Favorite Bluegill Imitator?

[slonezp]

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.

I appreciate the feedback. I have to make the point of what we are fishing for. There are guys here who fish for fun. There are guys here who fish for money. There are guys here who fish for trophies(Yes we all fish for trophies but some target them). We must choose the bait that meets our needs and our waters. A swimjig has made more money for me than any other bait except flipping a mop jig. But that's just me. 

[Mattlures]

slonezp I have no doubts that a swim jig has worked great for you and I am sure it has worked great for a ton of guys. It is a proven producer and a great bait. I just don't believe it is replicating a bluegill even if it is called a bluegill color.

Tom I am hoping for spring 2014 but I never know until I actually find the time to do them

Thanks for asking

[MarkH024]

slonezp I have no doubts that a swim jig has worked great for you and I am sure it has worked great for a ton of guys. It is a proven producer and a great bait. I just don't believe it is replicating a bluegill even if it is called a bluegill color.

Tom I am hoping for spring 2014 but I never know until I actually find the time to do them

Thanks for asking

Put me down for one please.

[bkohlman]

Great discussion, I too have some bluegill swim jigs and cranks, even a bluegill chatterbait. I think all have their applications and situations that work well. 

 

Matt - Do you think your lure would be a decent back of the boat lure to throw on weed lines when my front of the boat partner is flippin and pitchin?

[MarkH024]

Topic is "Best Bluegill Imitator" not "Most Productive Bluegill Imitator". I, and I think many of you, were initially thinking of what lure appears to be the best bluegill replica. That was my initial thoughts anyway. My second choice would be LiveTargets cranks. I also really like the Bettencourt Dying bluegill. Got mine from Speedbead and it is a FUN little bait to fish with. I actually find myself messing with the action and watching it more than I actually fish it. 

 

I agree 100% with Slonezp and the others that a bluegill colored swimjig is going to probably produce more numbers in a day. A swim jig is so versatile and is also a top producer for me every season. Being that I'm in the midwest, it's almost always some sort of bluegill or sunfish color swim jig tied on.  Both the swim jig and Mattlures gills will catch quality and quantity presented in the right situations. I am glad to have some of each in my arsenal. 

[slonezp]

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.

I believe whole heartedly that a well placed bait trumps everything. As far as ML swimbaits are concerned, only the fish know what they're thinking before they hit them. They are realistic to the human eye, but as far as the baits acting natural, no one will ever reproduce that. I have a hard gill in either floating or slow sink, I don't remember, and a soft gill. I have fished them unsuccessfully as I have many many other baits. I'm not taking a swipe at ML at all so Matt, please don't take it personal. All I'm saying is that, for me, a bluegill patterned swimjig has out fished other bluegill baits. I'm not on the water throwing baits for exercise, I do it to catch fish. I'm not Fish Chris or WRB targeting trophies every time I fish. I'm sure if that was my intention, I'd need to completely revamp my style. When I am asked the question "What is the best bluegill imitator?" My tiny little brain tells me Northstar bull gill. It's colors resemble that of a bluegill. Throw a paddletail on the back and it resembles one even more. Most importantly, it catches fish. If I can consistently catch bass in the 2lb-4lb range on my home water, then I have succeeded picking the correct bluegill imitator. If I can catch walleye up to 6lbs so far and pike up to 36" on the same bluegill patterned jig, then I have succeeded as well. I'll make a conscious effort to throw the ML baits more next spring and see if my luck will change.

[mnbassman23]

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.

 

Thanks for the detailed response Matt I appreciate it. 

[pbizzle]

I'm not Fish Chris or WRB targeting trophies every time I fish. 

Fishchris doesn't go after trophies, he goes after sea monsters.

[dam0007]

Keitech Bluegill Flash paddle tail soft swim bait rocked smallies for me this year. ... That is all ...

[A-Jay]

I haven't fished them all so I can't tell you if these are The Best; but they work for me.

 

A-Jay

 

 

[mnbassman23]

Nice baits A-Jay! May I ask what model crank it is and who custom painted them? The one on the right looks like a lot of the big bull gills we get around here. 

[MarkH024]

I agree. Nice looking cranks there!

[A-Jay]

I haven't fished them all so I can't tell you if these are The Best; but they work for me.

 

A-Jay

 

custom crank 1.jpg  custom crank 2.jpg

 

 

Nice baits A-Jay! May I ask what model crank it is and who custom painted them? The one on the right looks like a lot of the big bull gills we get around here. 

 

I had a feeling that these might draw a little interest, so I was ready for you guys.

 

I've purchased several baits from this vendor and have never been disappointed.

 

 The Owner / Operator Casey Sobczak also does some killer custom painting as well.

 

Here ya go -

 

A-Jay

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-6th-Sense-Crush-50X-Crankbait-Lure-Dives-2-5ft-1-5-met-/350869493125?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item51b1739585

[mnbassman23]

I was thinking the body was a 6th sense. I've seen the one you linked on TW but those custom painted ones are amazing.   

[MarkH024]

I haven't fished them all so I can't tell you if these are The Best; but they work for me.

 

A-Jay

 

custom crank 1.jpg  custom crank 2.jpg

Any idea what terminal comes on his baits?  I like the 50x and the 75x Flat, wouldn't mind trying a few out.

[A-Jay]

I do not know the make & model of the rings / hooks used but it's decent.

 

I'm a little over the top about terminal tackle and change it all out anyway.

 

A-Jay

[MarkH024]

I do not know the make & model of the rings / hooks used but it's decent.

 

I'm a little over the top about terminal tackle and change it all out anyway.

 

A-Jay

No prob. I was just curious. Thanks anyway.

[SPEEDBEAD.]

I don't think anyone will doubt what my response to this question is going to be....Mattlures, 100% all day, everyday when talking about the best bluegill imitating bait on the market.

 

Perfect example (in my mind anyway) is the fish in my avatar. The area the fish came from was absolutely POUNDED by a guy for an hour or so before I made it over there. I sat and watched him anchor up, let the area settle and methodically pick it apart from different angles and with different baits. Obviously, the guy knew what he was doing. He finally motored away and left the area, coming by me to say "Hey." I asked if he saw anything there and he said they were set up like they typically are in this particular area. I've caught some good fish exactly where he was sitting, so I knew what he meant. Well, he left for another area and I slowly crept in where the fish have been in the past. I essentially did the same thing he was doing, sitting stationary and making specific casts that counted.

 

Both fish on the Hardgill after the guy had left the area. Funny enough, he was cool enough to come over and snap the pictures after he saw me set the hook on both of them.

 

 

Matt's a good dude who makes THE BEST BLUEGILL BAIT on the market. Ever.

 

Slone, if you want to get rid of that Hardgill just shoot me a message.

[slonezp]

 

 

Slone, if you want to get rid of that Hardgill just shoot me a message.

Didn't realize they were in that much demand. I was already PM'd about selling it. LOL I'll give it a good college try next season.

[dropshot86.sp]

My favorite is the Bluegill crankbait from LiveTarget. It comes in different sizes for different depths and is in my opinion the best looking bait there is. Not to mention it catches fish like crazy.

[Nice_Bass]

Another vote for Mattlures however I prefer the soft boot tail with a single top hook. 

For what I mostly fish, two trebles will not let me get a bait where I really need it to most of the time with the cover and structure types. 

[hotdogin]

for relatively inexpensive customer hardbaits check out Pizz Customs. He has swimbait models available, but will also paint your existing hardbaits.

[CWB]

Ragetail Shellcracker.