I have had a great spring this year....at Center Hill...Pickwick.....and Dale Hollow. Have caught a ton of smallmouth at Pickwick and Dale Hollow...Center Hill also. Hit the white bass run at Pickwick catching so many I couldn't keep count. Got into a bunch of great Gills at Dale Hollow but I think it is over up there for the bluegill bite. Somehow I have missed the spawn....I don't know how but I have. Fished hard today and nothing on any beds. Even my black perch are gone. I will try one more time up there next week just to make sure. It is time to hit up my other lakes for the Gills. Won't be like the Gills at Dale Hollow but time to move. Today I only had 4 Gills and one nice Smallie. But it was worth the trip catching all of them on a 3/32 ounce jig head with a Bison colored Trout Magnet body. Used my Yamaga Blanks Blue Current TZ Jig Head Special 6' 10" UL rod.....reel was spooled with SOS 2# test line. They all gave me a great fight. One Gill almost made it to 10 inches. Life is good!
Alpha i am by far no expert but dont the gills spawn every full moon through the summer? Maybe try again next month?
Well all that depends on the lake...the weather that year and a lot more variables. I did a write up I think it was two years ago about this very subject. Dale Hollow was not one of my test lakes. I tested out Laurel Hill......Pickwick....Williamsport......Center Hill.....VFW. I spent about 600 bucks in gas doing it. I would hit each lakes bedding areas a week before full moon and a week after. The first spawn I found 100's of fish on the beds. I had about 40 beds marked with si on each lake. The next full moon in June I hit them all again. Found a few fish on bed but not many at all......the full moon in July and August I found none on beds. The point is that it is not a given bluegill will do that. Coppernose blugill however are subject to spawn 5 times a year.
Time to move on.
