​The Time is Now For Summertime Bluegill, Bass and More!

Here are three areas where bluegill and bass will roam in Summertime. They can be up shallow around cover like piers, fallen trees and weed pockets. They could be along the weed edge or first drop-off or they could be suspended. Let’s go catch them!

Fishing Shallow

Shallow fish are easy, all you need is some good casting skills and a little luck. For bluegill, I like a little ice jig like a Custom Jigs & Spins size 8 Glazba. It is made from tungsten so it has just enough weight to pitch around piers and wood with a light line on a St. Croix Panfish rod. Slide on a redworm, give it a pitch and reel it in back slowly.

A little round or pear shaped bobber is great because it is heavy enough that you can cast it a good distance to get in the fish zone. If that bobber is so small that when you tie on a Glazba and slide on a redworm that it begins to sink, then you need a lead jig like a size 8 Diamond Jig or a ‘Gill Pill. The key is to get the bobber, jig and bait to balance correctly so it disappears at the slightest nibble.

Another great bobber option is the Rocket Bobber. It will be much heavier than the round, so it will easily cast much farther. You can set it so that just the tip shows when loaded up or so that the bobber sits on its side and then flips up on the take. Again, you would need to balance the jig and redworm to the bobber.

The bobber will keep your jig and bait above weeds or snags on bottom. You’ll want to get that bobber right in there, up under the pier if it’s sunny or to drift around the structure. For a faster, more aggressive approach, use the Glazba without a bobber and pitch it up under the piers, let it sink a little and reel it in slowly with a pause here and there. You can cover more ground quickly with this method and sometimes it is more effective.

Let’s try some plastics

When I’m bass fishing in the shallows, I’ll use a Chatterbait with a BFishN Tackle Ribb-Finn and pitch it right in there. I’ve been surprised at how well the Chatterbait will work its way through the weeds and snags-even better than a spinnerbait. Plus, you can reel it slower to give fish more time to react.

On a second rod, I’ll use The Worm, a pre-rigged plastic worm that spins slowly on the retrieve. You’ll want to add a few split shots above the line and use a ball bearing swivel to prevent twist. The Worm can be skipped under piers with a side-armed cast and then reeled as slowly as possible. I’ll use The Worm to attack an area thoroughly after I locate fish with the Chatterbait.

I’ve caught largemouth, smallmouth, walleye, pike and even catfish on The Worm. It’s anise scented, so maybe that’s why any fish in the area seems to like it! Heck, I’ve even caught big perch, crappie and even bluegill on the 6-1/4” model.

In the weeds

The next area to approach is the weed edge or first drop-off. As you pull your boat out into deeper water look for the weeds to thin out or stop by looking in the water (if it’s clear) or using your electronics. In shallow stained water lakes, we could be talking weeds that grow from one to five feet, so you are still in shallow water. In clear lakes the edge could be ten to fifteen feet or as deep as thirty.”

Here it’s best to use a slip bobber set up with the Glazba/Redworm or you can still give it a pitch and let it sink without a bobber. These shallow weeds are great because they are easy to see and you can pitch right up to them, bringing back the bait in small twitches. Those deeper weeds can be fished with the slip bobber or just jigged under the boat moving slowly along with your trolling motor.

For more aggressive fish, I’ll use a 1/16 or 1/8 ounce Slender Spoon tipped with a redworm. I’ll attach it with a ball bearing swivel to prevent line twist and one or more split shots a few feet above the line to get it into the zone. Again, slowly covering water with the trolling motor gets the fish biting.

The weed edge is a prime spot for bass and other gamefish, also. Here I will use a H20 Jig with a BFishN Pulse-R plastic. Pitched up to the weeds and reeled in slowly. I also like to use a Ringworm on a drop shot setup. Weight on bottom, VMC #1 Spinshot hook 18 inches up the line and then slip on the Ringworm. It’s very fish-catchy and surprisingly weedless!

We’re going deeper

Finally, out in no man's land...the deeper water, the thermocline is the place to be. A thermocline is the transition layer between the warmer mixed water at the surface and the cooler deep water below. If you watch your locator you can actually see a line running straight across the locator, down below (sometimes halfway to bottom) and you will see fish suspended right above that line.

Here, I will set up a slip bobber and cast it out and also use a second rod rigged with a tungsten ice jig like a Magnum 7mm Chekai with a redworm and lower it right down to the fish zone. With electronics you can see that jig well to get it right on the spot.

For bass or other game fish, I’ll use a heavier ¼ ounce Slender Spoon and work it right above the zone. Use a good lift/fall jigging motion and hang on as anything down there will grab it from a bass, pike or even monster bluegill.

Summer is a great time to catch all species of fish. Head shallow first and then keep on working your way deeper until you figure out what species are active for the day!

If you enjoyed this article, you may also like:

• Fishing Heavy Jigs, Light Jigs and Jigs In-Between on the Edge and Beyond!
• Blade Baits and Spoons are Hot Right Now!
• Working a Bladed Jig for all Species in Summer!