I found some nice gills Wednesday in flooded timber near Winona, but the water was still rising, and the next two days there, nothing.

Tried another spot Saturday and caught about 12, kept 6 for a meal. Extremely tough bluegill bite today where I was at.

I also tried deeper, and farther from shore, thinking the bulls might be there. The runts were in close to shore.

Bigjigger:

I fish jigs for crappies below a bobber because, I believe, it keeps it in their strike zone longer. I can pop it and let it pause, wounded-minnow style. This works for me because I’m often fishing from shore. But drift fishing in a boat, vertical tight-lining, also has worked for me. And over deep suspended fish, casting a jig has worked.

Now, I’m about to go out and do some of that bobber-jig fishing from shore! The crappies have really turned on in the past week, but today I’m focusing on those pre-spawn bluegills.

Try the backwaters for crappies and bluegills this time of year. For the gills try using small ice flies and jigs, with or without wax worms. The crappies will hit live minnows or jigs.

The pool numbers mark the water above each lock and dam, upriver until the next lock and dam. For example, the water upstream of L&D 7 at La Crosse is pool 7, until you get to L&D 6 at Trempealeau, Wis. The pool numbers get higher going south, and smaller going north. The dam and pool numbers were created by the barge industry and US Army Corps of Engineers as navigational markers. Anglers use them because it’s the best way to define what water you’re on.

I use yellow, white or pink jigs of with chenille bodies and tails of hair, bucktail or marabou. 1/16, 1/32 oz. Larger jigs seem to catch larger crappies.

The bluegills remain stunted, Dodge Boy. The lake was dredged, and in severalk years this may change. For now, the bass and crappies are the best bet. And that’s not such a bad thing. The crappies are eating some of the smaller bluegills, I discovered when I cleaned them.