Bluegill Bait:
A Reader's Best Bait Tip

Evan in Wisconsin sent in this bluegill bait story
with an off-beat way of filling a stringer with panfish.

I was on a camping trip with some friends and had brought my fishing stuff along. I always do that. If I don’t catch anything, I still had the fun of fishing. And if I do, the fish becomes part of our supplies. Nothing like fresh fish for supper or breakfast.

Anyway, this time I met an older guy, also fishing. We got to be talking, and he asked if I knew the best way to catch bluegill. I made a couple of guesses, all of which he shook his head “no” to. Finally he said, “the best way to catch bluegill is with a snake.”

Huh? That would have been my last guess. But he explained.

If you kill a snake, you hang it off a tree limb or some brush overhanging the water. Then come back three or four days later, and cast a small hook covered with white wool right under the snake. You’ll fill a stringer in no time.

What happens is that maggots, feeding on the dead snake, fall into the water. The bluegill gather to feast on this windfall. When your “maggot fly” falls to the surface they immediately pounce on it.

I don’t recommend killing snakes just for this purpose. But I’ve tried it with other things. Chicken backs work great, for instance. Even a can of lunch meat.

This works best on waters that don’t get a lot of fishing pressure. You don’t want others horning in on the honey hole you’ve created. But on private ponds, or back-country lakes, it’s a sure-fire way of producing a fish fry.