Some Friday fishing

[Quillback]

Rode along today in my buddy Jeb's boat, we launched while it was still dark and got busy fishing.  No bites in the pre-dawn hours, but we did see some meteors from the Perseid shower.

Once it got light we started getting a couple of bites on the drop shot, but it was tough going.  We caught 8 bass, all spots, and a couple of the biggest ones may have hit 13".  All but one came on drop shot fished around brush piles in the proverbial 15-25 foot range.  One fish caught on a jig.

Lots of bluegill around those brush piles and they are biting.  We should have brought crickets.

 

 

[Notropis]

"Lots of bluegill around those brush piles and they are biting.  We should have brought crickets."

One of the best kept secrets about Beaver Lake is the bluegill fishing in late Summer and early Fall.  Forget about fishing the shoreline, you'll catch a lot of small longear sunfish and bluegill but rarely anything with any size.  The adult bluegill stay around the brush piles in the deeper water 15-20 feet or more.  Find a good brush pile and drop a cricket or worm close to the pile and most times you quickly get a bite.  If you catch a lot of smaller bluegill, then move to a different brush pile until you get into the quality sized bluegill, they tend to congregate together.  I've salvaged many a fishing trip in the dog days of summer by fishing for deep water bluegills.  It's ideal if you have children, they get lots of action which keeps them happy and if you want to keep some of the bluegill, they make great eating.     

[J-Doc]

Slip bobber Notropis?

[Notropis]

Slip bobbers would work fine but keeping the boat right over the top of the brush and simply dropping a baited bream hook (long shank) with a split shot about a foot above the hook works well.  The bluegill don't seem to get spooked as long as you stay quiet.  I've even dropped anchor next to the brush pile to keep from drifting.

[Flysmallie]

Rode along today in my buddy Jeb's boat, we launched while it was still dark and got busy fishing.  No bites in the pre-dawn hours, but we did see some meteors from the Perseid shower.

Once it got light we started getting a couple of bites on the drop shot, but it was tough going.  We caught 8 bass, all spots, and a couple of the biggest ones may have hit 13".  All but one came on drop shot fished around brush piles in the proverbial 15-25 foot range.  One fish caught on a jig.

Lots of bluegill around those brush piles and they are biting.  We should have brought crickets.

 

 

You caught more than I did sitting in my office.

[Quillback]

It sure beats a day in the office.

You can also catch gills using the drop shot.  Use an Eagle Claw long shank bream hook, bait with crickets or redworms.   I've started doing that instead of the split shot above the hook method which is very effective also.

 

[mjk86]

Yup ive noticed that late summer gills stack up in "bass places"  on lakes like table rock and stockton.   Youl see a lot of bass reports like "caught a couple of short bass and a GIANT blugill on bass gear" when that happens there are prolly a group of em down there willing to eat small stuff the bass guy just got the most agressive one with a big jig.  Pound for pound not much fights like bluegill!  Love those things!

[J-Doc]

It sure beats a day in the office.

You can also catch gills using the drop shot.  Use an Eagle Claw long shank bream hook, bait with crickets or redworms.   I've started doing that instead of the split shot above the hook method which is very effective also.

 

I've noticed that a split shot below the hook causes a lot of line twists.  I've been drop shotting for bass with a split shot this summer (because I'm cheap).

 

I also tried the nightcrawler tip Saturday.  I was completely surprised that I was having fish swim up to the falling bait (as I watched on the graph) only to have them swim away from the bait once they got to it.  I need to find a cover scent or something because I'm down to "I stink" as an excuse.  I use 6lb line in moss green (Pline) with a small live bait hook as you stated above with a split shot about 12" up the line. I got one catfish to hit it and he hit it good.  I was on fish too the whole time.  I wouldn't drop unless I saw fish grouped up tight.  They would almost always run up to the worm to check it out as it fell.  Not a nibble.....

[Quillback]

You know the fishing is tough when they won't eat a crawler.  The few bass we caught seemed to like the Missile Baits drop craw.  It's a small bait, 3" long. 

The Beaver bass have lockjaw right now, I'm sure there's a few guys out there getting them, but overall it is as tough as it gets.  Maybe this front coming in will shake them up.

 

 

[J-Doc]

I saw them raiding a school of 3" shad like they were raping and pillaging in medieval times Saturday morning.  They have feed bags on for a particular diet.  I was practicing with my cast net on that same school of bait.  Before I'd cast the net, I'd see white flashes below the bait ball where bass and white bass were helping themselves.  

Dropshot seems to be unproductive right now and spoons don't seem to do much good either.  Get on fish around a school and you may have a chance.  But the school moved and therefor, so do you. 

 

Tough??  Yeah....it's tough.  Tougher than I can handle.  Someone is good enough to capitolize on these conditions.  I'm not I guess.