live bait question

[Red]

i have been fishing a couple of small ponds recently, and have caught several fish on various baits...i would like to try a live blue gill.....there are tons of them in the ponds so i imagine the bass feed on them...i called texas parks and rec today to make sure it was legal...it is...so i was thinking i could catch some gills on hook and worm....how do you rig/fish a live gill...say maybe a 3"-5" one? hook size? how do you hook it on the hook? use it under a bobber? any tips would be much appreciated

thanks

Cliff

[benpsut]

In the mouth, up right betwen the eyes, the "nose" so to say.  

BTW, if you don't find this effective, try to find some clearish or pearl colored plastics, any type preferably some sor of stick bait or a thick worm with BLACK flake.  I've read it somewhere before and experimented with it, but if you find bass that are feeding on bluegill, the black flake makes the bait look like a little blue gill fry.  Anything really with black flake will work but in my own experience ive found that a clear or pearl plastic with black flake works wonderfully.  Black flake is the way to go.

[Mobydick]

We use bluegill for musky. I would think it wouldn't be much different for bass. We use a big offset widegap worm hook( such as a 4/0 or 5/0 ), and hook it through the back. We toss it out and let it swim. If your not holding the rod, you should leave the bail open. We leave the bail open and put a rock or a stick on the line. That way the bluegill cant pull the line out, but you'll know when a bass hits it. And that will give you time to get the rod, 'cause if a bass grabs it and starts running with it, and your bail is shut, that usually isn't good. Hope this helps.

[Fish Chris]

Hey Redtorpedo, I've used small Sunfish a few times when I lived in Louisiana. I think I've caught 1 or 2 small bass on them, and several Gar and Bowfins. They are not legal here in Cali, so I don't use them.... But I always here from guys who think "they must be great, just because they are illegal" LOL What ev.

I'm sure there are places in the US, where for lack of a better choice, they make up the primary food source for bass, but in reality, a Bluegill is a hard meal to swallow.... flat and spiny ! Yikes !

In-Fisherman did a study which proved that given the choice, a bass prefers a more cylyndrical, less spiney type of baitfish, such as a Shiner, Hitch, Sucker, etc.

Anyway, sure, go on and try them.... but if that doesn't work very well, and since your thinking live bait anyway, you might try crawlers or crawdads (fished correctly, of course). I've written a full article on both of these live baits).

Peace,

Fish

[burleytog]

Take a knife and rough them up a bit.  Remove some scales, etc.  Make them look very tempting (i.e. injured).

Works for catfish.

[alhuff]

Red, I would first check with the DNR in TX to make sure that its legal to use bluegill for bait.  In VA you can but they must be caught with a hook and line and you can't keep them like you would minnows, also in WV you can but they have to be counted as part of your creel limit.

Check to make sure, but in TX it maybe legal.

I have caught bass from 6 - 8lbs on live bluegill......it works.  

Here is how I use them:

  I like to use bluegill between 2" - 4", 3" is a good size.

  I use a 4/0 or 5/0 hook and hook them trough both lips.

  I don't use a bobber.

  I fish the bluegill by allowing it to swim, try to get away, in a small area, make sure to let it splash the surface, like its dieing.   Every now and then let it dive down, then pull it back to the surface.

  Most of your hits will be when the fish dives.

  When the bass takes the fish, allow the bass to run for a few seconds, 2-4 seconds, this gives the bass time to get the fish in its mouth and you the ability to have a good hook set, any longer and you run the risk on a gut hook.

  Then, Hang On for the ride!!!!!

Hope this helps,

Alfred

[RoLo]

Fish Chris nailed it.

Bluegills and baby bass are supra-abundant, so largemouth bass don't have to worry about starving to death.

On the other hand, the most abundant baitfish isn't necessarily the most desirable baitfish. Bluegills and baby bass have spiny rays,

and even fish with sharp chopping teeth like northern pike are not thrilled about eating "spiny rayed" baitfish (but eat they must).

If you eat enough spiny rayed fish you're gullet is bound to get skewered by a sharp spine. In-Fisherman did a stomach-content

survey of northern pike and found that yellow perch (a spiny rayed fish) was the most common foodfish. However, yellow perch

was also the most prevalent forage fish. When it came time for a hook-and-line showdown, yellow perch used as bait for northern pike did very poorly, while soft-rayed baitfish like smelt, ciscoes and whitefish walked away with the show. The same holds true

for largemouth bass, who don't even have a set of chopping teeth which means they must swallow their prey whole. Field studies comparing baitfish for bass found that soft-rayed forage like shiners and shad handily outproduce bluegills and baby bass.

In California, largemouth bass that have access to trout, another soft-rayed fish, lose their interest in bluegills and baby bass.

Roger

[Red]

thanks for the tips guys, i will let you know how i do....

i am sure shad and such would work better, but i have yet to see anything swimming in these ponds other than gills, bass, and turtles....i am sure the bass would prefer something else, but if there isnt anything else there, like someone said, they gotta eat....just thought it would be something different to try

Cliff

P.S. it IS legal in texas....you can use any non-game fish for bait, and blue gills arent considered a game fish

[Sam]

Red Torpedo,

I fish my friend's local pond and although I like to throw artificial baits he catches and uses bluegills all the time.

There is a lot of hydrilla in the pond but the bass seem to locate his bluegills all the time.

He uses a 2/0 hook and pushes it through the meaty area just in front of the bluegill's tail.

He lets the bait swim all by itself and he watches his line.  He will also throw some artiticials as he waits for something to take his bluegill or bream.

As for me, I use bluegill to fish for catfish in the Historic James River and I hook them with either a 3/0 or 4/0 octopus circle hook through the meaty section in front of the tail.  Works all the time and the catfish nail the bream or bluegills without any problems.

My best fun live bait are nightcrawlers.  Everything eats a nightcrawler.

[Guest avid]

Yo Red,

Yeah, it's true bass may prefer a shiner over a bluegill, but a juicy little bluegill struggling in front of them is gonna get et.  Go for it.

Eagle claw Khale hook, sized appropriate to the bait, nose hooked a few feet under a float and fished close to weed edges is probably the classic setup.  different hook placement will encourage the bait to move in different ways, but the nose hook setup has a higher percentage of hookups.

I know a guy who steps on them so they are barely alive, and casts them out with no float.  sounds like a catfish technique but he catches alot of bass on em.

Sounds kind of ghoulish, but it works.

"Hey Jethro, whachay'all usin fer bait?"

"stomped bream Floyd, what else?"

[.dsaavedra.]

i was out today and i caught 4 bass including a really niced sized one...much bigger than the rest...maybe 18-19" all on live bluegill. what i do is i hook it in the back above the spinalcord. for placement, i usually put it directly above the pectoral fin and about midway between the spinalcord and the top of the fish. this is usually about 3/4 of the way up from the lateral line to the top of the fish. i just used a 3/0 or 4/0 worm hook...im not exactly sure of the size. cast around where you see schools of the bluegill... hold the rod and jerk it along to wear it out and give it the struggling appearance. works like a charm.