Favorite Bluegill Imitator?

[bkohlman]

Lots of them out there......lots of styles.....name your favorite and why it is so.

[AK-Jax86]

Matt Lures makes possibly the most realistic bluegill EVER. I have the weighted one, that you use kinda like a jig going to be deadly during the spawn! My next TW order I am going to grab the swimming one

I don't think you can get more realistic than a Matt Lure if so it has a heart beat

[MarkH024]

Matt Lures makes possibly the most realistic bluegill EVER. I have the weighted one, that you use kinda like a jig going to be deadly during the spawn! My next TW order I am going to grab the swimming one

I don't think you can get more realistic than a Matt Lure if so it has a heart beat

Mattlure U2 and hardgill. Along with all his other stuff

[Raul]

If it were my hard earned cash the one used for purchasing a bluegill imitator there´s only one brand I would look at: MATTLURES, only problem is choosing which one ! well, The BaitMonkey has a simple solution ---> when in doubt purchase them all !

[Bluebasser86]

Mattlure U2 and hardgill. Along with all his other stuff

X2, won't find a more realistic imitation at an affordable price. 

[ariess]

I'm not going to name brands, all I know is that a bluegill colored square-bill imitates a frantic bluegill perfectly.

[MarkH024]

I'm not going to name brands, all I know is that a bluegill colored square-bill imitates a frantic bluegill perfectly.

Why not name them? Someone might discover a new great bait. Live Target bluegill cranks are one of the most realistic ones on the market.

[ww2farmer]

My homemade swimjigs with a rage grub trailer.

[Jrob78]

I agree with Mattlure's bluegill baits, the most realistic on the market.  Another really good bluegill imitating bait is the deep bodied prop bait.  The Lucky Craft Kelly J, Brian's Prop Bee and Stanford Lures Turbo Shad are good examples.  These baits are great worked around bluegill beds and anywhere else bluegill are present.

[nwmike]

live target makes a great bluegill crankbait. I got a few during a black Friday sale for 4.00 each. always liked koppers stuff but not the full retail price.

[mnbassman23]

Yup anything Mattlures. The u2 is an awesome bait, I just grabbed 2 more during Black Friday. I'll add the Black Dog Shellcracker g2 since no one's mentioned it.

[NEjitterbugger]

Mattlure U2 and hardgill. Along with all his other stuff

 

I'm looking to try one out in the spring...

[smalljaw67]

I have the shallow diving matte finish Live Target Bluegill crankbait, and when the summer hits and the bluegill spawn, the Koppers bluegill is awesome!!!! I'm talking the crank and not the square bill which I bet is good as well but the crank, it has a round bill and what I do is throw it around the first break off of a flat where I see bluegill beds, the bass can't help but kill it!!!

[Jon G]

I love using a strike king tour grade swim jig in bluegill it has caught many fish

[Jonnehboi]

i like using a strike king tour grade swim jig with a netbait pacachunk trailer in rootbeer pepper green

[Mattlures]

You guys are awesome!

[bkohlman]

I think you sir are the awesome one, and it looks like if I want to imitate bluegill I need to throw your lure.

[slonezp]

I'm going to go a different direction here. I have both the ML hard and soft gill as well as the Live Target. Have never caught anything on them, so I really don't throw them much. 3/8oz Northstar bull gill swimjig has been a staple for me for 3 or 4 years now and I've been happy using a Cane Thumper for a trailer. They seem to last longer than other paddletails I have tried and they are not crazy expensive like the Keitech. This swimjig/cane thumper is very versatile and I have boated more quality bass, pike, and walleye on this combination than any other bluegill imitation I have tried.

[mnbassman23]

Slonezp makes a good point. The Mattlures is a great bait that's very realistic and for sure get a few you won't regret it. But I've caught hundreds of bass on bluegill pattern swim jigs. They may not look as real but they produce like crazy.

[Teal]

Slonezp makes a good point. The Mattlures is a great bait that's very realistic and for sure get a few you won't regret it. But I've caught hundreds of bass on bluegill pattern swim jigs. They may not look as real but they produce like crazy.

I'm with Brendan on this one, I love the hard gills and such, but I've caught far more fish on a jig that I can match up to the blue gill and bream.

The Matt lures and other swimbaits are obviously great lures for BIG bites when used correctly but MY favorite has to be a jig. A squarebill crankbait in some sort of blue gill or bream pattern would be my second choice

[Mattlures]

Crank baits and especially swim jigs are great baits because they are great baits. Not because they are kind of bluegill colored. They look nothing like a bluegill and I doubt a bass has ever eaten one thinking it was eating a bluegill. Don't misunderstand me though. I am not putting them down. They are proven producers. I just don't consider them a bluegill imitator.

[mnbassman23]

Crank baits and especially swim jigs are great baits because they are great baits. Not because they are kind of bluegill colored. They look nothing like a bluegill and I doubt a bass has ever eaten one thinking it was eating a bluegill. Don't misunderstand me though. I am not putting them down. They are proven producers. I just don't consider them a bluegill imitator.

No disrespect Matt as I fish your baits and think they are great but what do you believe bass think a bluegill patterned swim jig is or any jig for that matter? Just curious is all. Are you saying jigs imitate nothing be it a shad, bluegill, craw, etc. as they look nothing like them in terms of being realistic?

[pbizzle]

Crank baits and especially swim jigs are great baits because they are great baits. Not because they are kind of bluegill colored. They look nothing like a bluegill and I doubt a bass has ever eaten one thinking it was eating a bluegill. Don't misunderstand me though. I am not putting them down. They are proven producers. I just don't consider them a bluegill imitator.

 

No disrespect Matt as I fish your baits and think they are great but what do you believe bass think a bluegill patterned swim jig is or any jig for that matter? Just curious is all. Are you saying jigs imitate nothing be it a shad, bluegill, craw, etc. as they look nothing like them in terms of being realistic?

I would like to know as well. I'd say that they're no less of a bluegill imitator than Matt's kick-bass (see what I did there?) swim baits, but they produce more quantity than quality. I think that they're saying it's there preferred 'gill imitator because it puts fish in the boat faster than swimbaits, the fish just aren't as big.

[Mattlures]

First let me say, my argument is not really about my baits. I have had this argument a 100 times and even before I ever made a bait. Bass are opportunistic and they will eat prey when given the chance. They have to eat or they die. Bass have eaten just about anything they can fit in their mouths. The older, more experienced, bigger bass are more cautious and make fewer mistakes then the less experienced, younger fish. Everybody that I know that successfully targets trophy bass in presured waters knows how important realism is. Now a crank bait in a gill patern in motion in poor visability could look like a gill. But its still a stretch. A jig could jus about never look like a gill. Does it still work? of course it does! does a gill colored jig work? of course it does? does a bass think its eating a gill when it eats a jig? No. It is reacting to an opportunity to eat. The bass thinks its food. What kind of food? I don't know. I have studied bass for years in private ponds I managed and I have had many as pets in an aquarium. Feed a pet bass minnows and it will eat them. Put in a crappie jig without a hook. It will eat it once or twice and then no more but it will keep eating the real minnows. Put in a realistic minnow bait and you will fool the bass more then once or twice because it thinks its a real minnow. With wild bass there is more competition. Sometimes they cant be choosey. Sometimes there in a feeding frenzy and will hit anything moving. This is one of the exceptions where they might think they are eating real prey if its similar in size and color. There are a lot of guys who disagree with me. They think bass are so stupid and they think a bass can mistake a jig for a real fish. I disagree. I think small young bass are stupid. I think once they get caught a couple times they get smarter. they get harder to catch and they make fewer mistakes. They know what a real bluegill, trout, baby bass is. So I don't have a great answer as to what they think a swimming jig is. What do they think a buzzbait is? what do they think of the color chartruse? They are hungry and it looks like something they can eat. Here is how I look at it. If I stand on a dock 50 feet away holding a jig or a crank bait, is there anybody who would mistake those for a real fish? NO. If I am holding a realistic swimbait (say a Hudd)a lot of guys would be fooled. Same thing with a swimming bait. Look at a video of a swimming jig. Nobody would think its a real fish. I am not saying fish are as intelligent as humans. Of course they are not. but they are not as dumb as rocks either. Again swim jigs and crank baits are great, proven baits. I just don't believe they imitate a bluegill. Many of you will disagree and thats ok. Its an opinion.

[WRB]

Matt, when are you going to make up more of your hard gills?

Tom