Bluegill are a fun fish to catch and eat. They will bite at almost anything, are fierce fighters when hooked, and offer meat with a slightly sweet taste. Most folks started their love for fishing as kids fishing for bluegill with a can of worms. They are easy to catch, but here are a few tips for getting a good stringer of bluegill for supper.

The perennial favorite bait for bluegill is the worm, either nightcrawlers stalked at night with a flashlight, garden worms dug from a compost pile, or red wigglers purchased from a bait shop. Many use small bobbers when fishing with worms, but all live bait can also be fished on the bottom with success. Lowering your bait over the side of the boat or making short casts with a slow retrieve are both proven techniques. Other live baits suitable for bluegill include grasshoppers, crickets, catawba worms, or about any insect large enough to put on a hook – they are not picky.

Bluegills have small mouths, so using a small hook is essential--sizes 6 or 8 seem best. Hooks with long shanks are easier to remove, especially if they are swallowed. Thin wire hooks are the choice with live bait because the bait will stay alive longer and be more enticing to fish as it squirms on the hook.

During peak spawning time (mid-May through June) male bluegills guarding nests are particularly easy to catch. It is often easy to spot the saucer-shaped depressions because bluegills build their nests in shallow water close to shore. Seek out water from 2 to 6 feet deep and locate a spawning bed. Wade or boat within easy casting distance of the nests and use a small lure or bait just below a small bobber. Cast beyond the bed and slowly retrieve the line through the nesting area. Depth of the nests determines how deep to set the float. Fish close to the bottom and keep both lure and float as small as possible.

Bluegill living in lakes and ponds move to deeper water during summer heat, and can be found along the edges of weeds or in deep coves. Summer-time bluegills, especially the bigger ones, are usually found at depths ranging from 10 to 12 feet. Man-made underwater objects also attract bluegill during the summer. Many lakes contain stake beds, brush shelters, tire reefs, and other fish attractors that have been placed in the water. Also try deep water along undercut banks, near aquatic vegetation in backwaters, and near sunken trees.

Bluegill feed mainly on aquatic insects, which are slow-moving creatures. Rarely will a bluegill chase food items, so it's important to fish very slowly. And remember, there is practically no such thing as a lone bluegill. Once you catch one, quickly cover the area again and take as many as possible before moving to another spot.

By Steve Roark
Tennessee Division of Forestry