Bluegill Fishing Tactics- Help!

[Ruler]

OK guys, I don't mind admitting when I suck at something. While I don't suck at bluegill fishing through the ice, I do suck at getting anything while doing so. :( I was out yesterday on a small pond I know has a TON of bluegill in. Most all small fish, but a lot of them and they're usually quite hungry. I've fished it several times from my canoe in the summer- the shallows from 2' to 5' of water are the best fishing. It's great fun watching them and playing with them- enticing them to fight with each other, making them swim in a circle a dozen times, etc.

I started out about 6' of water, then moved to 2', then 4'. I went out to 9' (started with my lure on the bottom and worked up 9-12" at a time) and 12'. Never saw a fish in shallow and never had a single bite. I was using a teardrop tipped with an 86% real-fish-food rubberized grub that they fight over in the summer. I had a 4 pound florocarb leader on, the same as in the summer, although they bite well on 8 pound in the summer as well.

Anybody have any ideas as to what I can do to make these little guys want to play through the ice, or even locate them? (I don't know if they were there deep, but I know they weren't in 2' or 4' of water, as I could see bottom easily.)

[Lunker]

Heres the best tips I know of.
The best gill fisherman Ive seen use real worms of some sort and dont mess with the fakies this time of year, their too picky, you might get an occasional bite on those but not nearly as many as waxworms, or wigglers, spikes ect. . Then go to a lighter line leader like 1 pound if their real finicky, use a little anise oil for scent. I go flatten the barb alowing more hooksets and little loss with constant rod pressure, Use 2 rods with 4 difrernt colors till you dial in the one they want. I like to drop to the bottom then gently flutter the teardrop up in 1 inch increments to the top. Watching your spring bobber for any unatural little drop or raise, a slow flutter alows this. I like any glow,black with a orange dot or chart orange teardrops or marmooskas for ggills, and glowing chart or perch flying jigs with a chunk of chart power grub with a minnow for perch.
Also a green caddis or black beaded copper john as a top fly above tear drop takes more than the bait sometimes.

[IceDaddy]

Another thing to consider is, If thats just a small pond you are fishing it's probably been iced over for some time now, and the Oxygen level's are stating to go way down. Which in turn makes the fish very inactive. I would move to a bigger body of water
that is alot deeper.

[perchjerker]

I agree with Lunker. Gills can be really picky at times. But then, I have watched them through the hole sometimes bite my split shot and leave my maggot alone. Go figure. One time it made me so mad I took a #16 hook and pinched it in the split shot. Then they wouldnt touch it. It was pretty funny to watch, they would charge right up to it, give it a look then swim away.

[jeremy L]

Hey, do u know if there is any type of structure in that lake there is and it is in deeper water, 5 feet or more, i would bet that some gills would hang around it. Also, is that a public or private lake? the reason i ask that is because if there is no structure in the lake, U maybe able to sink a few logs or old x-mas trees in there durning the summer, so that by next winter u could fine the gills easier.

[Steve J]

I would agree with the other post about using real bait vs. fake. Especially when they are picky and also moving to a little water or a deeper lake. I use 2 lb line and a teardrop tipped with red spikes (if your bait shop has them) for gills. Always seems to work for me.

[perchjerker]

Jeremy-
Nice idea, but make sure you have a permit first. I know a guy a few years back who was doing that, someone in a house on the lake was watching him and called the DNR. He had to either pay a fine or remove them.

[DaveW731]

Ruler:
Another vote in favor of using live bait and lighter line. That may solve 90% of your problem. In terms of teardrops, I would suggest using size 12. My favorite colors are white, chartreuse pink and purple. You could then use either a spring bobber, or a float that is the smallest possible without sinking ( I like Thill's mini-stealth or shybite models). Once doing that, experimenting with depth of water and distance from bottom as you are already doing, is a pretty effective way of finding fish.
If you use the ideas from this thread and it doesn't make a difference, find a different lake, like IceDaddy suggested.

[Banditto]

I have several poles with 1/2 lb ice line. I find that the lighter the better. I try different things when it gets slow. I even fish with dry fly's through the ice.

[Catch&Keep]

Where do you get anise oil? Ive heard of using this a few times now. Thanks.

[YPSIFLY]

I'm learning it can be a lot like the real-estate business:

Location Location Location.

Yesterday the impoundment I fish was quite stained from runoff so I had to move around quite a bit to find fish. All the usual spots that produced over the last three days didn't work, the fish were closer to the springs than usual.

[Mike]

Where do you get anise oil?

Should be able to find it at a grocery store. Haven't used it in a long time, might have to go pick some up.

Mike

[Sarge]

The longer the ice is on the deeper they go. They like to hang in very weedy areas or around structures. Stumps, rock piles and old sunken ice shanty's are their favorites. In spring they will come very shallow to spawn on their beds and then move back into the weeds, In summer they are almost always just on the shallow side of a drop, or pick their favorite temp if depth is real gradual. But always, if there is something to hide in, or behind, that's where they'll be. They really like to dash out of site/reach when the bass and pike come around.

artificial bait works and works well when used properly, which changes with time and place. Even so, they ALWAYS prefer, live bait. I'm sure that holding it in your mouth is helpful as well but have not been deperate enough to try it yet.:D

fact number 7,862.443 as soon as you learn how they act, and start cashing in on your knowlege. They'll change their pattern. Just for a while. Usually during the time you have someone fishing with you that you want to show how easy it is. :D

[tubejig]

Tattoo Mike, anise oil huh. Do you think it works?????:D


Ruler, pm me your e-mail and I will send some pics of what does the job for me every winter.



tubejig

[patcheroo]

Ruler, I agree with what everyone else has said.I guess my question to you is what time of day are you fishing? I have been fishing on 2 lakes lately that are completely different.On the first, they start hitting about 830 in the morning and will bite all day. On the second, which I have only fished in the afternoon, if you are there beforee 430 you are wasting your time! The first time that I fished this second lake,I started fishing at 300.I didn't get a bite until 515 then limited out in 45 minutes. The fish were always there they just weren't biting. So experiment with your colors,bait,depth,and time of day. Hope this helps. Patch.

[ERGOMAN]

I always seem to have my slowest days toward the end of the season, the gills start to go higher in the water column and spread out more. I have this huge spool of 1# nylon thread that i spool on one pole and carry during that time in case there nibbling but not biting. I use the smallest teardrop i can find and try to hide it in the grub or mousie with another mousie on the hook. Seems to help me pick up more gills when there finicky, (electronics sure dont hurt!)

[John Deere 1]

I agree with most of the posts. Go to lighter weight line, 1 pound or less and use live bait. I have also had good luck with a white "ant" that has red dots and white rubber whiskers. Most of all, you have to be comfortable with what you are using as you will usually catch more fish if you have confidence in what you are using.

[sfw1960]

Clay -- you gave good info!!
Good man!!!
Ruler -- I still have CDs man... (You know??) heh...
The first & last light periods - check after dark too!!(If it's clear water I bet after dark)
I would suggest a #14 white (or glow)teardrop with a red dot with a single spike (AKA MaGooT!) impaled lightly in the fat end (rear) so it still squirms.... 1 LB clear line and use 1/8" to 1/4" quivering jiggin' actions.... start 2-3 " off bottom IN weed pockets & work your way up S-L-O-W-L-Y with that quiver - jig pausing every 6-8" until you've come up about 3-4 ft. then let it fall back down -- many takes will come while you do the "WaxWorMwiggLe" with that dinky spike....if this doesn't work , them fish are dead!!!
FORGET artificial dude!!!
:D RAS:D SFW:D
BTW this was my 666th post DUDE!! jus' fer you!!!
DUN!! DUN !! DUN!! DUN!!!DA! DUN!!!:p

[Ruler]

Thanks for all the tips guys. I'm somewhat overwealmed by the number of people responding.

SFK, I'll try your suggestion, but only after I decide to join PETA and stop eating all those steaks... ;) :D Need some source of protien!

I know that real bait would be much better, but this was my first time fishing gills though the ice. Based on how they devoured those little rubber things this summer, I figured they'd be OK for winter too. If I try this lake again this winter, I'll stop by somewhere and get some real bait.

I know that people generally use lighter line for gills through the ice, but there are quite a few bass in this pond and at least one large cat that I know was still there in September. Don't know of any pike, but I'd doubt it. With the bass and cat, I'm more than a little hesitant to go with really light line.

I don't have any electronics to locate structure and can't see down more than 5-6' deep. I do know that there's a big stump in about 10' of water at one spot in the lake, but don't remember where it was exactly. (Floated over it in the canoe on a sunny day this summer.) Other than that, the weedbeds around the edge where I was fishing is the only structure I know of.

Are spring bobbers or standard ones better? I'm using a Thill stick-like ice bobber, the smallest that will support the teardrop I had on. (The first one sank right away.)

I was fishing during the middle of the day- I know it's the worst time of day to fish, but it's the time I could go. I was just surprised that I didn't even see anything- it's almost like perch fishing on the bay this year! :eek: :(

SFW, believe it or not, I thought of you and those CDs the other day...

[Zeboy]

This has been an interesting thread to read. I follow the rule that you cannot possibly go too light for winter gills.

Here are a couple tips I stumpled on 15 years ago and have used them ever since. I swear by them.

The first one, borrowed from the serious whitefish crowd; instead of tying your jig directly to the line, tie it within a loop so the jig has more freedom to move and entice the big gills.

The second is clear mono sewing thread! It is lighter than any fishing line I have found, is amazingly strong, has inherent stretch which helps keep it from breaking, and is dirt cheap. This is delicate stuff and not meant to be laying on the ice. If you keep it on a reel it works great on the big gills.

Good luck to all.

[DaveW731]

Ruler:
This has been a great thread....love to see everyone's ideas. Your postings have always been good discussion starters. Hope you got some useful info...I know I have. I will be trying size 14 teardrops, next time the bite slows.
I would like to add some further comments about light line.....it really does make a big difference....I am willing to trade the occasional break offs (usually less than 4 per season...lots of bass and pike in my favorite lake) in exchange for more fish. That is why I have 3 of all of my favorite teardrops. Also, you may be suprised at the size of fish you can land on light line. Believe it or not, I iced a 20" northern on 3/4# line (of course I DID use a gaff, when the head came into the hole).

[Big Frank 25]

Light line, jig in a loop as Zeboy says. I never got into spring bobbers. Reading the line is made easier for me by tying of the line to the rod tip with a length of rubber band. This allows you to work only the length of line from the rod tip to water.;)

[fishman-1956]

most over the counter pharmicie's have it in a little bottle on the counter also works on spawn bags fishman

[DaveW731]

Ruler:
Looks like we forgot to answer your question about spring bobbers vs. floats, so I will give my 2c worth:
Plus and minus both ways: Spring bobbers allow for greater ease in searching various depths, by being able to slowly raise and lower the pole and have the bobber still be able to register a bite. Using a float allows a greater variety in jigging actions, since by lifting the float out of the water, you are directly connected to the pole, and can vary the jigging action from a slight, sharp quiver, to a longer, slower bobbing action. Can't do the quiver routine with a spring bobber. IMHO, if you have the float matched with the weight of the teardrop so that it is just barely floating (i.e., creates a slight dimple on the surface, with about 1/8 to 1/16" of the float above water) a float is just as sensative as a spring bobber.
A float quickly loses it's sensativity, as more of it protrudes above the surface. For that reason, if you switch to a lighter teardrop, that will affect the sensativity of a float, more than it will affect a spring bobber.
Hope you catch a bunch this weekend!
Dave

[FREEPOP]

All excellent suggestions.

Some days I've noticed they like a more active bait others they prefer it perfectly still. Fish with two poles and two holes, actively jigging one and let the other sit.

Trying to figure out fish is about as easy as figuring out women :eek: :D No offense intended.:)

[DaveW731]

Freepop:
Don't worry....I am sure the fish can take a joke! :D :D :D :D

[FREEPOP]

Dave, I hope so or else they might just with-hold their bite from me, until I grovel for it. On the plus side a trip to the bait store is much cheaper than flowers:D :D

[sfw1960]

DaveW731 , I agree with you wholeheartedly on EVERYTHING except the statement about :
Can't do the quiver routine with a spring bobber.
I NEVER use floats on the ice because of the depth variance (I do chase them up & down on the SONAR)..
BUT!!! I use the std. 'Schooley' flat spring steel - but I put it all the way to the end - to the tip-top with heatshrink tubing or electrical tape...
Most would agree that Rainbows can be finicky - and the same micro-wiggle works on them as do on bull gills.... there isn't one rod I own that has a flat steel spring back over the tip.... it makes a HUGE difference , try it - you'll like it!!!
:D Robert:D

[ifish4eyes]

Has anyone tried little trout flies? You would think it would look very natural to them. I'm going to give it a try next trip out.