Bluegills might not really be bluegills.
People tend to call all sunfish bluegills, even though some are pumpkinseeds, longears, green or redears. I’m one of those people.
I might suggest to a fishing partner, “Let’s go bluegill fishing.” I would never say, “Why don’t we try to catch some pumpkinseeds now?”
I know they are a totally different type of sunfish. They don’t even look alike. But to me — and most folks — they’re all bluegills.
No, they don’t get a lot of respect. Every lake has them, and they aren’t all that difficult to catch. After a day of fishing for bass or walleyes/saugeyes without much success, anglers often decide to fish for bluegills just to be able to put something in the fish basket.
And you certainly don’t need a fancy bait to catch bluegills. For bass, you might tie on a $20 lure. For walleyes it might be an expensive lure or spoon.
For bluegills, a waxworm on a No. 10 or 12 hook will do nicely. You might go with a little ice jig, but you still aren’t going to spend much for it.
But although most bluegills don’t get much above 10 inches, they can be fun to catch. For one thing, it’s a fighting little fish.
For its size it might be the best fighter in the lake. And if you want to make it even better, use ultralight gear or even a fly rod.
Bluegills also are kid friendly. When you teach children how to fish, your best bet is to find a good bluegill hole and the kids will have a ball.
“I’m looking forward to bluegill fishing this year at Rocky Fork Lake,” said Doug Maloney, fish management supervisor for the district wildlife office. “I just talked to my brother-in-law from Adams County and for the last two years, just before Memorial Day, we have met at Rocky Fork and caught bluegill after bluegill after bluegill.
“Last year about halfway through our trip, he sat back and put his pole down and said, ‘I have never caught this many fish in one day in my life. This is fantastic!’ ”
Maloney said he also wants to target bluegills at Cowan Lake, and he has for the past couple of years experienced and heard reports of good bluegills at Lake Loramie.
“I had a guy tell me he caught some large, fat bluegills at Loramie all last year — and even through the ice,” Maloney said. “I also heard good bluegill reports from Grand Lake St. Marys.”
Oh, that place the little bluegill does get respect? The dinner table.
Size limits: Several area lakes have a new 15-inch size limit for saugeyes or walleyes. Those lakes are: Acton, Caesar Creek, Indian and Rocky Fork for saugeyes. C.J. Brown Reservoir already had the 15-inch limit for walleyes.
Outdoors columnist Jim Morris can be reached through his Website at www.examiner.com/outdoor-recreation-in-dayton/jim-morris or by email at sports@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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