10-24-2008, 01:21 AM
I hate to disagree with people right off, but nightcrawlers are probably the least effective bait for 'gills. Even when cut in small pieces, bluegill only reluctantly eat them, and won't if other choices are available.
Nobody really understands why.
Among the live bait preferences are wax worms (with mealworms second to them); red worms; and crickets. Likely the best live bait, albiet regional and seasonal, is to take a catalpa worm, turn it inside out on the hook, and drop it anywhere there are 'gills.
Bluegill are insect eaters as well, and the most fun (and with no icky factor) is to use a fly rod and small flies and poppers.
Not into fly fishing? No big deal. You can get casting bubbles, which, when filled with water or oil, let you flyfish with conventional tackle.
But there are other ways. A very effective bait is the Flutter Fry, which is a spoon you make yourself by wrapping a square of scrap aluminum (from a beverage can) around the hook shank, and trimming it to minnow shape.
There's a little more to it than that, and I'll be devoting a whole article to it at my web page. Contact me privately for details.
Brook
[signature]
Nobody really understands why.
Among the live bait preferences are wax worms (with mealworms second to them); red worms; and crickets. Likely the best live bait, albiet regional and seasonal, is to take a catalpa worm, turn it inside out on the hook, and drop it anywhere there are 'gills.
Bluegill are insect eaters as well, and the most fun (and with no icky factor) is to use a fly rod and small flies and poppers.
Not into fly fishing? No big deal. You can get casting bubbles, which, when filled with water or oil, let you flyfish with conventional tackle.
But there are other ways. A very effective bait is the Flutter Fry, which is a spoon you make yourself by wrapping a square of scrap aluminum (from a beverage can) around the hook shank, and trimming it to minnow shape.
There's a little more to it than that, and I'll be devoting a whole article to it at my web page. Contact me privately for details.
Brook
[signature]