Pond Boss Forums FISH & FISHING Sunfish-Including Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass Bluegill fishing - favorite lures & equipment

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?

Nightcrawlers.

Stubby Steves

Yep, with an 1/80th oz micro jig and a casting bubble rigged as a slip bobber.

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.

I put 1" nightcrawler bits on a #6 Aberdeen. If I'm concentrating on removing little BG, I may use a #8,

Good point Rod and I have no answer. I’ve been feeding pellets a lot longer than I’ve used Stubby Steves.

However, I have used colored Stubbies with good results. And, I have no idea whether the color matters.

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.

We've had great luck with a jig called a mini-mite. White seems to out fish most other colors for us.

I've had good success with the small white twister tail jigs too.

I bought some of the mini mites long ago because I thought they looked like they'd work well; but I've never tried them. I'll make it a point this spring!

https://www.cubbylure.com/cubby-mini-mite-jig/

what color minimite, the white with pink jig head or it looks there is a white with glow in the dark jig head? I think my local Blain's Farm and Fleet store has them, not sure where else to find them.

We often use the pink head jig, but the green/chartreuse color is also great.

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.

Sinking: Brown or black bead head flies. Also Stubby Steves if pond feeding going on.

Topwater: Rubber legged "spider" fly, preferably dark body & white legs so it can be seen clearly.

A BeetleSpin in catalpa worm is hard to beat. Trout/panfish Magnet is excellent. An earthworm or piece of nightcrawler is #1.

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.

You got me thinking that I need to free up some time to fish, no matter what the bait!

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.

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.

"... I blow my own mind sometime."

The power of self-rationalization is the key to success for some, and failure for others....

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."

With that said, I do like the Live Target Lures. BUT if you can catch a LMB on a Senko, then I guess you can catch them on anything.

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.

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.

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.

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!!!

I started to experiment with more colors and shapes:

Note: colors added using a soft-plastic dye.

I also melted together two grub bodies together for a different shape and waddle:


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.

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:


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:
GY Kut tail:

Nice report!

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?

BG and LMB tend to bite on damn near anything you throw at them sometimes, almost seems like the brighter the better, actually in my pond I would like to find something the little suckers wont bite on, the BG I mean, I cant catch any YP for not being able to keep BG off the hook.
BC and other more finicky fish, I have never had as much luck with a Chartreuse or other bright colors. and old standby is the Charlie Brewer slider, in a black with white tail, or a baby bass color or a motor oil color, which is an oarangeish color, I think it mimics the color of a mini crawdad, I have caught an enormous amount of Crappie on those. and the tail action on a 1 1/2" CB slider jig is something they cant resist.

Excellent observation and question !

Color is in the eye of the beholder. 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.

I once heard that lures are designed to catch fishermen; not fish. I burnt a lot of gas chasing bass tournaments across Texas. That was back when.

They’ve certainly caught me. I have multiple tackle boxes of “stuff”; a lot that I have never have and never will use. I recently gave my 10 year old great grandson a half dozen rods/reels and a tackle box full of stuff guaranteed to catch fish. Still have way too much both at home and in the country.

I had a 20 ft Ranger boat with 200 hp Evinrude that I didn’t use for years. Finally gave it away to a young guy 3 years ago.

Does a good nap highlight your day?

Absolutely , Turning 69 soon, Power Nap or old fashioned Nap Nap , so very important ! Can Nap anywhere .

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.

If I had to stick with one rod and reel combo, I'd pick a 5-6 foot ultralight spinning rod with a smooth reel. Something like the Ugly Stik Elite Spinning Rod paired with a Shimano Sienna reel. Super light and fun for those feisty bluegills.

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I’m also not short on firearms and a safe that is stuffed full with closet queens. Unbelievable amount of hand loading gear. And, I dang near never shoot anymore. Built my own range with stations at 25 and 100 yards. Big packs of targets. I thought about doing some shooting a week or so ago. Then I remembered that it’s deer season and I try not to pop a cap unless it’s at a deer.

Lots of tools with standing tool chests at both home and country. Biggest issue with the tools is that I have trouble figuring out which box to look in. No problem. I have multiples of most things.

Got a Private Message asking about my shooting range back stop.

It’s old retired railroad cross ties stacked about 4.5 ft. tall. Then cheap plywood screwed onto it.Push pins(thumb tacks) to put the paper targets to the plywood.

If I had to pick one outfit and 10 lures, I'd go with an ultralight spinning combo and a mix of small jigs, soft plastics, and tiny crankbaits.

I remember one year, years ago, when very small 3/4"? powder blue curley tail jigs were absolute dynamite on local bluegills. Probably still have a couple hundred; but haven't even tried one for a long time.

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Worms or crickets work well.

Dudley, a nap doesn’t actually highlight my day. But, my recliner and I are certainly on a first name basis. Retirement is the poorest paying and most boring job I’ve ever had.Been dang near everywhere within driving distance and a couple of years ago we went to Africa and shot some animals that I wasn’t a dang bit mad at.

Then, last year, drove to Seattle, saw grandkids, took an Alaska cruise and did some whale watching. After the cruise we headed East, turned North and went to Canada. Headed South for several hundred miles and took a left and headed East for quite a few hundred miles. Next, North to a different part of Canada. Then back South and, at some point, headed West to Oklahoma. Then to our second home at Bowie Texas. Then back to Home at Cowtown.

Don’t need and dang sure can’t afford another vacation.

At least you did some things although you're probably still trying to figure out why. Unfortunately, it only gets worse until the most important thing becomes having a clear path to the bathroom.

Dudley, I do have a good understanding about the clear path.

Ah, yes. That wild-eyed desperate rush is such fun! Have you had that special Wal-Mart experience yet, my aging Brother?

While you guys are waxing about being way out on the Back 9 (over 50), I'd have to agree on always having a clear path to the head.

In recent years, my wife has taken on a nasty habit of stacking boxes/random stuff behind closed doors and in front of closet doors, thus making access to either a royal pain. If she ever blocks any kind of access to the head, I'll know she's gone off the deep end, and will separate.

Ah, another online Brother, only this one thinks he lives in a republic instead of under an occasionally benevolent dictator. Sunil, if you'll do quick research of the Barbie Doll line, you'll meet DIVORCED BARBIE. She comes boxed with Ken's house, Ken's car, Ken's boat, etc.

Dave, were you able to do some salmon fishing in Alaska? Our cruise stopped in Sitka and we did a day guided fishing trip. If our property sells for anything like what the realtor says it will, I intend to take my son, grandson (13 yr), and best friend up to Waterfall Resort. Very pricey, but I'm not getting any younger, and this could be the trip of a lifetime for my grandson. Buying stuff, like a fancy car or palatial house, doesn't appeal to me nearly as much as making memories.

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Anth, no fishing. I was strictly sight seeing. The only time we left the boat was to do a self guided walk through a tourist stop, sucker deal, town. But, we did enjoy going on a small boat to watch whales mop up on some grocery fish and to see some walrus’s taking life easy on a buoy after we had done the cruise. We didn’t know what to expect so just did the boat ride.

But, the best part of the trip was driving through Northern states and the mountains. Ive elk and deer hunted a lot of them but never just drove and looked. Didn’t see a deer or elk on the trip.

Cruise was kind of a low point on the 3 week touristing.