At what water temp do you target bluegills? I am a believer in picking the corn when the corn is ready. In other words when the steelhead are in, I fish for the steelies, when the gills are ready I want to fish for the gills but I fish for trout as much as possible. I missed the gill action last year, but want to take advantage of it this year. I know in our area, June is a big month for gills but with the weather variation that has occured this year, I am more interested in water temps than a traditional date or time of the year. Thanks for your help.
I checked the internet, and found several sources which suggest Bluegill begin spawning activities when the water hits 70 degrees…and peaks at around 75 degrees.
I checked my Fishing Log for last year. Looks like water temps were around 60 in the lakes when the bluegills started to hit the beds in smaller ponds. The ponds tend to warm quicker, so my experience suggests the bluegills may actually start bedding in the 65 degree range.
For trout fishing, the chronomids hatch in the sunniest corner of the lake that has a mud bottom. In spring you find the warmest place on the lake for the biggest fish. I imagine it would be the same for the gills try the spot on the lake that the sun hits first in the morning and thus heats that spot for a longer period each day.
I don’t know much about Wisconsin, but FishNDave is right on target about temps. I would have said Memorial Day, but that might vary a week one way or another depending on where you live.
They probably start staging a little earlier than that and if you know where the beds are in your favorite lakes or ponds you might try fishing the deeper waters just out from the beds.
Good catches of bluegills can be had as soon as the ice goes off. Pre spawn bluegills can be a little tough to find but when you do, you will likely catch some of the best fish of the year. I have already had several 50 - 60 fish days this spring and they are not anyways near spawning yet.
Don’t neglect the fall either. I catch good numbers right up to ice-up in water in the mid 30s.
Jerry,
We had a fine day Tuesday…Of course, I FORGOT to take my new William Joseph Digital Thermometer :oops:, but the water was pretty cold. I think that an early “spike” in water temps will activate 'em. Ours were hitting nymphs & red butt epoxy ants.
Mike
Mr Fitzgerald, I can see the dandelions through the snow!
Water is either too high or too cold around here for me
Awesome hatch of something on the river today. At least the thousand-odd swallows were eating them, but I never saw a rise. Not that you could at those flows.
We used to catch plenty of big gills right through the ice. A dead drifted pheasant tail or gold ribbed hare’s ear nymph will take gills anytime during and after ice out. Add a bead head to really drive them wild.
Bluegill will eat all year long. In cold water move the flies very slowly.
Fish are coldblooded so the water temperature makes a difference in how fast they move. Also the clairity of the water makes a difference.
Thanks for everyone’s ideas and info. Again, I didn’t make myself very clear when I spoke of picking the corn when the corn is ready. I think most people can catch all species most of the year. If you target a particular species they can be caught all year. I chase carp with a fly rod and Brad Befus and Barry Reynolds both have caught them on the fly 10 out of 12 months. BUT and here is the issue that I am looking at, when it the best time to fish for them.
It’s hard to do it all. If you are a largemouth fisherman, that is different that being a serious walleye guy or a muskie guy or a trout guy. If you specialize in spring creeks vs ponds, vs large rivers vs … For someone that wants to dabble, there are still times to pick the corn when the corn is ready. I was just looking for the best time to chase gills. I could be wrong, but I find that most species are fairly active and moving, which means that we can locate them easier, around their spawning time and then again in the fall when they put on the fedsack to get ready for the winter.
I finished targeting steelhead since the spring run is basically over in my area, so now I am looking for the next best crop to attend to. I think that the gills will offer me some local fun when I am farther away from my trout water and gas approaches $4/ gal.
Why don’t you just type Wisconsin Bluegills in the Yahoo or Google search engines? That’s what I just did, and whaddya know? Everything you would want to know about peak periods, bedding gills, and when to fish for Wisconsin bluegills just popped right up, including a way to get a great booklet about Wisonsin Bluegills that was just published by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in 2007. I always target bluegills and other panfish myself when trout season basically peters out around home in my neck of the woods, which was, once upon a time, New Jersey, then Maine and presently upstate New York. You can do that or heII, I’ll just tell you…JUNE!!! Say Thanks for the legwork RW and I’ll say Your Welcome…
Around here they seem to be reasonably active all year, with different approaches being more effective as different water temps prevail, but I’d have to say I get my biggest gills from ice out until they hit the beds (as a rule I don’t fish the beds when they are spawning) in about 65-70 degree water. after that the big boys go deep and come out, like bass, in the early morning and late evening (often well after sunset) to feed.
Since I don’t kill any trout, and my wife was screaming for fish, I went out yesterday and caught a bunch of nice 'gills and a few crappie for the pan on my local lake (in PA). The water temp here is in the mid 50’s I believe. They were in the shallow water along shore, and would not come to the surface for poppers or dries, but would take a bead head anything near the bottom. Later in May or in early June when the water temp hits the mid to upper 60’s they will slam anything on the surface, that’s when the real fun starts.
Before leaving Kansas last week, I had three productive outings where I caught mostly bluegills (some redear sunfish, some crappie). I went to the lake around 5PM all three times and fished until dark. Not sundown…DARK.
In all three trips the bluegills were hitting at different times. Two trips, they hit for only 30 or 45 minutes then quit almost entirely. The water was pretty cold but I wouldn’t guess at the temperature. I don’t carry a thermometer.
Generally what seemed to matter most to the fish was that the evening feeding activity picked up around sundown, or an hour before. Said late hours (I presume) being when the evening insect hatch started getting underway.
So I would suggest that you go late in the day regardless of how cold or warm you think the water is. Even if you don’t catch any 'gills you’ll get to observe the water surface for telltale evidence of insects hatching…and swirling fish cashing in on the insects vulnerable emerging stage.
Judging by everyones posts 60 something to 70 something sounds like a fair bet for gills. I remember reading somewhere that bass spawn somewhere around in the low 60’s and I remember catching lots of bluegills when the bass where nesting so maybe something around 65 degrees is good.
I was on the water last night. The main lake was 57 F. I found a incoming stream into the lake the poured into a shallow bay. That bay was 59F. We fished the main lake for a little while and were not able to locate fish. When I found this 2 F difference the fish were there. I was not just the temp difference, but the depth and composition of the bottom as well contributed to it holding the fish. The gills were there in numbers. We both caught many more fish than our limits, but only kept a few for a nice meal.
This prespawn staging is a great time to chase them. I mostly fished a hare’s ear nymph, but had success on soft hackles and copper johns as well. It was so much fun we will hit a different lake today. You can bet that I will bring the thermometer along too.
