Oh, how I love springtime. Flowers “spring”ing up everywhere, woodchucks getting fat on new grasses, and lambs frolicking around every flock of sheep.
But the best part, at least for me and a lot of others, is the renewed fishing opportunities. Not just any fishing, mind you.
No, I’m thinking about trying to catch the most popular “game” fish of them all. That would be the mighty bluegill or one of its numerous cousins.
It is my opinion that, pound for pound, there is no scrappier fish in the world than this diminutive sunfish. One noted expert whose name escapes me right now once said that if bluegills grew to 100 pounds, no one could build a rod and reel that would land one.
After catching literally thousands of bluegill ranging from a few ounces to more than two pounds, I’d have to agree with that statement completely.
And right now is the very best time to try for some of these tasty fish. The warming waters in close to shore beckon the males to their chosen spawning beds where they use their fins to wash away sand and silt, leaving behind a shallow depression or “bed” where a willing female will lay her eggs.
The male will fertilize them in the regular way (for fish), which is by spraying his milt over them as they exit the female’s body. He then stands guard until the “fry” hatch and grow a little, driving away all who might be looking for an easy meal of fertilized fish eggs or newly hatched baby bluegills.
It is this “attack anything that comes too close” attitude that is the Achilles heel for many bluegills. They will hit virtually any small lure passing within a few feet of their nest. They will also take the opportunity to gobble down any garden worms, crickets or other bugs that might fall into their domain, regardless of whether they happen to be attached to a hook or not.
Hey, even a guardian bluegill gets hungry or angry.
But my absolute favorite way of catching these feisty critters is with a popper, a tiny, cork bodied lure that usually has rubber legs and a feather tail. They are supposed to represent some small creature, I suppose.
But in all the time I have spent casting them, I have never observed any aquatic or terrestrial creature that even remotely resembles one. Still, they work like crazy, so who am I to question why?
Poppers work best on a fly rod. I like to use a five-weight floating line with a nine- to 12- foot leader and two feet of tippet. I cast into a spawning bed area and just let it lie still for several seconds.
If no strike is forthcoming I might twitch it slightly once. And if that doesn’t elicit a strike, I’ll start slowly “swimming” it back by making short tugs on the fly line. No bluegill worth its salt can resist my swimming popper technique.
If you don’t happen to have a fly rod lying around, do not fret. Poppers can be made to work when used on a spinning or spin-casting rig in conjunction with a bobber. Just rig the bobber three to five feet in front of the popper and keep the monofilament line at six pounds or less. Anything heavier tends to spook even guardian bluegills.
Garden hackle, which consists of anything long, slender and slimy that resembles night crawlers, red wigglers and the like, are deadly on bluegills anytime, and especially in the spring.
And the angler doesn’t have to be generous or even charitable with the size of his offering, either. In fact, he can be downright greedy and only put on a quarter inch piece and he will still catch fish more often than not. That means a dozen worms could be good for an entire limit of fish.
And while I’m on the subject of worms, kids also come to mind. You see, they sort of go hand in hand when it comes to bluegill fishing.
Furthermore, anytime you combine kids, worms, and a farm pond, slow-moving stream, lake or other fish-holding body of water, you most often get squeals of glee and more laughter and pleasure than can be contained in a fat picnic basket. Trust me on that one.
So why not put that winning combination together? Take a kid fishing. Or better yet, why not teach a kid how to fish?
And if you don’t know a kid who likes to fish, just ask around. You’ll probably have more volunteers than can be fit into a mini-van. All you have to do is ask. They will do the rest.
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For those anglers who are looking for something just a little larger than bluegills, my sources tell me there are several hot spots right now. Rainbow trout, along with an occasional brown and landlock salmon, can be found off the mouth of the Keuka Lake outlet in Seneca Lake.
And a few browns are being taken on Sutton spoons at the south end of Canandaigua Lake, but that action is spotty right now.
As usual, lakers are hitting live sawbellies (if you can find them) in 60 to 110 feet of water off the water intake plant on West Lake Road.
And laker action off Oswego has never been hotter, according to one charter boat captain operating out of that harbor. Silver, green/silver and blue/silver seem to be the most productive colors right now, and Sutton 88’s seem to be the preferred lures.
Trout fishing on area streams is daily getting better. Browns are beginning to hit surface flies on the Cohocton River. They are running a bit small, and the chubs are a pesky nuisance, but at least they are hitting.
And anglers on the Beaverkill are reporting mid-spring water conditions right now. That means good fishing is probable for anyone making the trek down to that world-famous Catskills stream.
Len Lisenbee is the Daily Messenger’s Outdoor columnist. Contact him at lisenbee@ frontiernet.net
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