Center Hill Gills

[DUCK_2]

Hey guys,

Wanted to see if anyone out there has any helpful advice on going after bluegill and shellcrackers at Center Hill this spring. I have never really fished that lake and have heard there is some big ones there. I have a goal this year to catch a TARP-gill and shellcracker. Any tips and places to start looking? Do they spawn on the rock or do they find gravel like other lakes? What's the average depth to find them during the spawn? I'm so use to KY & Nickajack Lake that fishing rock will be weird to me.

Thanks guys!

If you don't mind paying a guide fee, I can put you on a TARP bluegill and it would probably take all of an hour or less. Although you would also be at risk for catching an 11" or 12". There are also shellcracker in these ponds, and if you catch one it will probably be a TARP.

The three biggest caught by clients of mine last spring went 1.6, 1.91, and 1.99 lbs. I had one party that I lost count at ten of bluegill over twenty ounces. I'm attaching a few photos.

By the way, this is just outside Columbia...

Forgot the shellcracker pics-

[Alphahawk]

Walt....those are fine fish...no doubt. If I were worth a lot of money I would have me some private lakes....hire a biologist to take care of it....feed the fish so they grow quite large....fish the fire out of it and be happy. If I could fish out of a lake where Gills are that big I would do so. But I don't see how anyone can equate a TARP fish out of a lake where fish are fed to obtain that size to a TARP fish out of public waters......just not the same. Just my two cents.


Regards

Randy, TWRA doesn't have a requirement that a TARP fish come from public or non-managed waters. I have worked on a lot of ponds in this state and several others, and can speak from firsthand observation that it is anything but a simple matter to get bluegill to the size I have gotten them to in that pond (all of those fish came from one one-acre pond). It took seven years to get that pond to the state it is in now.

As an example, there are multiple very large companies that come into Tennessee from other states and employ several times as many people as I do, that compete with me for customers. I know of one lake, a sixty-acre lake in Mississippi managed by a company an hour north of Atlanta, that has bluegill fishing that approaches what I've been able to do with my best pond; there's a 130-acre lake in North Carolina that's managed by a biologist from Texas that produces a lot of very big bluegill; there's a pond manager in Illinois that has a thirty-acre lake that has produced a lot of bluegill in the twenty- to twenty-four-ounce range. Those are the only private waters I'm aware of that have bluegill fishing approaching what I've been able to create. As another example, there's a place in Texas where they have several private ponds with rental log cabins, and they do brisk business because every now and then somebody catches a ten-inch bluegill.

Don't get me wrong - there are private ponds here and there across the country that have some big bluegill. But anyone who thinks it's simply a matter of finding a pond and throwing some food at the bluegill to get two-pounders, is in for a rude awakening when you try it.

One of my competitors, the largest pond management company in this region, has a picture of a ten-inch bluegill on their website. They probably have about five times as many customers as I do across the Southeast, meaning they have far more ponds they work on; and yet that seemed a notable fish to them. None of the ones I posted photos of are less than 11".

It's easier, by a long shot, to grow a largemouth to ten pounds than it is to get a bluegill to two pounds. Most avid anglers know someone who has caught a ten-pound bass - how many know someone who has caught a two-pound, pure-strain bluegill, and one that was actually weighed as opposed to just estimated? A prominent outdoor writer recently compared a two-pound bluegill to a fourteen-pound largemouth, and I think that's a pretty accurate analogy in terms of how rare they are.

[Alphahawk]

I am well aware it is not a requirement to have a TARP from public waters only. You took it that I somehow assumed you did not have to work to get your ponds like they are. I did not say that. I am sure you are very good at pond management. My point is no one needs to pay a fee to fish for a 10 inch Gill in Center Hill...Laurel Hill...or any other public lake. Ten inch Gills are rare....but they are in public waters. In public waters fish only have their natural food source. In a managed private lake they are more than likely fed. I venture to say of the ponds...lakes...you manage there is a feeding process. If I had the money I would go and spend weeks at Richmond Mill having the time of my life catching two pound Gills. But I would also know that for the fact of other than having fun I had not accomplished much......Richmond Mills is full of two pound Gills.....and we both know they have invested a fortune there to get them like that. But I would still fish it had I the funds. I look upon bass lakes as the same. In a public lake you have to hunt them out....in managed lakes they are readily available. I choose to fish for Gills. In TN a 9 inch Gill in public waters is a big fish.....as you and I both agree.....a 10 inch fish is a real trophy. A guide I know just recently caught his first 10 inch Gill out of public waters....he was extremely proud, as he should be. He had caught 10 inch Gills before out of private managed lakes but was proud that this one came out of the Tennessee River. Don't have the funds to fish the lakes you manage...but if there is ever an invite I am all in....or we could all just move to Lake Perris or Lake Havasu and have the time of our lives. Just got a lead on a spot that holds a lot of 9.5 inch Gills....saw the pics......so will be heading there as soon as weather is better.....has to be a ten incher around there somewhere.

Regards

Ten-inch bluegill are rare not just in public waters in general, as you note, but including Laurel Hill. Thirty years ago they were a little closer to common in that lake, but still uncommon; now they are undoubtedly an event, as scanning the photos that the people who run the bait shop post on Facebook, will prove.

Bluegill over ten inches could indeed be closer to common in public waters in this state if they were managed but they're not. There have been articles in multiple magazines, In-Fisherman among them, in the past few years that note the importance of creel limits on bluegill in public waters, but TWRA seems to think every bluegill angler in this state is purely a meat fisherman, so our big bluegill get fished out. I caught half a dozen 10" bluegill in a one-month period in the late '80's out of a TWRA-managed lake, New Lake in Lewisburg, and a year later they were gone, and the lake hasn't recovered since. Same thing with Shellcracker Lake in Williamsport - I didn't catch any 10"s there but I caught several close to it over a couple trips back in 2009, and the lake got hammered and is a shadow of what it could have been.

Your chances of catching a TARP bluegill in public water in this state are better than winning the lottery, but not by a lot. There's a great difference between using skill to catch something that's actually there, and using skill to try to pull out of the air (or in this case the water) something that, most of the time, just isn't there. To me it just makes a lot more sense, if TARP is the goal, to go somewhere where you have a reasonable chance of actually getting your bait in front of such a fish.

I have managed multiple ponds entirely without supplemental feeding where 10" bluegill were common. It's harder to do but very doable if every detail is in place. I caught a twenty-two ounce bluegill from such a pond, and a 1.75-lb. 'gill was caught from another such pond I managed. One of those ponds was four acres and the other was three. Entirely natural food - they were fertilized once monthly, but of course TWRA does that on their lakes as well.

[DUCK_2]

Well honestly guys, I was just trying to find a reason to get out on Center Hill since I have never fished it before. Honestly I am not opposed to fishing a private or public lake for a TARP. Thanks tnpondmanager for the offer and I might hit you up for that sometime. Alpha- thanks for your help. I know your always on the Gill/Cracker. You have talked about Laurel Hill for along time. I have been there three times in the past three years and I don't seem to do any good. I fish it just like I do at KY lake. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. I know there is fish there, but I must have bad luck there????

However, I do feel like I want to spend more time on area lakes (the big waters) and figure out good spots to take my son fishing. He's not a year old, so I got to time and I need to have a few different places in my pocket to take him. I thought that Center Hill and Dale Hollow would be a good place to take a trip or vacation with the family.

On Center Hill or Dale, what is the average depth you guys are sitting your float or tightlining? Can you give a good creek or area of the lake to focus on. I always pictured a lot of rock and not a lot of gravel on the Hill. Guess I need to go to find out! haha

Thanks guys. Didn't mean to cause a big discussion over it. Just looking for information on lakes I hear you guys talking about. Nice to talk to some Columbia boys.

[agelesssone]

I enjoy these discussions from a couple of pros, guys who know their species and tactics. Keep it going!

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Thanks, Ageless!

Here are a couple links regarding overharvest of big bluegill in public waters if anyone is interested:

http://blog.nature.org/science/2015/...nfish-fishing/

http://www.in-fisherman.com/panfish/...ing-bluegills/

http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/fishing/docu...alityCheck.pdf

http://www.startribune.com/the-lunke...ery/291972441/

https://www.sdstate.edu/nrm/outreach...t-Maturity.pdf

[Alphahawk]

Originally Posted by DUCK_2

Well honestly guys, I was just trying to find a reason to get out on Center Hill since I have never fished it before. Honestly I am not opposed to fishing a private or public lake for a TARP. Thanks tnpondmanager for the offer and I might hit you up for that sometime. Alpha- thanks for your help. I know your always on the Gill/Cracker. You have talked about Laurel Hill for along time. I have been there three times in the past three years and I don't seem to do any good. I fish it just like I do at KY lake. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. I know there is fish there, but I must have bad luck there????

However, I do feel like I want to spend more time on area lakes (the big waters) and figure out good spots to take my son fishing. He's not a year old, so I got to time and I need to have a few different places in my pocket to take him. I thought that Center Hill and Dale Hollow would be a good place to take a trip or vacation with the family.

On Center Hill or Dale, what is the average depth you guys are sitting your float or tightlining? Can you give a good creek or area of the lake to focus on. I always pictured a lot of rock and not a lot of gravel on the Hill. Guess I need to go to find out! haha

Thanks guys. Didn't mean to cause a big discussion over it. Just looking for information on lakes I hear you guys talking about. Nice to talk to some Columbia boys.

I'm assuming you have a boat. On Center Hill I twitch for the Gills....but there are times I use the Trout Magnet under a float just like the Float'N Fly method....about 6 feet deep. Gills are not hard to find in the spring up at the Hill. Before I had a kayak...or boat...I just beat the banks. But since getting a kayak...and now a boat the whole lake is open to me. You can look for the flats where there will be sand...gravel...not hard to find. Indian Creek....Mine Lick Creek.....are just a couple of good creek areas. I have had an si sonar unit for a couple years now and it makes finding Gills a piece of cake. When fishing for Gills in the spring at the Hill you're going to be catching a lot of big Smallies also....find the Gills....Smallies are there. You are subject to get into beds of shell cracker in spring as much as Gills. Center Hill is a shell cracker lake extraordinaire. Lots of big ones. In mid summer you can catch Gills off the bluffs in 30 feet of water. At Laurel Hill Gills are all over the lake in the spring. My advantage is knowing where every bedding area is in the lake. I am not opposed to sharing that info. On Dale Hollow timing is everything for the Gill bite there. Miss that first spawn and the good times are over quick up there for Gills....they go deep and become hard to find. Most who fish it for Gills plan their trip for Memorial Day weekend...give or take a day. But from year to year that can be hit or miss. The shell cracker bite at Dale Hollow is awesome also. Since moving to Murfreesboro I will be spending more time than ever at the Hill. I will try and post when the Gills start showing up shallow at the Hill this spring. I will be checking for Gills there starting in March. If you are at the fishing show in Nashville stop by the Trout Magnet booth and I will tell you where to go at Laurel Hill to catch some Gills.

Regards

[Alphahawk]

Williamsport is a great spot for Gills...those fish have great genes there...the problem....they never get a chance to grow up. Thousands of fish are removed from there each week in the spring for about 6 weeks straight. KY Lake is still great spot for Gills with plenty of 9 inch fish up there. Nickajack has good Gills and I hear Chickamauga is pretty awesome also....but never fished it....but will this year. We are never going to have 10 inch Gills being more common here until the limits are changed. Minnesota has many lakes with only a 5 fish limit. Look at those Gills out of there...pretty darn big. We just harvest too many of them in TN.

Regards

[jad2t]

Originally Posted by Alphahawk

Williamsport is a great spot for Gills...those fish have great genes there...the problem....they never get a chance to grow up. Thousands of fish are removed from there each week in the spring for about 6 weeks straight. KY Lake is still great spot for Gills with plenty of 9 inch fish up there. Nickajack has good Gills and I hear Chickamauga is pretty awesome also....but never fished it....but will this year. We are never going to have 10 inch Gills being more common here until the limits are changed. Minnesota has many lakes with only a 5 fish limit. Look at those Gills out of there...pretty darn big. We just harvest too many of them in TN.

Regards

Do you eat the gills from Williamsport? I've always wondered about the safety of eating fish out of former chemical tailing ponds. I know there are some good sized Shellcrackers in there too.

[Alphahawk]

Originally Posted by jad2t

Do you eat the gills from Williamsport? I've always wondered about the safety of eating fish out of former chemical tailing ponds. I know there are some good sized Shellcrackers in there too.

Never any chemicals out there. Just dirt and phosphate rock. They used that area to wash the rock before they took it to the chemical plants. Those are probably the only TWRA lakes that are never fertilized.....natural fertilizer already in the lake from all the phosphate. Yes I have eaten fish from there.

Regards


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