BOATHOUSE BLUEGILLS
 Utilizing
Other Fishermen
Editor’s Note: Anglers know boathouse bream may
be the most-educated panfish in any reservoir, but May
and June generally are the most-productive times to
fish bream. Little bluegills often will run in and hit
any baits that fall in the water. But the larger, older
gills usually will stay just below or off to one side
of a school of small fish and observe what happens when
the smaller fish feed. Generally if big bluegills are
present in a boathouse, and little fish are in that
same area, the smaller bluegills will get caught, and
the trophy-sized fish won’t. If you want to succeed
in catching the boathouse bluegills that have tantalized
others and escaped the skillet, try these different
strategies. They will produce for you.
 Another
boathouse bluegill tactic is to utilize other fishermen
to catch the fish. Large boathouse bluegills often are
very sensitive to both fishing pressure and people pressure.
One of the best situations for catching big boathouse
bluegills is to have a group of children or other anglers
trying to catch bream. As soon as the leads and the
corks start hitting the water, often the bigger bluegills
will move either to the back of the boathouse or to
the outer side of the boathouse where the anglers can’t
reach them with their leads and corks. The fish are
so conditioned to baits hitting the surface and falling
to the bottom, I believe they learn not to attack.
 When
these conditions exist, anglers can fish with live grasshoppers
or live crickets sprayed with Spike-It’s Aerosol
Fish Attractant in the Crawfish or Gamefish flavors
on 4- to 6-pound-test Mossy Oak Fishing Line, a clear
plastic bobber to add weight to the line to enable you
to cast and a small hook. As soon as the cricket or
the grasshopper hits the surface, the bug will begin
to move its legs and try to swim. When the bluegill
sees that live bait on top and smells the attractant,
many times the fish will attack – even though
the dock has plenty of noise and fishing pressure.
 If
an angler’s attempting to catch a very wily bluegill
from under a boathouse, and the boathouse has an opening
to the lake, he can use this live-bait tactic to cast
beside boats, on the edges of boatslips and under docks
and piers. Big bluegills are accustomed to attacking
bugs and critters like crickets and grasshoppers that
fall off the dock. When anglers present live baits on
the surface to a region where live baits normally will
fall, many times they can get big bluegills to attack
– even if those same fish won’t bite at
any other time.
Tomorrow: Bedding Boathouse
Bluegills
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