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Bluegill!!!

4K views 11 replies 10 participants last post by  lastcall 
#1 ·
Hey, I was wondering if anyone knew of a really good lake or pond that is really good for bluegill. I've never caught a bluegill, but would really like to have some fun catching a bunch of them. I'm interested on the west side of the state. Also, i know probably no one will give me any info, but, does anyone know a small pond where I can catch bluegill?? I know no one will probably answer me on that, but I can't find any, and am getting really frustrated. Maybe you could PM me or something? Thanks!
:DUNNO
 
#2 ·
Lake 12 in Black Diamond area. Fish the pads and around logs. I caught and released 12 or so plus some bass there just a few weeks ago. Bass were small, but the bluegill had good size to them. I caught them both on a black beadhead bugger. Fish really hit between 7:30 to 9:00 PM you will need some type of watercraft for most of the fish though I did catch a couple of small bass 6" off of the boat ramp while taking a break. Lake is not a small pound but still good fishing for the little critters and alot of fun. :pROFESSOR :THUMBSUP
 
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#3 ·
IveofIone
This used to be an easy question to answer but since I no longer live on the west side I can't answer your question with any real authority. But when I lived over there Silver Lake was the place to go for bluegill on the fly. A few years back a friend and I went for an evenings fishing and caught over 220 fish on dry flys in about 4 hours. I have never had another day like that but it was sure a blast while it happened.Sept. is a little late to catch up with schooling 'gills but you can still catch good sized individuals along the weed beds this time of year. Very small weedless poppers with rubber legs tossed right up into the lettuce is a good way to go and since they fight deep, you have to be all over them immediately to keep them from tangling in the weeds. For just pure fun ( and delicious fillets!) it would be hard to beat an evening on a good bluegill lake. As far as ponds go, Swofford Pond just north of Silver Lake off the Riffe Lake road has given me some great bluegill fishing over the years but I don't know if it is still any good or not. A few years back the Fish and Game people, in their infinite wisdom, went in and killed off the weeds in a number of lakes that held spiny rays. With cover gone the size and population of fish plummeted but the idea was to provide a put-n-take fishery for hatchery trout. A few weeks after the season opened the trout were fished out of those waters and then for the rest of the season virtually no fishing in those waters existed. I guess it really didn't make much difference in the overall scheme of things since there were only a handful of us guys that could sucessfully fish in weedy waters. Bottom line is don't shy away from the weeds when you go, that is where the fish hold. Look for little openings in the weeds and put your weedless fly in them and be ready. You will be rewarded. Ive
 
#4 ·
just remember, throw 'em back

if you live farther north, try Lake Goodwin. that place is filled to the gills (hahaha) with bluegill, sm bass, and perch too. but, thats really only an option if you have a boat. there is some access at the park but good luck on a nice hot summer weekend! if you have a float tube try Lake Ki which is right by lake Goodwin. there are less gills but they are HUUGE. there are also lots a perch. dont worry about filling a stringer as im sure many of the locals would rather have them gone. if you catch any bass there please do release them carefully...those bass need it. gills and perch taste better anyway. try dry flies for gills, anything buggy that floats like a cork should work, if not, try one of those cheesy poppers, they work great! just bend the hook a little so it protrudes more. sometimes if the gills are just slurping them they dont get em just right in their mouths and they become impossible to hook. ive had them drill it like 5-6 times in one cast without a hookup. its maddening! gills are great fighters, have fun!
 
#5 ·
Ah! A topic near and dear to my heart. I have to agree there is nothing like a good Bluegill lake. I grew up in the midwest and really miss fishing for gills. I agree that Silver lake is a great lake. Stick to the shallows along weed beds.

My favorite Bluegill fly is a tinsel bugger. Use a 10 or 12 add a few wraps of lead, tie in a white marabou tail and wrap the body with silver tinsel. It's that easy.

Also, I have heard that Sutter pond and Rainbow lake out by Issaquah has bluegill and bass. But I have yet to check it out.

Good luck. Bluegill on a fly rod is a blast. They may be small but they fight like they have a freight train behind them.
 
#6 ·
I fished blue gills in the spring about ten years ago on Long Lake near Port Orchard. Literally a fish on every cast. It was late spring and they were visible holding over spawning beds near the shoreline in water less than five feet deep. They would attack any nymph-wetfly dropped on or stripped near the beds. The area we fished was the northwest shoreline, launching a john boat from the WDFW access off of Clover Valley Road. Kitsap Lake probably also has blue gills.
 
#7 ·
i live 2 minutes from the boat launch and the bluegill quit spawning in 97 except in isolated schools and the crappie then dissapeared but bass, newly illegally introduced fry eating perch have become really abundant, and the occasional pumkinseed is what youll catch there but you will be skunked more than likely in long lake now. theres a rumor at the long lake bass club with some of my mates is that the water skiers have been dumping stuff to kill the weeds in the south end of the lake but its a shame growing up on the lake and watch it go down hill from the panfish factory it was 10 years ago. but it still is a top notch lake for other kinds of fishing.
 
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