Catching The Shellcrackers – Now The Bluegills

Just a few weeks ago I was down in Tavares Florida fishing over the side of the boat for the Big Daddy Bluegill, the Shellcracker. Now we are in Northern Wisconsin hammering the Bluegills and Sunfish on the Fly Rods. The Bluegills we found were not on the spawning beds since it’s too early, but the dry fly or spider is still the best method for catching bluegills in early Spring to early Summer. So don’t miss out on catching large Bluegills & Sunfish quick and easy.

Catching Bluegills One After Another

So I hired a another young engineer this year who is new to Minnesota and fishing. Knowing he is far from home I wanted to help him feel comfortable in his new surroundings and invited him to join me on a Bluegill Fishing trip. Eric accepted the offer, so I picked up one of my sons and we headed just North of Chippewa Falls Wisconsin, home of the Leinenkugel Beer. And yes I do know Jake & Peggy Leinenkugel, unfortunately I do not drink beer.

Once on the lake my son pulled out the fly rod and began to work the shoreline and weeds while I maneuvered the boat slowly along. Within 30 minutes we found a spot in a small bay where the big males were very active. The spot was in the shape of a half moon with an arc or radius of 10 feet reaching out toward the shoreline. The Big Male Bluegills were feeding aggressively in 4 foot of water. Now this type of feeding happens all summer long, but as the days get hotter they will go deeper due to the warm water. So you will need to fish at Sun Rise or just before Sun Set in these shallow areas to catch them. Now in this particular spot we were fishing, if any of our spiders landed outside this small moon shape area we would not get a hit, but anything inside the area would catch a Bluegill on every cast. The larges Gills o this trip were running up to 9.5 inches long, which is a very nice Bluegill in the Mid-West.

Were these Bluegills and Sunfish On The Spawning Beds

These Big Bluegills were not on the beds, but you will find throughout the spring and even into late June you can find the large gills in shallow water feeding. And any dry fly or popper will light-up the water. This is why I have my fly rod in the boat all year long, ready for those gills and crappies feeding in shallow water.

Best Bluegill Bait On This Trip

The baits we used on this trip was once again our homemade top-water spiders, with the best being our brown body with rainbow flashabou legs. You will see the sunlight sparkle off these legs easily in our video.

The Bluegill Catch

Well I tell you, teaching an Engineer (Eric) how to fly fish is not as easy as you might think, I sure hope he’s a better engineer than a fly fishermen… The best thing is we had fun, and we caught plenty for a good meal or two.