Blue Gill
Bluegill rate a big plus when it comes to ice fishing. Equipped with standard ice fishing rods with light line, tiny bobbers and small ice fishing lures baited with tiny redworms, small minnows or the many kinds of insect larvae (mousies, wax worms, golden rod grub, corn borers, black-eyed susan grubs), a warmly dressed fisherman is ready to venture forth. During winter months, bluegill are generally found in shallow water (2 to 6 feet deep) in and around brush; but they may move into deeper portions of the creek beds, bottomland lakes or bays at other times. Once they are located, action generally begins with a little jigging of a properly presented bait.Bluegill hover near weed beds, brush piles, near rocky shores, and in calm bays. Just before winter really sets in, they can be found in water 4 to 6 feet deep. During this time, just after freeze-up and again a few weeks before the ice breaks, bluegill fishing is reputed to be best. When the temperatures drop in January an! d February, they retreat to deeper waters--up to 20 feet deep. But bluegills are generally taken at depths of less then 12 feet.