Utah's game fish: Bluegill

Description

The bluegill is one of the most colorful fish in Utah waters. Colors may range from light to dark blue and sometimes, in older fish, bright purple. Other colors appearing on the fish may be olive-green, yellow, bright orange, copper or brown. An area behind the gills is often a bright orange or yellow. Color variations are a results of genetic strains and, in some cases, hybridization with other sunfish species. Also look for dark vertical bars and black flap at the end of the gill cover. Sometimes, young bluegill, raised in clear water, are almost colorless. This fish, too, has sharp spines that can cause pain when grabbed.

Characteristics

The bluegill goes by a number of unusual names, including bream, blue bream, blue sunfish, coppernose and sunny. A native to the East and South, it has been widely transplanted, even more so than the largemouth bass. They are now found in most of the lower 48 and Hawaii, and on up into southeastern Canada. It is not a large fish, but at one time Utah was recognized as having some of the largest in the country in a small lake near Vernal called Pelican Lake. Most fish caught are under a pound, and those over a pound are prize catches. Those caught in Pelican in the late 1980s and early 1990s were commonly close to two pounds. Considering its size, it is known for its fight, especially for those fishing with light tackle. Because of its willingness to take worms it has become very popular with younger fishermen. It was first introduced into Utah in 1890 with a mixed group of sunfish that were planted in the Weber River and Utah Lake. The world record is 4 pounds, 12 ounces. The Utah record is 2 pounds, 7 ounces and was caught in Mantua Reservoir in 1993. Bluegill do well in lakes and ponds with clean water, especially those with bottoms of sand and gravel. They like to hang around vegetation, but will venture out into deeper water on occasion. On the dining menu, they are considered an excellent meal.

Location

Like the largemouth bass, bluegill relate to cover. They do best in weedy-pond type environments. Bluegill love to spawn, hide and feed in cattails and other similar shoreline and pond-bottom weeds. They find plenty of food there and, if left unchecked, will quickly overpopulate and stunt or stay on the small side. Largemouth bass love baby bluegill and the combination of the two fish makes for some great fishing. In Utah, most of the fisheries that have bluegill also have largemouth bass. They include Huntington, Hyrum, Lake Powell, Newton, Mantua, Pineview, Quail Creek, Red Fleet reservoirs and Pelican Lake. Bluegill can also be found to lesser degrees in Utah Lake, Gunnison, Dmad, Wide Hollow and most of Utah's community fisheries.

Bait/lures

Most bluegill fishing occurs in the spring when bluegill move to the weedy shallows to make nests. At this time they are accessible both by wading and from boats. The traditional method to catch them is to cast a small black jig baited with a piece of worm into pockets of open water. Using a bobber as a strike indicator makes bites easier to detect. Other good baits include crickets, grasshoppers and mealworms. Fly fisherman especially look forward to this time when they can wade the shallows and cast poppers or sponge bugs that draw nonstop action from baiting bluegill. Best colors are black or chartreuse. Flies such as the Prince nymph, damselfly, olive or black Mohair leech and Crystal Killers are also effective when cast to open pockets in the weeds and allowed to slowly sink. After the spawn is over, bluegill move to deeper water and stay there most of the year. A boat or personal craft such as the Outcast Fat Cat allows easy access to the fish. Bait and lure anglers can continue to use the same techniques, but fish over deeper water and move around until they find the fish. Fly anglers will need to go to sinking fly lines and allow time for the flies to sink to just above the weeds. Big bluegill come to the surface to feed in the evenings and at night all summer long and great dry fly fishing is available to those who remember insect repellent. Bluegill remain active all winter and ice fishing is a fun way to harvest some good eating. Use small ice flies in black, chartreuse or purple tipped with a wax worm and fish just above the weeds or on the deep-water edges of flooded vegetation.

Note: Because bluegill school and feed year-round, they can make for a fun family outing in the winter on ice-covered water.

Byron Gunderson, Fish Tech Outfitters, contributed to this story.