TIP

Go For A Crappie Troll FreshwaterIf your kids go crazy over Crappies, consider spider-rigging your boat. This involves mounting multiple long Crappie poles into rod-holders around the bow, and trolling very slowly over fishy structure. Lines are set at varying depths, and with different baits to maximize strikes. When the strikes come, they can come crazy-fast as the rods go off one-after-another. It's the closest thing there is to video-game action on the water.
Dams for Bluegill FreshwaterBluegill don't like to feed in a strong current but prefer to lay in wait, letting the current bring their food to them. At most dams that generate hydroelectric power, you don't see the back current that runs toward the dam and the spillways on the face of the dam. However, you'll usually find bluegills holding in the light back current. For fast action and success, try these tips. Locate a ladder or a break in a straight concrete wall at the lock or the dam to discover bluegill. The most-productive ladders for bluegill are formed into the concrete during the construction of the dam. Pinpoint bluegill holding on underwater rocks that come in contact with the vertical side of the dam. Bluegill will concentrate on the back side of a big rock or boulder in the eddy region of a reverse current and beside the dam to ambush bait and rest. Fish flood gate dropoffs. Below the floodgates on most dams, the concrete runs out into the water for a short distance and then falls dramatically to the bottom of the lake. Bluegill will hold on this concrete dropoff. Catch bluegill around the spillways. Bluegill will feed on top of the underwater concrete making up the spillway of a dam, especially when the shad just have spawned. Bluegill also will feed above the lip of the break in shallow water on baitfish and insects caught in the light current. Too, when the mayflies hatch, you'll generally find them swarmed-up against the spillways, and the bluegill can capture and eat them there.