Originally Posted by
bwframe
OK, I'm hesitant to do this, but since I'm among friends, I will give away my time proven bluegill harvesting secret. Please use it yourself, but keep it to yourself. With this method, I've harvested many, many #'s of fillets over the years. Other methods work at other times such as after spawn for much deeper fish, but this is the absolute best for spawning time. I continually outfish everyone on the lake and laugh at the fly rodders who do fine but don't even compare.
Gear;
long B&M rods
large spooled medium sized spinning reels
4# line
torpedo casting floats (normally clear teardrop shaped with eyelets on ends)
truturn #8 long shanked hooks (I like the red ones)
peepsight tubing
Rigging;
tie on hook
thread hook through top eyelet of float, then bottom, top again, bottom again
adjust float to 18ish"
cut 1/16" of tubing, thread over hook up and over bottom eyelet of float as stop
Fishing;
bait with cricket
this float will cast a mile, so use it to avoid spooking the fish
feather the end of your cast to lay cricket out in front of float
the cricket will do the work, so just wait (topwater hits are the funest)
if you don't get a hit within a minute, a couple of quick pulls will often start the slow fall, with the cricket still working. Watch for the float to move.
You still have to do your part. Isolating where the larger fish bed, catching the bulls making the beds and fishing from outside to in are keys.