Gill Fishing

[bank fishergal]

Mike & I went fishing along the canal today & caught 30 decent bluegills. :) The bite was a little slow & it was a little breezy, but we had a good time. Mike caught more :rolleyes: than I did but it was still nice to get out fishing again. Maybe next time I'll catch more than him. I'll be glad when we get a chance to go to IA & get some bigger gills. These will taste great anyway & they will be our meal tomorrow, with some leftover for later. Loraine

[crappiegirl]

It sounds like you had a good time. Hopefully I'll get out this weekend, I've been so busy with school and work that I almost forgot what fishing is!! I bought some new tackle the other day and I'm dying to try it out!

How big are decent size gills in your area? We had some friends from WI here a while back and I couldn't believe what they were keeping. Those guys could pull a fillet off a minnow!!

[T Bartels]

Sounds like you guys a fun time!!

Ever since school strted and football season began i havent been fishing since! I'm hoping to get 1 last trip in but i dont know if i'm gonna because deer season just started and my personnel favorite duck season is just around the corner!! well anyways good kluck to the rest of you guys and have fun!!:)

[Illinoisgiller]

Crappiegirl- The gills we were getting from the local canal were not bigguns.:rolleyes: It's a matter of fact that there are not large gills in this water. I imagain that the larger ones were 1/3 lb. There are 1/2 lb. + gills up the canal a few poolsb ut not in great numbers.
The people you seen keeping smallish gills from Wisc. were probably doing the general fish population a great service. The populations are often bloated and unless they are fishing real small bodies of water it is good to remove them when possible. This can result in an overall greater size in the gills. Mike

[hootowl]

Does anyone fly fish for gills? Do you tie your own flies?
I am getting back into fly fishing and trying to tie up some flies. I need information on what and how to.

[capt.kirk]

Crappie girl,if you look in the gallery you will find 1 that is just a tad above
average for where im at.Kirk

[capt.kirk]

Hoot owl,you have landed in the right place to post that question.
i dont do it my self,but we do have a couple or more that will jump on
that question,how about it Gofish an Tim?? KIRK

[Illinoisgiller]

I do a little fly fishing for gills, but not as much as I would like. Both of my grandson's are just starting. They each have a St. Croix 4 wt. I found used.
I have a Cabela's that I've been using for a couple yearsI do tie flies and tiny jigs for gills.
I'll try to get some photos up of some of the patterns I use.
I'm leaving within the hour for some gillin but with the spinning rod this time.:) Mike.

[Timotha7]

Good luck Mike! Get us some pics if you catch a bunch
Tim

[Schoe]

After Giller posted last week that he caught some Gills here locally I couldn't stand it.
I got right back to him and sniffled enough that I talked him into going to southern Iowa for a day or two after voting Tues. I hope the wether man cooperates. I will take pics and post. Schoe

[capt.kirk]

Set in that wind again Sunday morning and it was tough got 4 real
nice gills took a bout 3 hours,put them in my tank in the shed and hope
to get enough today to have us a good meal. KIRK

[Schoe]

I can just about smell them frying captn. There one of the best on the table my friend. Schoe

[capt.kirk]

Amen to that Schoe,now if the water would just cool a bit more
we will start getting some slab crappie. KIRK

[Illinoisgiller]

I took the float tube out to a local strip pit to see if I could take the cooler water. The water temp was 41 according to a bass fisherman I met there. I stayed out for 6 hours. The feet got pretty cold but I think it was because I used 2 pair of wool socks and they were too tight. The fishing was poor at best though. I only caught 20 or so and had a dozen in the fish basket with only one a biggun. . I dumped them all when I got off the water at dark.
I give the bass fisherman a WIF card. Hope he pays us a visit. He said that I was a hardcore to be out that long, but he was there too. :D Mike

[bank fishergal]

We went out along the canal yesterday for a couple of hours. We each caught a fish fairly quick & Mike caught 1 more & then they quit biting. We tried a couple of other places, but only caught 7 that were barely keepers. Mike threw them back. Not worth keeping that few. Hopefully we'll get another chance fishing before the ice moves in. We did have an enjoyable time being out in that beautiful weather:cool: . Bank Fishergal

[Schoe]

I know the feeling young lady. It's a good thing you folks didn't wait until today. Rain, sleet and snow in the forecast for this evening. I think I will take the wife out for a Catfish dinner at the Croatian Crest Club this evening. Schoe

[bank fishergal]

We went gill fishing Monday while the weather was great. We went along the canal & caught about 20 keepers. I out fished Mike this time,:p but he did catch a trout & Bass that he had to put back. He didn't have a trout stamp & the bass was too small. We had a great time & enjoyed the day. :) We enjoyed eating them that night also. :D

[Schoe]

Loraine, you might think about letting Mike out fish you once in a while. I hate to see him down and out. Just kidding girl, good job. My wife does the same thing when she goes with me, no mercy at all. Schoe

[bank fishergal]

Hi Schoe, Mike outfished me the last time & so it was my turn to outfish him. We had a good time regardless & the fish taste just as good, whoever gets the most. The way the weather is going, it'll be next spring before I go out again. Mike will go ice fishing though, whenever he gets a chance.

[Soupy_1us]

Got one thing to say to ya ! ATTABOY.....girl !



We went gill fishing Monday while the weather was great. We went along the canal & caught about 20 keepers. I out fished Mike this time,:p but he did catch a trout & Bass that he had to put back. He didn't have a trout stamp & the bass was too small. We had a great time & enjoyed the day. :) We enjoyed eating them that night also. :D

[wewamohawk]

it sounds like you two had a good time fishing and enjoyed eating them one more attaboy girl ;;;maurice

[Sharon]

OK the picture isnt very flattering, but this is the biggest blue gill Ive caught in Fl.. theres GOT to be bigger ones out there!

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y78/MidFlaGal/Sharon017.jpg

[Sharon]

HOLY COW, thats huge, someone make it smaller .... bout Scared myself!!!!!!

[Illinoisgiller]

Sharon, Nuttin wrong with that bluegill. When I say that I'm keeping in mind that even though you are in Florida, you are also restricted to the bank. It was explained to me by a Florida native once that the shores of Florida waters are literally fished for bluegill 365 days per year. He was a guide on Lake Okeechobee. He went by the handle of Ranger Rob, and I thought by his excitement that he was trying to drum up business. Quite to the contrary, one needed a year advance to THINK about it. lol I had asked him about bank fishing there. As I recall by memory this was his response- Bank fishing- Except for the hard hit canals ,we don't have banks as you would think of them. We have dry ground- walk out 50 yds. we have damp ground. Another 50yds your shoe soles will get wet. ect.-ect. What you need is a guide. he will take you a long way out into the lake at the right time and place. There is nothing that will raise the hair on the back of your neck like watching your yellow w/black stripe roadrunner chugging along just under the surface, and a wake from a 2 lb. bull gill comming after it from the side. He went on about the canals, and said that the bluegill is the staple of most people's diet there. He also mentioned that there are areas on the canals where you can get on some nice ones but they are few places to get any numbers of nice ones .He also admitted that gill taste is affected by local conditions. Avoiding golf courses and some rivers was advised.
I didn't mean to turn this response into a book, but I do so love to fish for these scrappers. lol Sure enjoy your posts, Sharon, Mike

[Sharon]

Mike, the best way I catch them.. first of all, pure luck :rolleyes: but I use a small circle hook, stand on a dock (wont catch me on a bank, too many gators LOL ) drop the line down into hydrilla.... and if youre any good at it, do the under the dock swingy thingy as I call it LOL... I get a momentum going and get my line under the dock... they like hiding under there. Caught a few couple weeks ago using this method.. seems with the cooler weather now, they are further out in the deep like bass... and Im NOT wading.. go back to top and refer to the gator comment :D

[T Bartels]

WOW, Sharon i forgot how much deifferent the Bluegills look in a different part of the country!! I like the picture too....

[Sharon]

Thanks, caught plenty but that one was the biggest by far.

[Illinoisgiller]

Sharon or the good Capt.can elaborate, but I would bet that is the sub-species known as the Coppernose Bluegill. They are supposed to be great eating like all gills from good water. Mike

[Sharon]

I dont know what the real name is, just a blue gill to me. That one was good eating, since it was large enough to filet. Last few I caught couple weeks back, were kind of small. To messy to fry them with the bones in and have to pick around it. I just released them back.

[Pegleg]

That gill Sharon is holdin in the picture is a Shellcracker. Its the largest of the gills we catch down here in the south.

[Mutt]

Well I was trying to find some pics of gills around my area where I fish for them but havnt found any but I did find a couple of pics of one of my favorite holes for gills and I have pulled some largemouth out up to 11 pounds out of here. Also one pic I liked my wife took at about midnite on the tracker of the dash lights I thought it looked cool.

[Illinoisgiller]

Neat pictures mutt, Those are some smokin dash lights. lol Like to try those south California lakes, but can't get past south Iowa. Mike

[GotstaFish]

Crappie and Blue Gill products coming soon to GotstaFish Tackle!!! I will have some to give away soon. Check the sponsors board for more information to be posted this week ;)

[ladymohawk]

it was a nice looking gill you got in the picture sharon

[Sharon]

:D Thank you Lady!