Gills Should be Spawning

[Schoe]

Mon. A.M. Giller, his wife Loraine, Goofy, and myself will be headed to one of Iowa's great State Parks.

Since Tues. the 20th is the full moon the Gills should be in full swing for their May spawn.

I'm sure we will have some great photos and stories to share when we get back home mid week.

Schoe

[CrappieKeith]

What water temp do y'all have down there????We are still in the low 50's.

[kevin]

Same out here Keith and they haven't move up quite yet...good luck Schoe and will be looking for your report...:icon_cool:

[Fishaholic]

rivers almost 60 degree not sure on the lakes!!

[dipper69_2000]

looking forward to getting some gills but w/ gas prices the way they r i have to make sure my timng is just right. can only afford a couple trips to my favorite spot. never did get after the crappies this year. between gas prices and 2 graduating and getting ready for college money is tight

[gofish]

i understand the gas thing.....125 bucks a week on average jus fer work...cut my river trips down a bunch fer now....jus puttin gas in the boat hurts lol

[T Bartels]

Do you think they'll still be biting pretty good in a few of the ponds over on this side of the river on Memorial Day?? A few friends and I are gonna try and catch a few since we don't have school...

[gofish]

should just be gittin started up there soon buddy..ya oughtta have a blast

[Illinoisgiller]

As mentioned at the head of this thread, I the wife, Schoe and Goofy went to a n Iowa lake for some gilling.
I fully expected to find them in full spawn on the beds. The water was 62 degrees and confusing the spawn a bunch. We found the females chock full of eggs and pretty sure they were wanting to drop them. The bulls were in their full color splendor also. I would doubt that they will hold off till the minor spawn at the dark of the moon.
The first day we caught a nice mess of fish but had to work hard for them and along the edges just off deep water was the key.Goofy, Schoe and my wife were using Giant Jumping Wild Red Worms and I stayed on the 1/80 oz. hair jigs tipped with 2 wax worms . Angling success was pretty much equal with either, but I just plain like to fish these small jigs.
I had goofy in the canoe and was very concerned that I might not find a decent bite. That doubt was forgotten when we found a lot along one edge of a small inlet off the main lake. Goofy was a joy to fish with. He claimed to have no experiance with bluegill, but I'm not sure which of us learned the most. lol I probably learned more than he did. lol
The fish here were not the largest I've been on but were real nice and had nice fillets on them. Schoe kept our bellies full as normal.
Schoe and Goofy had to get back Wed. I and the wife took our time packing and headed home also to avoid the park build-up for Memorial Day. Our campsite was filled before we got packed out. lol
Goofy (Ray) is quite good at sailing through those gills and red ear with a fillet knife. He kept me humping to keep up:confused0024:.
I had a great time in great company, and think everyone else did too,:party0011::party0045::party0011::party0045:
We stopped by a lake near Monmouth, IL on the way home and quickly caught our 10 each fish limit. These fish were smallish but meaty. Mike

[Timotha7]

Those are some very nice fish Mike
An I know that it had to be a great trip, great people + fishing + Schoe cooking =
GREAT trip

Pretty lake too
Iowa has some flat out beautiful "little" State Parks, very well maintained, think our
DNR does an outstanding job of managing them for the most part

[cattracker16]

Looks like a great trip no dought. I asked the bro in law about the gills spawning he said they are on there beds.

[gofish]

didnt have a worry bout you guys catchin a bunch with giller round lol....im still tryin to lose the 20lbs i gained at schoes this winter...he can cook fer sure!

[swamp_rat]

Looks like you all got some nice ones Mike, wish I could of got over there! I got some at a pond today myself and am planning on the lake tomorrow!! Got the tubes aired up and the wadders unpacked!! Woo Hooo cant wait to nail the Red Ears!!

[Schoe]

Mike thanks for doing a great report of this weeks trip.

Although the Gills weren't dead on the spawn we did manage to catch a few messes of fillets.

Again it was a good time with you and Loraine and one of our newer members, Ray (Goofy). We sure had a good time and I am looking forward to the next trip. Perhaps the water temps will allow fishing with the tubes.

Mike pretty well summed up the happenings of our two days at another fine Iowa Lake.

One thing that wasn't mentioned is that we were both checked out by an Iowa Watercraft Officer (Dan), who was a heck of a nice fella. He actually should be teaching other Officers his expertise of his people skills.

One thing that did stand out on this trip is that Ray is now hooked on this Panfishing after fishing with Mike a couple of days. I am looking forward to many more trips this year.

Here's a few photos.

I thank you all for the good time. Schoe

[Illinoisgiller]

Swamp_Rat- No doubt that you will get on those Red Ear. Of course I don't have a clue where you are going:confused0024:, but that shallow bay should be warmed enough to have them doing there thing. :icon_cool::icon_cool: Woo Hooo will be an understatement. lol
I had my tube and gear along for the last trip but high wind and busy times didn't allow it to be wetted this time.
Soon as I get the drool cleaned off the front of my shirt, from just thinking of chasing Red Ear from a float tube, I'll go check my finances and see if I can work in a trip down your way this spring.
Please take pictures if you have time. Mike

[goofy]

The trip with Loraine, Mike and Bob was just outstanding. We fished and lied and ate and even caught some awful nice fish. Without a doubt Giller is the King of panfish. Learned an awful lot from a great group of people. It was especially nice that they let me hold their fish while they took pictures. Thanks again for a great time. Looking forward to many more. Ray