Wing dam blue gills

When do the blue gills start to move off wing dams into deeper water?

I’m no pro, in fact far from it, when it comes to river panfish, but I would think they wouldn’t be moving deep until that water dips into the 40’s.

Maybe some other guys who know will chime in.

I’m no pro either.

I would still not venture too far from the wingdams if I were fishing locally this week. The river temps haven’t dropped a ton yet. It seems for me that the shift toward wintering spots for bluegills and perch don’t happen until the leaves are dropping and some hard frosts have hit. Crappies seem to school up and move earlier. For the Pool 4 area we are still a couple weeks out from the major panfish movements.

As far as deeper water, I guess I’m not following the generalization. Many of the bluegills around here don’t really push to “deep” water specifically. I’d say they simply transition to their wintering spots. Some of the wintering spots are deeper areas adjacent to the channel, some are deeper backwater spots, and some are shallow backwater flats with just enough current to keep oxygen levels up for the winter.

Thanks, Bucky, for elaborating. Good points.

Definitely different seasonal movements than what you see in lakes. With lakes, they generally transition deeper as fall turns to winter, sliding deeper and deeper and suspending. At least crappies. Bluegills/sunfish are a different story I think.

Rivers ARE different