan. Four fillets coming from this fish with the fixings are an awesome meal. He fell prey to the Bar Nunn popper which worked really well before the sun appeared. I landed this fish on my 5 weight which was the backup to my broken 4 weight. I hope to have the 4 back next week.

This early morning gill nailed the white Bar Nunn popper right before the sun appeared over the treetops.  

Where do the bluegills go after they spawn? Deepwater and the ones on Smith hang out around the rock walls such as those in the image above. They spend more time on the rock walls than they do on the spawning beds throughout the year. I have caught big bluegill that regurgitated small shrimp while landing them. Those shrimp are located in the cracks of the big rocks and boulders located on the rock walls. The freshwater shrimp is the magnet that draws the bluegill to the rocks.

 In the Deep South, the bluegill spawn occurs at least 5 times from April through August. The full moon is the indicator for the spawn for each month during a given year. The bluegills are most active four days before the full moon and four days after the full moon. They will eat anything that is placed near their spawning beds during those 8 to 10 days. Cold fronts will drive the fish off the beds during the early spring months, but they reappear after a few days of warm weather. Knowing the full moon phases is critical during the bluegill spawning time. The rock wall above is one of my favorite walls to fish when the spawn is inactive.

When the white popper faded, the yellow landed a few; patience is the key when fishing the walls, sometimes the popper would sit motionless for 15 to 20 seconds before a light hit occurred.

After the sun appears expect smaller gills, such as this colorful sunfish, that took the Muddler Moth; an obvious throwback to catch next year.

Alan’s dry was also in use, with the 3 weight as the casting tool.

A few bass were hitting the dries as well as the bluegill. This spot put up quite a fight pulling against the 3 weight. Numerous dries and poppers were used this morning, some produced and others didn't work on this outing. Those that didn't work today may prove to be winners next time out. I didn't count any bluegill today for the quest.

  A Side Note: My wife and I put our house on the market last week with a local real-estate agency here in Jasper. We will be moving to Springhill Tennessee as soon as it sells. Hopefully, it will sell before school starts on August 1^st.

We want to be closer to our grandchildren and watch them grow up. They are at that fun age now of 7, 5, and 2. Our daughter and son-in-law have been wanting us to move closer to them for the past 3 years, so we have decided it is time; neither of us is getting any younger. I have already checked out the fishing spots in the area and there are many. The Caney Fork is near, which I intend to fish often over the coming years.