Travis Tuthill loves his walleye as much as the next Minnesotan, but with a lot of the lakes near his home in the state’s south central region prone to heavy fishing pressure, them ‘eyes aren’t easily fooled. The bite can be tough, but Tuthill’s not singing the blues — he’s catching them.
Bluegill, that is. The most popular and widely dispersed member of the panfish clan inhabits most of the waterways spanning the northern U.S., so anglers in the know can enjoy a vibrant fishery that’ll put some mighty fine fillets on the table, even when walleye play hard-to-get. Give bluegill fishing a shot.
“I would say bluegill is a very popular fish in southern Minnesota because the walleye stuff can get tough; they get beat up a lot,” Tuthill said. “If you get on a good bluegill bite people will find out about it.”
Where To Look
During the summer months, bluegill value cooling shelter as much as any creature, but they also want plenty of food. Voracious gluttons, these aggressive fish will gobble a variety of finfish and aquatic insect forage. One of the best places to find such food-rich habitat is a weed bed.
Submersed aquatic vegetation species vary by location, but depth is key. We’ll look at a shallow summertime deal in a moment, but Tuthill finds his greatest consistency along deeper weed edges. Here, the fish enjoy the benefits of that well-stocked cover, along with cooler, well-oxygenated depths.
“The last few years, panfish living in shallow to mid-depth weeds have been the key,” Tuthill said. “When it gets really hot in the summertime, we’ll focus on weed edges in 8 to 12 feet of water.
“We have some really big bluegill in those weeds. I get excited when I’m getting 8- to 9-inch fish. When you start getting that 9 1/2- to 10-inch size, that’s a big bluegill for our area.”
Tuthill typically starts his search not far from the areas in which bluegill spawned. These are typically fertile zones that retain the ‘gills’ interest for their abundant food supplies. Proximity to drop-offs is a plus, as it allows fish the option to reposition for safety or creature comfort.
What They Like
It’s rarely difficult to talk a bluegill into gobbling crickets, earthworms, or minnows, but Tuthill likes the efficiency of artificial lures. Less hassle, less mess, better time management.
Tuthill favors tungsten ice jigs like the Clam Drop Kick in a 1/32-ounce size and he pairs them with Bobby Garland Itty Bit Mayflies. When local water gets dark from rain runoff, he’ll go with black, but in clear conditions, chartreuse or red will earn the bites.
“I’ll cast to the edge of the weeds and let the jig fall right along the edge and drag it along the bottom,” Tuthill said. “If I notice they’re holding a little higher, I’ll swim it along the edge.”
Tuthill fishes his bluegill baits on a 7-foot spinning outfit with a Lew’s Speed reel (he likes the larger handles for better grip control). Spooling with 3- to 6-pound monofilament, he’ll fan cast the area to probe those weed edges and find the most active areas.
“If it’s really weedy and I have to keep these lures above the vegetation, I’ll run shallow bobber setups,” Tuthill said. “I like the clip-on Rocket Bobbers because a lot of days can be windy. I can’t get a good cast with slip bobbers, but the (solid plastic) Rocket Bobbers cut through the wind so nicely.
“They’re made to lay flat on the water and tip up when you get a bite. They’re [dense], so I can throw them through the wind and they come in high-visibility colors. Most of the time I’m not going to fish more than 3 feet [below the bobber] so a clip-on is good.”
End of Days
One of Tuthill’s favorite bluegill scenarios offers a brief window of opportunity, but a high level of sporting fun. Either a day-ending last hurrah, or a casual after-dinner delight, the sundown bluegill feed insatiably.
“At sundown, you have a lot of bugs in the water and we’ve noticed schools of bluegill coming shallow,” Tuthill said. “They’ll come shallow and eat these bugs right off the surface of the water. On nice nights, at sundown in calm water, we’ll catch bluegill in anywhere from 1 to 3 feet of water in shallow basins.”
Fan casting with a tungsten jig and a mayfly body will bring plenty of big panfish to hand. Tuthill said this is when the 7-foot rod shines.
“I have that rod tip up and I’m working that bait really close to the surface,” he said. “You can get enough motion on the end of that rod to get that mayfly tail to really kick. That tungsten makes the jig [respond] quickly, so I feel like that appeals to the more aggressive fish, which are usually the bigger ones. You’ll get little ones, too, but when that bait is skirting right under the surface, those big ones will really tag it.”
Tuthill’s favorite sundown colors are electric chicken for visibility, and black to match the dark larvae that comprise much of the bluegill appeal.
“With the sundown bite, it’s pretty key to use a long rod because it gives you the ability to cast those small jigs and to work that bait below the surface,” Tuthill said.
Minnesota’s daily panfish limit is 10 per person. Tuthill’s favorite way to enjoy fresh bluegill: Dredge ‘em in egg wash and seasoned flour, deep fry and stuff ‘em in soft tortillas for a tasty fish taco night.
