Big Time Bluegill

People the read my blog and keep up with the new material know I love to fish for big Bluegill.  And, based on all the email and questions I get, apparently other peole enjoy fishing bull gills also.  Last week I had the opportunity to hit one of my favorite lakes in Northern Minnesota for Giant Bluegill and once again it did not disappoint.  So, what lake were you fishing you ask.  Well, that is not important, I have talked plenty about this lake.  What is important is the way I go about targeting trophy bluegill this time of year.

Since we are basically in the middle of winter, you know that point where the average temps are suppose to rise each day but never seem to do so.  That point where the ice is over 20 inches thick and you can just about drive anywhere as long as the snow allows.  That point where the local anglers in most spots are complaining about the bite and how tough it is.   Yes, we all know what I am talking about.  So, what do you do?

First, you have to realize that the fish have been under the ice for almost two months now and oxygen levels are getting low in most lakes.  Low oxygen leads to inactive fish in most lakes and a void of fish in many of the shallow water hot spots that are popular early ice.  It is time to change your old ways and use technology to put some fish on the ice.  They are still there and willing to bite with a few modifications to your program.

When I say technology, I mean get out your GPS and LakeMaster mapping chip and find a new spot that incorporates deep water near a shallow feeding shelf.  On a LakeMaster map it will look like steep contours near a point or shallow flat.  However, for the most part you can forget about the shallow feeding flat and concentrate on the deep water.  With low oxygen levels fish spend very little time feeding in shallow water.  In fact, unless you fish just at first light or at dark, the shallow water in most lakes may be void of fish right now.

Those fish that you are accustomed to catching shallow are roaming the deep basin near that feeding shelf.  You need to get out your auger and drill out that deep water using your flasher to look for fish.  If you don't find fish, drop a bait down each hole and see if you can get them to show up.  I generally give each hole less than a minute while looking for these fish.  For the most part, they will be relating to the bottom 10 feet of the water column but may not be on the bottom.  The higher off the bottom you find them, the more likely they are to bite. 

Once you locate these basin fish you should have an excellent bite between 8-11AM and 1-4 PM.  As I mentioned earlier, before 8 AM and after 4 PM you may want to look back in that shallow water because despite low oxygen levels the fish will still use shallow water to feed.  However, locating the fish is only half the battle.  These basin fish don't stay in one spot very long, sot is not uncommon to continue to have to move from hole to hole to stay after them  If you chose to stay in one place it becomes a waiting game as the schools of roaming fish move around but they do generally come back.  If you want to up your odds, you have to keep after them!

It is that time of year to get out and look for those deep water fish.  By doing so you may be rewarded with some of the biggest bluegill in the system.  I was fortunate to connect with this 10.5 inch giant bluegill last week while targeting these basin giants.  We did catch about 30 bluegill on the day with most averaging 9 inches.  This one was the only bluegill that broke the 10 inch mark and being big and fat like it was, I would estimate about 1.4 pounds.  It is interesting to note that last year I got a 10.25 inch bluegill in the same spot and it weighed 1 pound 3 ounces.  So, keep after those big bulls, they are out there and are still willing to bite when you find them!