Hearington Lake Bluegill

[Quailtail]

Interested in trying to find decent Bluegill fishing close to home. Not looking for your exact spots but an idea of where, how, and what bait this time of year. I understand the lake holds some good fish.

[crappiepappy]

Interested in trying to find decent Bluegill fishing close to home. Not looking for your exact spots but an idea of where, how, and what bait this time of year. I understand the lake holds some good fish.

Biggest Bluegill I've caught have come on crankbaits (Wee R). Also the biggest Warmouth I've ever caught.

A couple of other ways are:

Crickets cast out & allowed to pendulum back to the boat ... out in the main lake between the Kennedy Bridge & Chimney Rock Marina.

If it's around the Full Moon / spawning period ... wax worms on a popeye jig under a small float along the cliffs or steep rocky banks. You're subject to hooking into Channel Cats doing this, also.

Deep points up in Red Gate Creek have also been a good place to catch decent Bluegill ... but, for me that was more than 50yrs ago & in August, and we used "horseweed worms" back in those days.

[jcb]

and we used "horseweed worms" back in those days.

Is that a green worm?

[crappiepappy]

Is that a green worm?

No ... Green Worms come out of the river banks.

A Horseweed Worm is actually a Common Stalk Borer (larvae stage of a moth). We used to find them in Giant Ragweed plants, along the roadside fences of farms.

My Grandpa called the Giant Ragweed plant a "Horseweed" .... so the "worms" we found inside the stalks were "Horseweed Worms". As I remember .... it was generally in late July into August when we'd travel the backroads looking for a fence row with the plants growing up along the fences. We'd look for the holes in the stalks and the bulged out area ... then cut the stalk well above & below those, then put the stalks in a burlap sack. Now, mind you, this was some 60yrs ago.

Oh, and long sleeved shirts & plenty of "Deep Woods Off" sprayed on is mandatory !! Chiggers & Ticks love these plants.

[jcb]

No ... Green Worms come out of the river banks.

A Horseweed Worm is actually a Common Stalk Borer (larvae stage of a moth). We used to find them in Giant Ragweed plants, along the roadside fences of farms.

My Grandpa called the Giant Ragweed plant a "Horseweed" .... so the "worms" we found inside the stalks were "Horseweed Worms". As I remember .... it was generally in late July into August when we'd travel the backroads looking for a fence row with the plants growing up along the fences. We'd look for the holes in the stalks and the bulged out area ... then cut the stalk well above & below those, then put the stalks in a burlap sack. Now, mind you, this was some 60yrs ago.

Oh, and long sleeved shirts & plenty of "Deep Woods Off" sprayed on is mandatory !! Chiggers & Ticks love these plants.

Never heard of those, very cool.

Sort of reminds me of when I used to visit my cousins down South and gather catalpa worms for bluegill bait. Nothing better!

[CarolKnowles]

Crankbaits!