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Forum nameTrophy Fishing Forum
Topic subjectRE: Bluegill Baits
Topic URLhttp://www.calfishing.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=5&topic_id=10879&mesg_id=10892
10892, RE: Bluegill Baits
Posted by magmaster, Mon Dec-29-08 02:16 PM
The main forage in the lake I fish are Bluegill. I have tried them all and have found a few winners. Many are just crap that look cool but simply do not get bit or fall apart. Here are the winners:

I have been using the Jackall Giron with good results. I have not caught any big fish, but good 3-5 pound fish and in good numbers. It sinks pretty slow and almost suspends around 10-15 feet. At my lake this is perfect. At night when the BG have finished spawning there are a ton of 3-4" in 10-15 feet of water. They move up and feed on bugs on the surface. I think they move up there so that they can see better in the dark? Anyways I cast it out and let it sink. I give it 2-4 cranks and stop the bait. I give it a long pause and then repeat the cranks. Many times I get bit right after the pause. This baits works day and night.

The K's Labo gill is another great bait. I use both with good results pretty much the same way as it was described above. Another day and night bait.

The Baitsmith Madgill(?) has lost a lot of fish for me. I have hooked and lost more fish on this bait than any other swimbait I own. I have tried rigging it a hundred ways with the same result. I notice that the fish hit it from the side and most of the time they are not really hooked. Its just stuck sideways in their mouth. The fish that eat it normal like they would a Hudd for example stick. I fish this bait in the 15-25 foot zone similar to a Hudd. It runs well and does not foul. Casting is pretty decent too as many BG baits do not cast worth a crap. I have caught more on this bait during the day than at night. It must be more of a visual thing than the swim. The tail doesn't thump hard enough to draw the fish away from cover at night.

The 3:16 BG works also. It swims better than almost all the baits but the profile just isn't perfect. I do like that it hooks every fish that eats it with his break away design. Now if you could put his design into a bait that looks like the Baitsmith then it would be a real winner. I can fish this bait at all levels because its pretty heavily weighted. I notice this bait gets bit better up shallow or near docks in low light conditions or at night.

With all of this being said I think many of the baits that mimic BG are just a little too big. The big bass may have learned that eating a big 'gill could result in their death. I like the 4" size as it has given me the best results overall.