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  • Tips for Fishing Bluegill Beds

    If I told you that blue gill spawn 4 or more times a year and their beds make for great areas in the heat of the summer to find active bass, would you believe it? Its true and the good news is most bluegill beds are easy to find just look for hard bottom areas in 2 to 6 feet of water, add some shell beds and you have the blue gill bedding areas, you can’t miss them. Areas like scattered grass, stumps and water soaked wood make great areas for them to bed. Bedding areas aren’t always the same size as they take on different areas from just a few beds in a given area to hundreds in others. The thing to remember is the beds will generally be near deeper water, ranging from 10 to 12 feet and sharp drops with beds on them make for the best bass fishing; points in front of open bays or once islands that are now covered from erosion.


    One of the best ways I catch fish over bluegill beds is using top water baits, the noise and motion of buzz baits, or popping baits make for great top action and catching plenty of bass. It’s also a great place to pull a swim bait over the top or work a lightly weighted jig. One key to me is making several casts and covering the area inch to inch. The key is not disrupting the beds, so you don’t run the bluegill from the beds yet picking them apart strategically.


    You accomplish that by keeping your boat positioned away from the beds preferably in deep water where you’re trolling motor won’t scare the bluegill away, if the bluegill stay in the area so will the bass. It’s also important to not overwork an area, develop a pattern to cover the bedding area so you are not pounding the same piece of wood over and over, cover the area with a plan and move on to another bedding area if you don’t get bite. Lastly look for activity on or near the beds, where there are schools of bait fish in there with the bedding bluegill there will also be bass. The more active the bedding area is, the more chances you have of getting your line stretched.


    Fish Lake Guntersville Guide Service
    www.fishlakeguntersvilleguideservice.com
    Email: bassguide@comcast.net
    Call: 256 759 2270
    Captain Mike Gerry