The 'Gills Are In

You probably already knew this, but the bluegills are in close to shore. I hadn't been over to the in-laws' lake in a couple of weeks, but I had some time to check it out over the weekend, and they are everywhere. There are some visible nests near the shoreline, but I didn't see any fish on them, so the spawn must already be over. None of the fish I caught had a discernible grin on their face, though, so I am not completely sure about that...

I can't tell if he has a big, dopey grin on his face or not...

Yup, I took the opportunity to catch a few from shore, and they seemed to be bigger and in better shape than they were last year. On Saturday I fooled a handful with a size 12 yellow and purple foam spider. On Sunday they didn't seem to be in a "looking up" kind of mood, so I tied on a small yellow BH Wooly Bugger, and slayed them. Most of them were very nice sized, too. None were gigantic, but only one was what I would call too small to keep. Not that I kept any of them...

Another thing happened: The Kids decided it was a good time to go swimming in the lake for the first time this year. We have not had what anyone would call a very warm spring, and the lake water seemed way too cold to me, but my kids have all been "blessed" with what I call the "Full-fledged Hanson Stubbornness", so when they get an idea in their collective heads, there is little that can be done to change their collective minds. I even helped by getting out the gigantic floating foam Lilly Pad for them to play on. Hey, if I can't change their mind, I might as well help them do insane things, am I right?

Thankfully, nobody got hypothermia, and more importantly, they didn't scare all the fish away. It was a good day.

Gear used:

Saturday: Livingston Rod Company 8'6" 3/4wt glass rod, Daiwa Alltmor S200 reel, 4wt no-name line, yellow and purple foam spider.

Sunday: Cortland FR-2000 6'6" 5wt glass rod, Berkley 556R reel, 5wt no-name line, same foam spider & yellow tinsel chenille BH Wooly Bugger.