Sorry for the rookie question, somebody help me with bottom fishing. What kind of hook? Size line? Sinker or no? Open hook or jig head, or texas rig? Drag it or dead stick?
Thanks in advance.

I usually fish 80 percent of the time off of the bottom. Size six cricket hook,size five shot (weights may very depending on the water body) with six pound test line all on a ultra light rod and reel. Texas rig a night crawler and work areas that look good. I try to keep it very basic and simple.



I have friends of mine that use the drop shot method and they usually out fish me!

#6 hook with long shank. Small weight above hook. 15lb braided line. (6lb diameter) Fishing with worms.

Nice Gill!

I use much the same rig as the others: a #8 gold Aberdeen hook, #3 split shot sinker pinched about 12 inches above the hook, and 4 pound test line. Crickets are my bait of choice, but one inch Canadian nightcrawler pieces come in a close second. If the bottom has a lot of snags I use a slip float carefully adjusted to keep the bait just above the bottom.
Very slowly retrieve the bait through the likely spot.

See my sunfish blog for more hints.

I run a drop shot. Size 6 hook and a splitshot about a foot to a foot and a half below the hook. 6lb line and nightcrawlers.

As for dragging or dead sticking I use both techniques. Depends on how aggressive the bite is! Sometimes when the bite is slow and not aggressive a nice slow retrieve with a few stops works well. Also slow bouncing the bait off the bottom with some pauses works good. Just my two cents.

Thank y'all. Can't wait to get off work and back on the river.

later...don

WOW...fellas I had no idea gills could be caught off the bottom! I always fish for them in the shallows kinda where you can see swimming in the marinas or barges. I've always thought that if you fished on the bottom especially with night crawlers, you would catch a catfish and nothing else would bite!?! I'll make sure I try this bottom technique next time I hit Lynn Creek or any other marina.

Could somebody tell me the proper way to hook a cricket where it'll kick and live longer?! Also which type of hook works best with crickets?? I found a few at petco for $.13 each!!!

Use a gold Aberdeen #8 hook or a long shank #8 cricket hook. Insert the point of the hook just under front of the collar of the cricket and out just past the collar. The cricket will stay alive long enough to be inhaled by a bull bluegill.

Those bluegill you see swimming around in the marina will be the smaller ones. The big ones will be on or near the bottom.

If you come by Wednesday we can discuss some of the finer points of bluegill fishing -- unless it is stormy.

Always impressed by the things I learn here!

I always fished under a quill for perch until I started reading this forum.
My success increased big time when I started fishing for them on the
bottom. I've been using a small drop shot weight at the bottom, size
depending on depth. Then I tie a #6 Owner Mosquito hook on the line
about a foot above it. Maggots and night crawlers are my #1 baits.
I still use a quill on certain situations, but 90% of the time I am on
the bottom.

I've been chasing sunfish for over fifty years, and in most cases start with two ultralights loaded with P-Line CX 4 lb, one Texas rigged with tiny slip sinker and long shank size 6 hook, and the other with tiny split shot under float. Both are retrieved 3 feet at a time until hotspot is found. Until reading the post about waxworms today I used dillies/redworms exclusively.

If you wanna try a completely different method that can be deadly at times get an assortment of Pistol Pete flies and tie them to an eight foot leader behind a clear slip float that can be filled with water. Vary the amount of water to find the correct depth. Experiment with the retrieve to find what stimulates the fish. This technique takes practice but allows very long casts and any depth of presentation.

Great information in this thread.

Highcountry, That is excellent information on the Pistol Pete flies. I fly fish and have been told to get some of these, or tie them myself. I'm convinced now I should have a bunch in my fly box.

Anyone try using the Betts fancy poppers behind a cork? I have great success with those on my fly rod. There are certain ponds that I fish that have already become overgrown with weeds. The only way I have found to effectively fish them is throwing top water flies into the holes in the weeds. I pretty much have to set the hook and then fly them back to the bank over the top of weeds, LOL. Greenies are great at diving into the weeds after taking the fly.

You might also try catching Gills on small lures such as Rooster tails,Little Georges,and small soft plastics. Love catching Bluegill on artificial baits.