During the hot summer months, bluegills are often hard to locate on major, manmade impoundments. Unlike smaller lakes and farm ponds, many major impoundments are deep and clear and that often causes bluegills to suspend well away from the banks where most panfishermen search for them.
Unlike smaller bodies of water where recreational boating isn’t a major concern, many of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lakes were also cleared of timber and brush before the land was inundated, creating a shortage of natural cover for fish. Besides, most large impoundments are being drawn down during the summer to generate electricity, and what little brush and other prime bluegill cover that is available along the banks is often left high and dry.
To catch plump, hard-tugging bluegills under these conditions, you have to find an alternative for the willow trees and downed trees that were so productive during the spring when the reservoir was at full pool. Bridge piers and houseboats provide excellent cover for summertime bluegills on deep, clear lakes.
Almost every impoundment of any size is crossed by at least one bridge. Many concrete bridge piers stand in 50 or more feet of water. The piers afford cover in the form of shade. The brightly colored sunfish suspend close to the piers, usually at depths of one to 20 feet.
In addition to providing shade, bridge piers are also a source of food. The piers attract small baitfish, which the bluegills prey on. In many cases, insects are also plentiful around bridges because they nest on the man-made structure, and terrestrial insects often cross the water on the bridges and fall off or are blown off by wind. Birds, especially swallows, love to nest underneath bridges and they drop tidbits of food into the water, which bluegills devour.
You may catch fish at every pier of a bridge, but I’ve found that the last pier closest to land at each end of the bridge produces best, unless they are in very shallow water.
I discovered the bluegill-producing potential of houseboats one day when I ran out of bridge piers to fish. It was a hot, sunny August day and you could see the bottom in 20 feet of water. I couldn’t catch a decent bluegill along the banks, but I had managed to catch several nice fish in the shade of bridge piers. My problem was that I had fished every bridge pier within 20 miles.
As I headed back to the dock, the dark shady recesses created by the overhanging decks of the numerous houseboats moored near the dock area caught my attention. I guessed that perhaps the bridge piers weren’t the only man-made structures that harbored summertime bluegills.
It only took a couple of casts to answer the question. A well-fed, very dark bluegill nailed my small jig as it sunk slowly beneath a bright green-and-white houseboat.
The same factors that draw hot-weather bluegills to piers also attract the spunky panfish to houseboats. Houseboats próvide shade and attract baitfish. In addition, residents of many houseboats toss scraps of food overboard, providing the bluegills with a smorgasbord of unusual treats.
The houseboats where I usually fish for bluegills are the ones moored to cables instead of in slips. Many commercial docks have a fleet of houseboats anchored in a protected cove or bay. The houseboats are only moved occasionally.
All houseboats do not attract and hold schools of bluegills. Boats with broad, overhanging decks completely encircling them are the best. The overhang of the deck provides a large shaded area and allows enough clearance between the overhang and the water so that you can skip a jig underneath the deck. Smaller houseboats with sides that drop straight down into the water, with only a small overhanging deck on the one end, aren’t good bluegill producers.
Which side of a houseboat provides the best fishing? I usually have to try all four sides of the rectangular-shaped boats to discover the answer. Many times, I’ve caught eight or 10 bluegills from one side of a houseboat and failed to catch a single one from the other three sides. Sometimes, the productive side was shadier than the others or there was a breeze rippling the surface on the productive side. But, in many instances, every side appeared the same and yet the bluegills were on only one side.
I use a 1/16- or l/32-ounce hair jig tipped with a small piece of night crawler one inch long. The worm gives the tiny jig a little extra weight that makes it easier to cast, and bluegills take the artificial better when it’s tipped with live bait.
Read Next: The Best Baits for Catching Bluegills (and Other Panfish)
Green or black jigs have been the most productive for me. In order to cast and retrieve the lightweight lure, you need a light-action rod and a matching spinning or spincast reel. Use six-pound or four-pound-test line and you won’t have any trouble dropping the bait down to where the saucer bluegills lurk.
When fishing bridge piers, cast the jig and night crawler parallel to the sides of the pier and let the bait drop slowly on a semislack line. Most of the time, you’ll feel a slight tick on the line when a bluegill inhales the falling lure. When you do, set the hook. You’re usually tied into a deep-pulling, circle-running bluegill.
Don’t waste too much time on any one pier if you’re not getting any action. Let the jig fall several times on both sides of the pier and then drop it at both ends a few times. Allow the jig to settle 15 or 20 feet deep. If you don’t connect, move on to the next pier.
When casting to a houseboat, hold your rod tip close to the water and sidearm the tiny jig and ’crawler underneath the overhang. Allow the lure to fall 10 or 15 feet. Bluegills under houseboats don’t generally hold as deep as bluegills against a bridge pier, probably because there isn’t any deep vertical structure.
Hot, sunny days with only a slight breeze are best because the sunny sky tends to concentrate the fish in shaded areas and the light breeze doesn’t interfere with the accuracy of your cast.
Bring a cooler along and ice down the fish as you catch them. The temperature near the surface of the water will be in the high 70s or mid-80s, and using a fish basket or stringer isn’t the best way to keep your catch in good condition. Ice those chunky bluegills immediately and you’ll be glad you did when it’s time for a fish fry.
This article was originally published in the August 1985 Issue of Outdoor Life.