[Rooster]

What are some good lakes/ponds near Cincinnati to try for some MONSTER bluegill? I’m not much of a bluegill fisherman, but want to catch a Fish Ohio Sunfish (I have a bet with a co-worker about the number of Fish Ohio species we can catch over the weekend). I guess that I will try a small jig and bobber set-up, and maybe even try a fly rod with a Cicada imitator? Thanks!

 

[mcmd8700]

Rooster,

Corinth Lake in KY has a ton of bluegill, and most are BIG. It's an electric only lake, but worth the drive if you want good numbers of big gills. Red/Chartruses jigs and wax worm work best. There are some decent bass in that lake as well, but it's known for the big gills.

In Ohio I hear Rush Run is the place to go, although I have never fished there.

Good Luck!

 

[Rooster]

Thanks! I have been looking at Corinth Lake on the map for over a year now! I do need to get down to that lake.
However, I need to catch the gill in Ohio. I have never fished Rush Run, but might give it a try this weekend. Thanks again!

 

[Bassnpro1]

hey rooster I will be back in town this weekend and we might be able to hit some ponds around springboro and lebanon, where we can get a fish ohio blugill real easy and most probably a fish ohio crappie also. And about a 40% of getting a fish ohio LM out of there. I have 5 different ponds that we can attack. Shoot me a PM

 

[fishmason]

I just recently got one in the mason area out of a n-hood pond using a jitterbug for bass after the sun went down. There are alot of old ponds that dont get alot of pressure in this area. Also my #1 bluegill and sunfish bait is a chicken liver piece on a hook. I caught a monster bluegill using that last year it was the size of a frying pan. Also in southeast OH at rose chicken liver tears them up. Id try ponds near you before you went to a lake.

 

[traphunter]

Dont go to Rocky Fork! I was there friday and I seen a HUGE amount of 8-10 inch gills taken out of there Everything they caught went into their bucket. I thought that was bad intill I went to go throw some trash away in the dumpster by the campground and The bottom was about 2 fooot deep with dead bluegills. Sickening to say the least. I hope they have a good spawn this year because they will need it.

 

[Fly_Fisher]

The biggest bluegill in Ohio are certainly over at the AEP ponds about three hours from Cincy. It does not patter which pond you fish, just fish! I caught about twenty last week that were all over fish ohio limits! I caught over 50 per day, the average being about 8 inches. I have posted a photo of the largest of the week: 10 inches and one lb. Great time on a 3 wt. fly rod! Also would be fun on any ultra-light rig. I have not had much luck with any other lake in OH catching decent gillies other than some farm ponds. Unfortunately, too many people keep too many of the smaller gillies and do not give them the chance to grow. they do taste good, but too many people keep the smaller ones and they never do grow.

 

[Master Angler]

Fly Fisher - nice fish - but you should keep smaller fish and let the bigger ones go if your goal is more bigger fish - I never keep a fish over 8" and keep 6-<8" only....I won't belabor the biological reasons for doing this but read In-Fisherman's Selective Harvest guidelines....fish ohio bluegills are typically 9 to 10 years old and I cannot bring myself to fillet one...a 10"er is a real trophy - check out our state record - 12.75. If i've said it once i've said it a 1000 times - it is alot easier to grow a 12 from an 11 than from a 7. Mature bulls emit pheromones that prevent smaller fish from becoming sexually mature - if you remove them the smaller fish become sexually mature and grow alot less/ slower. Mature fish typically only grow 1/4 to 1/2 inch per year. Also note that very few female gills ever get over 8" and if you are concerned about population control you should keep the 6-7" females not the 8-10" males...

 

[Fish-N-Fool]

Nice Gills Fly_Fisher

MA - great factual information on the Gills. Are you Mitch??? Are you the guy from Columbus who sent me the pond management handbook last summer? I was CatDaddy over on GFO.

 

[Fly_Fisher]

MAster Angler,

Good point. Very seldom do I ever keep anyof the fish I catch. But the week I spend over at AEP we typically keep a lot of the gillies simply to eat! We release most of the bass, but do keep quitea few bluegill. what I can't stand it the weekend angler on the shore with a tub of nightcrawlers, and a 5 gallon bucket full of 4 inch fish stating that if you get enough of them you will have a nice meal. Also, I have found that the larger 9" gils and above are a little tougher than the 6 - 8 inch fish. I did read that article you mentioned and that does make a lot of sense. Luckily, I only spend about one week per year harvesting fish, and occassionally I may take home a few crappie or gillies for the family, but I never have to worry about too many larger fish in this area, simply because I have not found them!

Good fishing!