Fishing Small Gill Baits

[Top Ramen]

With the recent release of the Freestyle Gills and the Hudd Gills, I thought it might be helpful to share some of my thoughts on fishing small gill baits. This is based on my personal experience with the 3:16 Freestyle Gill, which has been an extremely productive bait for me over the past year or so, and a small glide gill I got from Japan. I believe this information applies to any small gill, so if you just got a Hudd Gill, the same principals should apply.

 

Because of itʼs size, fish commit to these baits easily and usually only hesitate to ʻstalkʼ the bait or wait for an opportunity to pounce. Smaller fish may nip at it but any large fish will usually inhale it.

 

To trigger a bite, pause the bait or swim it by something that letʼs the fish feel they can trap it. Assume itʼs being hunted on every cast; fish will often stalk it from several feet away and may not be visible. These baits will produce all year but are most effective from very early Spring (pre spawn) through the Summer.

 

The two most important keys are:

 

1) Fish slow

For me, this has been the single most important part of being successful with these baits. It needs to stay in the strike zone long enough for the fish to get into position and decide to attack it.

 

2) Put it where the fish can pin it

This is second most important thing. Try to let the bait Ê»hangʼ near ledges, weed lines, bluff walls, boulders or even the shore. If the fish thinks it can pin or trap the gill, it is much more likely to strike. If fishing from the bank, slow or stop the bait when it gets close to shore. 

 

One of my favorite ways to fish this bait is uphill; sitting on a sand bar or point, casting to deeper water. The fish almost always follow it in from deeper water, then pounce when it gets shallow enough that they feel like they can pin/trap it. I usually get no indiction there is a follower until I see a big white flash as they suction it in.

 

Because the bait is often swallowed from behind, with the fish moving towards you, there may not be a hard thump. If the bait suddenly feels heavy, like you’re snagged on a plastic bag, set the hook. 

 

Tight lines.

Edited March 29, 2015 by Top Ramen

[waynem]

I'll add one more situation to Ramen's excellent post that has been productive for me. I look for a broad flat area that has submerged weed growth like coontail, cabbage hydrilla, etc. I want an area that is 3 to 8 feet deep with at least 2 feet of water above the submerged weed tops. If there is some insect activity on the surface and there are sunfish feeding on them, I'll use an erratic retrieve to simulate a feeding sunfish. But if there is no surface activity I'll reel at a slow steady pace trying to make my bait look like a bluegill that is simply swimming along from point A to point B who is not paying attention to what may be lurking in the weeds below.

In either retrieve I'm trying to keep my bait within a foot or 2 of the surface. In this way the bass "pin" the bait against the surface of the water. You can cover a lot of water with this method.

[Darth Baiter]

Speaking of till baits, I can't wait to put the Little Creeper Bluegills to work soon... I like what you said, Top Ramen, very good info!

[Mattlures]

Good thresd. The first thing that I look for when fishing gill baits is... real bluegill. Bluegill tend to stay close to cover and stay in schools. You can usually see bass hanging out close by. everything seems good and peaceful but its really not. Its like the lions watching the antelope form a little ways away.

They seem at peace but you can bet they are all watching each other waiting for that moment when one strays a little to far from the heard or the school of gills and the cover. That is what I try to duplicate when fishing gill baits . I want my bait to be the one that strayed. I find the reel gills and throw out past them. That's how I decide where to fish. Depending upon what I see and the conditions I will choose a soft or a hard gill. Soft gills I think are best fished slowly usually along the bottom. sometimes like a jig and othertimes slow and steady. I try to be more precise with my location when using a soft gill. When I use my hardgill I can fan cast and cover water. The bait moves a ton of water and has a ton of feedback so the fish will travel to eat it. I don't have to hit them on the head or work the perfect angle.

[Top Ramen]

 I find the reel gills and throw out past them. 

 

This is especially effective during the gill spawn. If the gills are stacked up on flats or along the bank, the bass are just pst them, waiting for a scuffle to send a gill out past the edge of the bedding area. They get crushed.

[Austen]

Something i have observed in person walking the marina docks and shoreline is how shallow the gills would get at night. I literally watched the bass use the dock lights and shadows to their advantage. Most would sit just outside of the light and would crush them the second something came into their outer realm. 

[ETBA]

Solid advice, I used this info when fishing my mcl Gill yesterday. I paused it next to isolated tree stumps and had several hits, one of which nearly ripped the rod outta my hand.

[Shiryu]

Thanks for this thread. I needed it. One question tho. If you're fishing a sinking hard bait and the bass are suspended in timber at, say 10ft, would you let your gill drop down that far or run it above them?

[David Cindrich]

One important factor for me is, if sunfish are following my gill bait, I'm going to get bit. If you are new to gill baits and see sunfish following your bait, you are going to get bit. This is the time to vary your retrieve until the first fish expose themselves or you get bit. If you are working down a weed line and loose the school of sunfish, turn around and work the same area again. This works for me in all depths. If the schools of sunfish stay with the boat as I work down the shoreline it seems almost a promise I'm in for a good day. Many times I read that gill baits are more of a spring thing, but in Minnesota I always have a gill bait tied on all year, never questioning if I have the right forage. I enjoy shiner and shad forages just as much, but gill bites are the funniest. I now enjoy many different gill baits, but if you are new to them, I feel many should really get a Hard Gill, learn how to fish it and understand it then spread there wings from there.

[scoopdaloop]

Great stuff here!

[mnbassman23]

Lots of good info in here. Being from MN i can relate to what David is saying. Having bluegill or perch follow your bait to the boat is always a good sign. Find the bluegills find the bass. I have a perch and bluegill bait tied on all year. During the bluegill spawn the bites are ferocious and one of the funniest times to fish. 

 

One of the key features on the lakes I fish are overhanging trees and laydowns. Especially with emergent weed pockets around these trees. There are small bluegill around these spots almost all year. Skipping soft baits under the trees and swimming hard baits down the laydowns and next to the weed pockets is a good pattern. Which is what Top Ramen explained in letting the fish pin the bait against something. 

Edited April 2, 2015 by mnbassman23

[jiggernaut]

Don't mind me I am trying to soak up all of this great information.  As you guys describe patterns I realize I have had similar success, but never capitalized on the full potential of what I have found.  Carry on with the gill/perch VS. bass relationship, this midwest swimbait chucker is taking notes.  

[mjh1986]

Great thread!!!!

[Nateraz]

I look for isolated patches of lily pads (there's a lot of isolated shallow patches in my lake) and cast olong the edges of the pads with the 3:16 Gill in floater. Just crawl the bait as slow as possible with pauses and twitches occasionally. I haven't caught any monsters but, you'll catch numbers

[Murrica]

Great information.  Thank you.