Live bluegill and swimbait techniques

[Slade Carroll]

Hey I caught my pb bass on a live bluegill on a 3/0 ewg gamagatzu hook it weighed 5.44 pounds!!! What hook do you guys recommend for this and how should I fish the bluegill to search for bass.Next question how should I fish a swimbait to search for fish I normally do a straight retrieve with my bio spawn exo swim on a belly weighted hook what hooks do you guys use for swimbaits what’s your preferred way to fish a swimbait

[WRB]

Live Bluegill are illegal to use in several states, like California*,  where using any game fish will get you in trouble. 

Bass consider Bluegill nest raiders that eat the bass eggs so during the spawn Bluegill are used as live bait where they are legal or not.

Tom

* Bluegill are legal in some specific areas like the Colorado River zone.

[J.Vincent]

I probably fish with live bait, once a year; and I use a Hall Circle Hook with metal Weedless spring guard, rigged under the gill plate and then out through one of the nostrils. It works well. 

[Angry John]

I pitch a trash fish gill up to shore and swim it back to the nest then just kill it and let it sit in the middle until it drives them nuts.  Never use live bait got nothing there.

[Bluebasser86]

Green sunfish or crappie are better live bait if it's legal where you are because they're an easier shape for a bass to swallow and not quite a spiny. 

[Deleted account]

An octopus hook or standard J hook with a short shank will work for livelining. I like a 3/0-6-0 depending on the size of the bait. As you found out a stout worm hook will work in a pinch. 

[the reel ess]

There's got to be a FL fisherman with live shiner fishing experience to answer the hook question. I would think it's very similar.

[N Florida Mike]

My rule of thumb is the bigger the bait the bigger hook you can use, and vice.  versa. Too big of a hook or too heavy and it will mess up the natural action of the bait fish.I try to use as small a hook as I can get away with for that reason.I caught a 5 3/4 pound bass the other day on a 3 inch 'gill using a small # 2 circle hook.With a circle hook, you allow them to tighten up the slack, then do a slow, steady pull to set the hook ( not a quick , violent set ) On a big shiner I might go up to a 3-4 /0 bait holder or wide gap hook.

I hook the bream or shiners through both lips, from bottom to top.

I also only use bronze hooks. No gold or silver ! I catch more fish with no cork either, but sometimes you need one to keep it out of the grass.

I don't know anyone except me that does this, but you can fish small live bream almost like fishing a plastic bait. Throw em out and reel a few turns violently, let it sink, wait a little, and do it again. Deadly !

And live bream are legal in Fl., as long as you catch them on hook and line.