Bluegill a favorite fish of the Show Me State

Missouri youth, Mike Tolar with a big bluegill.

Ken White/Special to the Daily Mail

The heavy rain that hit the area has all but stopped hunting and fishing.

Stockton Lake, which had been five-feet low, is now more than eight-feet high. Pomme de Terre is more than 20 feet high and most streams and ponds have overflow conditions.

Before the big rains hit, one of my great grandsons caught his first fish from our pond and was the happiest boy around and proud of his first catch –– a six inch bluegill.

Bluegills and kids go together. Usually, the first fish many youngsters catch are bluegills or sunfish and after area ponds, streams and lakes settle down, it would a good time to find them.

Tournament fisherman, Jim Wilson, of Kansas City, said, “My first fish was a big bluegill from a farm pond, and when I caught that little fighter, I was hooked on bluegill fishing. Back then, I was using a worm for bait, but since then I have caught bluegill on everything from crickets to spinners.

Wilson continued: “They will hit nearly anything you throw at them. There has been many a day when the bluegills have kept me from going home fishless. They would get my vote for the state fish. They fight hard, especially on ultra-light gear, and everyone from grandparents to 6-year-olds catch them. They hit all kinds of bait or lures and they are great-tasting.”

Alex Aquino with his first fish, a bluegill from a farm pond.

Ken White/Special to the Daily Mail

Many anglers still experience a fine fishing trip by going after these feisty fish. Here in the Midwest, bluegills can be found in nearly every pond, lake or stream. They hit hard and on ultra-light gear you would think you had a big bass on your line. They aren’t picky, anyone can catch them. It’s an excellent way to make anglers out of young sons or daughters.

Cast a cricket over a suspected bed and let it drift along. If the fish are there, you will soon know it. For some fast action, arm yourself with a can of worms or crickets, a light rod and float along a shoreline or walk along the bank using a small bobber. When the fish are hitting, your bobber will disappear and the fight will be on.

Many anglers like Bob Garrison, Harrisonville, have found how much fun it is to catch bluegill by using a flyrod. When fly fishing is mentioned, the image created in the mind’s eye is of a pristine mountain stream and trout. For a variety of reasons it’s not always accurate.

A big bluegill from a farm pond hit a small jig.

Ken White/Special to the Daily Mail

Fortunately, today’s fly fishermen are as versatile as their plug slinging counterparts, and many are learning the joy of practicing their art on bluegill that occupy our nearly endless supply of farm ponds. Garrison is one of those anglers.

Using a small popping bug, Garrison has caught plenty of big bluegills in some of the ponds within a mile or so from his home.

“I would just as soon catch bluegill on a flyrod than any trout,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what time of day you get to fish, the bluegill will hit. A big plus for me is the fact there won’t be a lot of other anglers to compete with.”

A lone bank angler journeys out after Stockton Lake rose more than eight feet due to the recent heavy rainfall.

Ken White/Special to the Daily Mail

George Gibson, Springfield, is another fan of fishing for bluegill in farm ponds.

“I usually concentrate on fishing for bluegill during the middle of the day when most anglers have come in or haven’t started out,” said Gibson. “It’s the time when insects are active and the bluegill are waiting for them. Just last week, I was watching bugs falling into a pond and as soon as they hit the water, a bluegill would suck them in.

“I picked up my flyrod and put on a small popping bug and picked up a bunch of healthy bluegills in a matter of minutes. I fish the Pomme and Stockton a lot and when I can’t get any other fish to hit, I resort to catching bluegills and am always able to catch enough for dinner.”

Gibson went on to say, “Several years ago, I was topwater fishing and kept getting strikes from bluegill but no bass would hit. I decided to use a smaller lure and started picking up some big bluegill right away. I learned that a catch of platter-sized bluegill can weigh so much, you would think you are carrying a limit of bass.”

Missouri is home to more than 200 species of fishes, more than most other states. Fish in the Show-Me State range in size from the pygmy sunfish that, when mature is only one inch or shorter –– all the way to spoonbills and blue catfish that weigh in excess of a hundred pounds.

Few of the 200-plus species have the range of the bluegill.

Back in 1963, Mike Giovanina caught a two pound nine-ounce bluegill while fishing a farm pond. Recently a bluegill was taken from Blue Springs Lake that weighed nearly three pounds and another was close to three pounds from Table Rock.

Ray McCoy, Lee’s Summit, fished Lake Jacomo in the early years of the lake and said, “ Back when I fished Jacomo it was one of the best bluegill lakes in the country. I remember it was easy to catch a stringer of big bluegills nearly anywhere on the lake. I know it isn’t as good as it was then, but my son still catches some big bluegill from the lake and told me he would rather catch them than any other fish in the lake.”

Jack Harper, Bolivar, said, “After all the rain, I guess I won’t be fishing for awhile, but when things straighten up, I will be after those little fighters.”

There are plenty of reasons to fish for bluegill. They are easy to catch, you can use anything from worms to jigs and nearly every lake, ponds or streams contain sizable populations of them –– and they make for some fine dining. What more can you ask of a fish?