live blue gill

[-nick-]

Me and my friend caught small blue gill tonight and put it on a 4/0 hook and used it as live bait. threw it out there a ways and reeled it in a little and saw a big bass follow it up so i threw it back out there and he sucked that fish in. It was only about 5 pounds but it was still exciting.

[bilgerat]

Make sure that's legal to do in your state. It's illegal in many states.

[.dsaavedra.]

i know its legal in maryland, and its fun to do!

its very cool when you feel your bluegill going crazy and then the bass just slams it.

very fun way to fish  

nice bass by the way!

[snapper G]

That's gotta be one of my favorite way to bass, I also cast and let it sit, with on a few, you'll see the float, going to shore! I give the rod quick jerk to stun the gill, it stops, and the bass get it!

[Bassboss]

That's gotta be one of my favorite way to bass, I also cast and let it sit, with on a few, you'll see the float, going to shore! I give the rod quick jerk to stun the gill, it stops, and the bass get it!

X 2

[bigfruits]

cheaters!

what size bluegill do you guys use?

you hook it under the dorsal?

[-nick-]

cheaters!

what size bluegill do you guys use?

you hook it under the dorsal?

haha its probably the most exciting way to fish though! And the size of the blue gill really depends on how big of a bass you want to catch! Me and my friend had a decently small on and a full size blue gill and one probably 4-5 pounder ate teh smaller one then the other one took off and he pulls up the rod and it was a monster bass that ate the full size blue gill. He ended up loosing it but we saw it with the blue gill in its mouth it was crazy. But we use a 5/0 hook and go from inside his mouth up where i guess the nose would be. Its so exciting!

[atrocity]

does anyone know if this is legal in florida?

[Grumpy413]

I thimk it is Illegal in Florida to use one game fish to catch another.  :

[.dsaavedra.]

does anyone know if this is legal in florida?

go to your local DNR and ask them, or go online to your state's DNR website and find the fisheries page and there should be an email somewhere where you can email them. send an email asking if its legal. thats what i did to find out if its legal in maryland.

[elnaer]

I'm 27 now, but when I was 13-14 I used to catch gills in a small pond (maybe 2 acres) stocked with them.  I would put them in a bucket and take them 1/4 of a mile down the road to a bigger pond (maybe 10 acres) that was loaded with big bass (for Michigan...3-7 lbs).  Would hook them through the mouth and catch them all day...it was awesome!  I don't fish that pond anymore...but have had plenty of bass and pike take a gill while I am bringing one in.  Probably would happen more often...but I rarely fish with live crawlers and harness...which is the only time I catch gills.

[tyrius.]

I thimk it is Illegal in Florida to use one game fish to catch another. :

Incorrect.  It's legal in Florida.

Whole pickerel or bream (e.g., bluegill, redear sunfish, redbreast sunfish, spotted sunfish, flier, warmouth) or parts thereof may be used as bait for sportfishing by he angler who caught them.

Whole pickerel or bream or parts thereof may not be used as bait for trotlines or bush hooks or any method other than by rod and reel or pole and line.

http://floridafisheries.com/rules.html

With the internet this stuff takes less than 5 minutes to figure out.

[tyrius.]

Make sure that's legal to do in your state. It's illegal in many states.

It's legal in Illinois too.  

[CWB]

Me and my friend caught small blue gill tonight and put it on a 4/0 hook and used it as live bait. threw it out there a ways and reeled it in a little and saw a big bass follow it up so i threw it back out there and he sucked that fish in. It was only about 5 pounds but it was still exciting.

"Only" 5 lbs?

Illegal where I fish but I get 6" Golden Roaches and catch some pigs the same way.

[tyrius.]

Illegal where I fish

Are you saying that it is illegal in Chicago?  Or is it something particular to the waters that you fish?  I'm in the western suburbs of Chicago and the Illinois regulations say nothing that would classify fishing with live bluegill as illegal.

The Illinois Fishing Information booklet has a section titled "Bluegill as Bait".  It specifically states:

There is nothing in the Illinois Fish Code which

prohibits the use of legally taken bluegill or sunfish

as bait for another species of fish. The

bluegill/sunfish must have been taken by a

properly licensed sport fisherman using legal

sportfishing devices.

[-nick-]

Me and my friend caught small blue gill tonight and put it on a 4/0 hook and used it as live bait. threw it out there a ways and reeled it in a little and saw a big bass follow it up so i threw it back out there and he sucked that fish in. It was only about 5 pounds but it was still exciting.

"Only" 5 lbs?

Illegal where I fish but I get 6" Golden Roaches and catch some pigs the same way.

ahha well 5 pounds is a lot to me the only reason i said only 5 pounds is b/c it was the second 5 pounder i caught doing this the day after i caught the first one. And we had a 10 pounder on the line but he got loose so i figure if your using blue gill as bait 5 pounds is probably the smallest bass you'll catch.

[Bassboss]

does anyone know if this is legal in florida?

I hope it is!!

;D ;D

[-nick-]

ahhah me and my friend both caught 7 pounders tonight. Its so much fun but man that thing was hard to real in.