At daybreak I met Kerry aka Fishmeister54 at the boat ramp on Athens. It was his first time on the lake. He graciously offered me room in his boat to fish but I just can't resist my float tube. It was a really good day on the water. The sunfish were really cooperative today.



I caught most of my fish on a small jig head tipped with a piece of crawler. I did take a few on just a worm and wire hook but not many. I found them at all depths. Some hit as soon as the jig hit the water, some took it while it was falling, some took it on the bottom and a few hit while I was retrieving it.



Most of the fish were taken around boat houses. It seemed the closer you got to the structure the better they hit. I did take one or two in open water but not many. As it got a little later they seemed to be falling back into the shade. A couple of times I went right up to the boat house and pitched it as far back under them as I could. The hit in the shade really well. The fish holding way back under the boat houses were a darker color, almost a charcoal grey



I have no idea how many fish I caught but it was over 30. Normally I'd turn nearly all of them loose but Mama wanted a mess for dinner and the old widow that lives next door also asked for some so I ended up keeping an even dozen. I also got a good channel cat on a jig and piece of crawler. The cat was around 3 lbs. The smallest one I kept was about 6 inches and it was bleeding. Most the ones I kept were 8 inches long or better. That's a stainless Coleman cooler they are laying on.



I watched Kerry take quite a few as well and I know he was putting some in a cooler. Hopefully he will chime in and let us know how he did. I left before he did and when I pulled the tube he was still casting.

Cheers Y'all/

Solid post and solid fish. Good job.


Side note. Athens is one great fishery.

Nice Slabs and a super report! Thanks for sharing!

Nice catching Flags

Did you catch any Warmouth or Redspots?

To tell you the truth I have no idea. I grew up in CO so to me sunfish were all lumped together as "bluegills." 'm really not up on all the different species. I just like to catch them.

Great post and pics, Flags. Man, those are some chunky sunfish!

great job, pretty big fish. I need to get out to athens!

Thanks Chief !!

Great post and some nice fat Bluegill. Good job guys.

After a night of looking for a nude nut case who took his car for a swim and helping the Athens PD & diver drag the car out of the lake I went looking for gill.

I met Flags at the ramp for a round of bluegill fishing. I had never met Flags before but when I seen the float tube and matching vehicle I was certain it was him. We chatted a for a few minutes then Flags took off in his tube and I took off in my boat. I decided to search the stands of American Lotus for some big bluegill and wasn't disappointed. I boated several nice gill and a large crappie on crickets. Why that crappie was hanging out with the bluegills I'll never know.

In the distance I seen Flags working the docks and boat houses so I moved up the lake and seen that he was having an excellent morning and after making a suggested strategy change I boated a few more gill with Flags. I had never seen anyone fish from a float tube before and I must say that he is a float tube master and an excellent fisherman. Anyways cutting to the chase here is a pic of my catch. I hung around for about an hour after Flags left and then threw in the towel after getting bounced around by the wakes.


Flags, I had a great time and hopefully we will meet on the water again.

Gosh, I read about the "naked man" at the Lake Athens Boat Ramp. For those who don't know what Kerry is writing about, there is a really full accounting of it in the bass forum: a guy pushes his car into the water, it sinks, he disappears for about an hour out there somewhere in the darkness in the water, then comes and turns himself in." Weird.

I ended up getting the call that my "replacement" kayak had arrived from the factory (see pic below), took off to get it so I'd have it for the weekend. Floated it for just a few minutes that same late afternoon (Friday), then I went out yesterday for 6 hours and had a blast fishing and further testing its capacities. We went from a scorching hot day on Friday . . . to really nice weather, as late July goes, yesterday.

I wanted to mention to others that the bite I was getting on artificials all year long, including consistent big bluegills on almost every outing, has really diminished. Maybe weather related, seasonal? So, for anyone who goes out to Lake Athens now, the proof is in Kerry's and Flag's current photos as it looks like both successfully used live bait tactics and did very well.

I'd hate to think someone is reading about how great the lake is for panfishing and takes the wrong stuff out.

Hmm? There should be some deeper water habitats, certainly there'd be for crappie I suppose, but gills, too. I'll check with my neighbor and see what he recommends.

No naked men to report from Saturday!

Brad

P.S. I wonder why photos taken with a phone and that are oriented properly on the computer sometimes "rotate" when posted???

Nice yak Brad R. I have only been fishing for sunfish for five years. I have found out that very few anglers target them. Bigger water bodies have plenty of places for fish to hide and spawn. Great post Brad R.

Nice fish Flags and Fishmeister. Fish fry coming soon. Good job.


Side note. Love the kayak Brad R also nice post.

WTG Flags GOOD JOB!! What kinda tube do you have?

I use a Togiak Trout Unlimited tube. It is one I inherited when my father passed away. It is no better or worse than any other tube, they are all pretty much the same. You want one with a fair amount of storage compartments for hauling lures, bait etc...

In addition to the tube you need a good set of waders, flippers and a pair of wading shoes.

Cost will be something like this:

Tube $200
Waders $100
Flippers $50
Wading shoes $20

I also have a mesh bag on mine for a live well so I can keep fish if I want. Many don't use a bag and just tie off a stringer to the tube. It takes a little time to learn how to handle one since all you steering is done with your feet and you travel backwards. My suggestion is if you get one to spend a couple hrs just kicking around to get the hang of it. I really enjoy fishing out of the tube since it lets you get in really close and the tube doesn't spook fish the way a boat does. I've also hunted ducks and geese out of the tube and that works really well too.