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Thread Like Summary
4CornersPuddle, Augie, esshup, FishinRod, gehajake, Rangersedge, SENKOSAM, teehjaeh57
Total Likes: 25
Original Post (Thread Starter)
by Rangersedge
Rangersedge
Cold weather has me thinking about bluegill fishing next spring...

If you got invited to a private lake to fish for bluegill; but was restricted to one fishing outfit (rod reel etc) and 10 lures, what would you take? What about just three lures? Just one?
Liked Replies
by Rangersedge
Rangersedge
Did a quick inventory. I don't think I could "justify" purchasing another lure if I fished every day for the next thirty years in a snag infested creek. Definitely need to spend more time fishing.
4 members like this
by Sunil
Sunil
"... I blow my own mind sometime."

The power of self-rationalization is the key to success for some, and failure for others....
2 members like this
by esshup
esshup
I think lures hook more fishermen than fish.
2 members like this
by FishinRod
FishinRod
Originally Posted by esshup
I think lures hook more fishermen than fish.

That is what my father told us as kids when we were trying to allocate our allowances to the correct distribution of lures.

His exact quote was, "The tackle companies don't design lures to catch fish, they design them to catch fishermen."
2 members like this
by SENKOSAM
SENKOSAM
Haven't been here in a while though I should post more often because of the great replies to my past posts. Image posting was a problem but I'll give it another go, though I wish the forum had a way to upload shots right from my computer.
The following ideas and suggestions are opinionated - mine alone. They are not meant to be taken as gospel but only as suggestions based on years discovering the many ways to catch fish.

When it comes to catching fish on lures, two rules apply starting out:
1. larger lures exclude small fish from biting
2. smaller lures catch everything regardless the water fished

Finesse lures and presentations get it done. By finesse, I mean any lure that exhibits the slightest subtle movements. A 2" Floating Rapala twitched on the surface producing ripples is a finesse lure and presentation. There are an infinite number of finessee soft plastic shapes, but all require a light jighead or only a hook.

The most amazing and thrilling thing is to discover new lure shapes fish attack. Early this year a pickerel tore off the curt tail of my 2" grub. I figured: why not use it with no action tail? Dang if it didn't catch a slew of fish this summer!!!
[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]
I started to experiment with more colors and shapes:
[Linked Image from i.imgur.com] [Linked Image from i.imgur.com] [Linked Image from i.imgur.com]
Note: colors added using a soft-plastic dye.

I also melted together two grub bodies together for a different shape and waddle:
[Linked Image from i.imgur.com] [Linked Image from i.imgur.com] [Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

Jig head weight: 1/32, 1/24 oz.; hook size #6
Like the retrieve another posted, slight reel hand turns along with occasional rod tip twitches, making the lure slowly dart, wobble & pause.

Another discovery was figuring out how to improve the shape and action of a 2.5" Sassy Shad. I simply cut off the belly thereby creating a flat bottom surface but also shortened the lure by cutting off 1/4" from the front. It also caught fish! The shimmy of the body is much nicer.
[Linked Image from i.imgur.com] [Linked Image from i.imgur.com] [Linked Image from i.imgur.com]
The same jig weights were used but also a #4 hook for a larger length S Shad.

I also attached the Shad tail to a grub body using the candle flame method posted a few years ago:
[Linked Image from i.imgur.com] [Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

Here's a final suggestion:
Use a light jig head and #1/0 hook attached to a Softie or Gary Yamamoto Kut Tail Worm. Both have an amazing action as they whip & pause back & forth between pauses:
Softie worm: [Linked Image from i.imgur.com]
GY Kut tail: [Linked Image from i.imgur.com]
2 members like this
by esshup
esshup
Originally Posted by Rangersedge
With the Stubby Steve's, what if the fish aren't fed?

Stubbys have had great success selling the bait to guys that fish the crappie tournaments and they are used like the Berkley crappie nibbles. Public water, so even if one or two property owners feed the fish, it's not like a private pond, and they are Crappie, not bluegills.

For bluegill, I have had great success using a 1" or 2" while twister tail power bait on a 1/100th oz jig head. Put the tail up, slowly retrieve it back, pausing for a second every once in a while. I typically fish with 2# test or at the most 4# test and catch a ton of bluegills on them. Caught about every other species of fish in the ponds too. If using 2# test, about every 10 fish I'd re-tie the jig head on the line. I've used unpainted jig heads with the same success as painted ones.
1 member likes this
by Rangersedge
Rangersedge
I agree that it is hard to beat a worm or cricket for absolutely maximizing your numbers. For worms, do you use the tiny jigs (like Shorty), regular hooks, long shank hooks, or circle hooks?

With the Stubby Steve's, what if the fish aren't fed?

Which lures do you like best? My top ones are probably a panfish magnet (in buffalo?), Berkley power nymph in pink, mister twister excite nymph in a brownish color (pumpkin flake?), beetle spin black and yellow, roadrunner in chartreuse, and smallest johnson silver minnow spoon with tiny twister tail trailer.. I have a pretty good variety of little crankbaits, flies, and other lures; but the little treble hooks on crankbaits sometimes complicate catch and release - especially if swallowed. I've caught 14 pound channel and a 9 or 10 pound bass before fishing for bluegill. Every time I start looking at my lure collection, I realize that I don't need more lures. I need more time to use the ones I have.
1 member likes this
by RAH
RAH
You got me thinking that I need to free up some time to fish, no matter what the bait!
1 member likes this
by BEPA
BEPA
check out videos on youtube by Weckerle outdoors. Has many videos on how to catch fish, what to use for walleye, white bass, perch, trout and so on. It is free and very interesting guy on the use of different lures and things you may have not thought of doing. Fun.
1 member likes this
by gehajake
gehajake
Originally Posted by FishinRod
Originally Posted by esshup
I think lures hook more fishermen than fish.

That is what my father told us as kids when we were trying to allocate our allowances to the correct distribution of lures.

His exact quote was, "The tackle companies don't design lures to catch fish, they design them to catch fishermen."

And he was correct, and they do a damn good job of it.

The funniest is when you looking into your buddy's tackle box and tell him, "there aint no self respecting fish gonna bite on something like that" only to find the exact same lure in your own tackle box later, Oh well,, He don't need to know about this one.
1 member likes this
by Dwight
Dwight
In the winter use the tiniest jig you have and put waxy or spike on there. In our pond that equals continuous action until a BIG fish comes to the area for a BG snack.
1 member likes this
by Augie
Augie
Originally Posted by FishinRod
His exact quote was, "The tackle companies don't design lures to catch fish, they design them to catch fishermen."

20-some years ago the wife decided to have a garage sale. I started digging through tackleboxes/bags/totes/etc. and pulled out a bunch of
stuff that either didn't work or had never been used. I took in close to $500 on that stuff.

To Jake's point about what's in your buddy's tackle box... one morning on the Osage River my buddy Nick took one look at the Rebel G-Finish crayfish crankbait that I was tying on and sez "You're not going to catch anything on that stupid pos thing!"

Then that stupid pos thing caught every smallmouth bass in the river and made him eat his words. It was very satisfying, for me anyway.
I haven't fished that lure since, but every now and then just for fun I pull it out and show it to Nick.
1 member likes this
by Sunil
Sunil
Nice report!
1 member likes this
by FishinRod
FishinRod
I too have had excellent success in the past using chartreuse lures.

That is NOT a color found in nature.

Is it purely a visibility issue? Do predator fish species have color receptors in their eyes that are that sensitive and discriminating?
1 member likes this
by esshup
esshup
Originally Posted by gehajake
Cant go wrong with a little chartreuse color added onto whatever you are fishing with for BG, I have a pretty good luck with the chartreuse Berkley niblets on a Charlie Brewers slider jig for Crappie and BG, usually the brighter the color, the better the BG like it, or in other words, wont leave it alone, Crappie are a little more finicky as to the color and retrieval speeds and action. also seems like every pond is different as to what colors work best, seems weird, but a color that works good in one pond will not work as good in another, and the crazy part is it wont change much. the next time you are back in that pond remember what color worked best last time in that pond.
Im tellin ya,, fishin ain't easy, or for the faint of heart. but my desire for fresh crappie fillets keeps me goin. one day at a time, one foot in front of the other!

So true on the color. Chartreuse seems to chase fish away in my pond. Even a green jig head on a white twister tail will stop them from biting it. Change the color of the head to any other color and they go back to grabbing it. Weird for sure.
1 member likes this
by SENKOSAM
SENKOSAM
Originally Posted by FishinRod
I too have had excellent success in the past using chartreuse lures.

That is NOT a color found in nature.

Is it purely a visibility issue? Do predator fish species have color receptors in their eyes that are that sensitive and discriminating?

Excellent observation and question !

Color is in the eye of the beholder. wink wink The color I see above the water is totally different that what a fish sees given the less-than-clear water it lives in, depth and light intensity. But....

If I have any superstitions regarding lures, it's color. It's like watching a miracle take place that I become a believer for the rest of my life after what I just saw: fish biting a specific lure in that and maybe a few other colors. No need to carry 10 colors when 3 will do.

Match the hatch-is-nonsense IMO. But fish senses are cued in to detect specific motions that cause them to react. Is color another?
So, as in the above example, chartreuse, orange and black are perch colors that stand out, teasing predators to attack as is their nature. On the other hand, pearl, and pumpkin with green or blue flakes in soft plastic or in a silicone skirt, simulate nothing yet after so many fish were caught on them, I have to believe they will work anywhere given the specific lure that caught fish.

Many colors and color combinations have done well - some that are in-their-face when it comes to color brightness and contrasting, black stripes, dots or coachdog patterns. Do eyes on a lure matter? Nope! That isnot superstition, just fact.
1 member likes this
by SENKOSAM
SENKOSAM
Dave, you and I are on the same page:
1. was a sucker buying so much crap for who knows what reason except those given in BassMaster mag., In-fisherman and other media sources. Still have most of it - i.e. many crankbaits still new in unopened boxes; skirted jigs and spinnerbaits I made myself; unused soft plastics still in bags. Wish I knew of a way to sell them cheap.

2. I also sold my Ranger/ 90hp bass boat for a song. (Of course I now own a 16' aluminum boat with 60 hp I used only a few times this year, preferring a 12' Jon boat with 2.5 hp Merc.)

3. also fished tournaments for years - sometimes with 2 clubs at the same time. Can't even remember how many I came in 1st place.....

Once I started creating my own lures and testing them in many small waters, the desire to go back to using conventional lures and fishing many large waters is gone.
1 member likes this
by gehajake
gehajake
Originally Posted by Rangersedge
Did a quick inventory. I don't think I could "justify" purchasing another lure if I fished every day for the next thirty years in a snag infested creek. Definitely need to spend more time fishing.

I kinda know the feeling, but isnt it strange tho, when you are out fishing you dig thru your tackle box and realize you are out of the one you use most and really wish you had right now?
I know when I look thru my tackle box and see some of the crap I have bought at sometime or other and wonder what the heck made me even think that would catch any decent thinking fish, I blow my own mind sometime.
1 member likes this
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