Apple Canyon Lake – 6/23/2005

My fishing time has been limited thus far this year. You see, I have a son that is very special kid. He is ranked number one in his class of almost 800. Because of his potential for very nice scholarships, I’ve been running him to and from his volunteering gigs. The volunteering will help greatly with the scholarships. Additionally, he’s in Drivers Ed, so we’re shuttling him to that three days a week. Even with all that going on, the kids and I have been able to put together some very nice catches of bluegills and walleyes. Until just the other day, we were taking the big gills along breaklines with slip bobbers and small leeches. Here’s Jordan with a big male.

In addition to the bluegills, we’ve been getting quite a few walleyes as well, using the same technique. Here’s Ryan, my youngest with his biggest to date. He fought this 27″ eye like a pro.

Just recently, I’ve switched to drop shotting for bluegills. Because I’m going deep, I need the sensitivity that a St. Croix Avid 6’6″ light action rod provides. I’m still using mono, but I’m sure fireline would provide even greater sensitivity. For my hook, I use an Eagle Claw #8 aberdeen cricket hook. That is a light wire, long shank hook that works perfectly. I bend the eye back just a smidge for greater success. I like to tie a swivel, a three-way, or anything else on the end so I can keep split shot on. I use split shot for my weight because it’s easy to add or remove weight as needed. For bait, I again use small leeches. I slowly troll or drift along until I get a hit, and then concentrate on that area. Here’s Jordan with a big female taken using this method.

The lake warmed up fast and the shallow water fishing for bluegills didn’t last long this year. If you want the big ones, go deep, and give the drop shotting a try.