Caught a lot of smallies on Senko's brooksy. At the chu find live bait works best a friend of mine eric caught 2 4lb smallies off shiners fished off bottom there.
Let's not forget that 3lb smallie from the Sud off a senko. That thing was a bit mouthy too. It kept biting our hands while we got the hook out.
The credit on those smallies I got from the Chu really has to go to Muskie. I really never fished that way until I started fishing with him. Those pics are on my profile too!
Keyword: Pumpkinseed. Bluegill are a different species of the sunfish family that also includes, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and crappie
I stand corrected. So if it doesn't have an orange splotch on its gill plate then it's not a pumpkinseed and cannot be used for bait. That's why it's important to know how to identify fish. Since I don't use live bait and haven't really fished for bluegills in well, forever, I haven't ever thought about it and never differentiated between the varieties of sunfish.
I usually use lures only for bass during the open water months. When you have to go to all your favorite fishing spots on a bicycle, carrying around a live bait bucket gets tough. Also, one of my favorite times to go for bass is late May and early June, during which time NH F&G does not allow the use of live bait for bass. I like playing around with all my soft plastic lures anyway, trying to figure out which ones work the best and the best way to rig them up is like a fun science project.
That being said, I do use live bait for ice fishing. Shiners are the go to, but I have used worms before with some success. There is also a small brook in my backyard in NH with delicious native brook trout in it, and I use worms there too. The only bait they ever seem to take in fact is live worms dug up on the spot; they’re too finicky to take powerbait or anything from a store.
As for bluegill vs. pumpkinseed, the quickest and most reliable way to tell is to look for the lighting blue “war paint” on the face, which only pumpkinseeds have. There is also the gill cover tipped with red that is a trademark of the pumpkinseed, but under bad light conditions that can be a pain to spot.
That being said, I do use live bait for ice fishing. Shiners are the go to, but I have used worms before with some success. There is also a small brook in my backyard in NH with delicious native brook trout in it, and I use worms there too. The only bait they ever seem to take in fact is live worms dug up on the spot; they’re too finicky to take powerbait or anything from a store.
As for bluegill vs. pumpkinseed, the quickest and most reliable way to tell is to look for the lighting blue “war paint” on the face, which only pumpkinseeds have. There is also the gill cover tipped with red that is a trademark of the pumpkinseed, but under bad light conditions that can be a pain to spot.
Absolutely I use live bait.
In those hazy lazy crazy days of summer when I can't find the smallies I will put the umbrellas up, worm on one pole, crayfish on the other, lay back and enjoy the day.
Live bait has been used since time began and will till time ends.
In those hazy lazy crazy days of summer when I can't find the smallies I will put the umbrellas up, worm on one pole, crayfish on the other, lay back and enjoy the day.
Live bait has been used since time began and will till time ends.
I did not want to do it but...... the challenge of fishing is getting where the fish are and getting them to bite. You can soak a shiner all day or pitch a $145 Castaic swimbait for 6 hours in a dud spot and not catch anything. Sometimes lures are the bomb and best to use, others live bait is the most effective tool. Now that I found out that store at Vinyl square in Chelmsford sells shiners you can bet I will be getting some.
I find the early spring when water is real cold shiners are deadly I don't use them much but must have at the chu.I like to walk and work the shore line with plastics late spring and early summer they seem to work best from shore. If I had a boat probably use more crank baits.