If you’re fishing with your kids or even just fishing for dinner, chances are you’re trying to catch sunfish or bluegill. One of the main maxims of this website is, “When fishing with kids, get a fish — ANY FISH — into the livewell as fast as possible,” and sunfish and bluegill are perfect for that.
Regardless of where you live, there’s probably going to be some sort of sunfish species near you, or at least a small fish that is comparable. They’re extremely widespread, can be found in the shallow waters right off shore, and are quite accessible to the average angler. You don’t need ridiculous specialized tackle to catch them, either, though you’ll want to pay attention to hook size lest they still your bait! As long as you have the right bait, sunfish, bluegill, and other panfish like yellow and white perch are very keen to bite. All of this combines to make them ideal targets for any parent taking their kids fishing.
In this article, I’ll go over what the best live bait is for bluegill and sunfish. Then, I’ll explore artificial baits and lures for panfish in case worm guts make you squeamish. I’ll spend some time helping you zone in on where to find sunfish and other panfish to catch, and I’ll talk about the sort of gear I recommend and use with my children for fishing for them.
The Best Live Bait for Bluegill and Sunfish
While I hate to admit it, the best bait you can come up with for bluegill or sunfish is going to be live bait more times than not. While Gulp does come in a close second, you can’t argue with the natural smell, taste, and action of live bait when fishing for panfish. It’s simple to secure live bait for sunfish as virtually every tackle shop sells it and most gas stations near lakes do too. If you’re in a real bind, you can also find some great live bait options for bluegill and sunfish at your local pet store as they’re often used as feed for lizards and frogs. By the way — a pro tip from a parent — NEVER buy your son a frog. You’re going to live at that pet store buying crickets.
Nightcrawlers
Nightcrawlers are probably the best bait you can find for sunfish and bluegill. Not only are they inexpensive and readily available, but they just work. You’ll want to keep them cool and lively for the best action if you use a whole worm, but I’d advise that you break the live worm into small little manageable chunks rather than using the whole thing. You really don’t need a piece of worm much larger than a piece of corn. The trick is to just ensure it is nice, plump, and juicy, as a freshly broken off piece will be. Go ahead and thread this right onto the tip of your #6 hook, and you’re all but guaranteed to catch some sunfish.
If you use the entire worm instead of breaking it up, you’ll still catch sunfish and bluegill as nightcrawlers are simply outstanding bait for them. There will be two “catches” though. For one, you’ll go through a lot of worms because sunfish and bluegill are great at robbing hooks of bait, and they’ll tend to steal any worm not attached to the hook. Secondly, you’ll be more likely to have byproduct catches such as largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and channel catfish. I don’t know that I’d really call that a problem though!
If you do choose to use nightcrawlers (and you should) make sure you keep them fresh! While some fish, including sunfish, will eat dead worms, once a worm has been dead long enough it becomes too easy to remove from a hook. Vaunted hook robbers like sunfish and bluegill will easily steal the worm from your hook if it is too soft and malleable as dead worms tend to be. Instead, make sure you’re using worms that are fresh, cold, and juicy.
Red or Trout Worms
I know I just said that you should break your nightcrawlers into small chunks when using them as bait for bluegill and sunfish. This doesn’t mean that their smaller cousin, the red or trout worms are better. I have not had as much luck when utilizing this small 2 or 3 inch worms. They’re very thin which makes putting them on the hook more difficult than bits of nightcrawlers. I also think it has a lot to do with confidence just because the nightcrawlers work so well as sunfish bait that I don’t want to change it up. Now and then, the gas station only has red or trout worms in their cooler, and they do OK for catching sunfish and bluegill if you can’t get nightcrawlers. They just wouldn’t be my first choice.
Larvae
Many anglers swear by using larvae baits like mealworms or waxworms when fishing for sunfish and bluegill. It makes sense when you consider that many of the panfish kits of artificial baits for sunfish do their best to mimic these creatures. They’re small and are bait that will fit easily in the mouth of a sunfish or bluegill. Since they’re also bait these panfish are used to eating, you’ve got a real winner if you can find them.
On that note, do a little shopping around. While your tackle shop may have them, it’s also possible that a local pet store will too. One may have a better price than the other so it’s worth taking a gander.
Crickets
You can get crickets fairly inexpensively at many pet stores as creatures like frogs eat them. Fish will too. They can be floated on the surface, which is more natural, or you can bring them down below with a drop shot. The sunfish and bluegill don’t care — they’ll take the bait wherever they find it. What you want to do is hook the cricket through its thorax so it’ll keep wriggling about and be more enticing. This website has some good advice on how to rig a cricket up.
Minnows
Minnows can be pretty expensive bait for sunfish and bluegills as you’d really prefer something larger take them normally. Still, if you can find small minnows that will fit in a sunfish’s mouth, they will work. However, I’ve fished with these a decent amount of time in my years and I haven’t caught too many bluegill or sunfish with them. You’re more likely to get white perch. On the other hand, that might be testament to where I’m fishing them as I tend to fish minnows a little deeper near drop offs. Schools of white perch can really monopolize that area and you need to wade through a few of them trying to hook a bass.
The Best Artificial Bait for Bluegill and Sunfish
These days several manufacturers sell artificial bait. These fill the void between “lures” and actual “bait” in that while artificial, they’re somewhat organic. These can be an outstanding choice if you’re squeamish about worm guts or simply don’t want to take a life just to catch a fish. While other competitors have come and go over the years, Berkley Gulp is my standard go to. I love their 2.5″ minnows for all around action that puts every fish in the lake in play. If I was specifically seeking the best artificial bait for bluegill and sunfish, I’d buy Berkley Gulp Minnows in the 1″ size. These are bite sized and will get you way more panfish than bigger fish, but you probably still could find yourself with a bass on the line (smallmouth love them).
Gulp also offers other interesting artificial baits such as worms, but I haven’t had reason to use them. I’ll admit I can be a bit of a “meat and potatoes” kind of guy. When I visit a restaurant and find something I love, I tend to stick with it. I do the same thing with fishing gear, so at least you know everything I’m recommending on this website is something I’ve bought frequently!
As to what color Gulp minnows? Just grab something that looks natural in most cases, though I will say that I bought some pyrite ones on a whim (they look like little gold nuggets) and the fish were happy to eat them too!
The Best Lures for Bluegill and Sunfish
A medium to large bluegill or sunfish will occasionally take a bass lure, though it isn’t the most productive way to fish for them. If you insist on fishing for sunfish and other panfish with artificial lures, you should use ones designed for them. The best artificial lures for bluegill and sunfish tend to be variations of the panfish jig.
Panfish Jigs
Panfish jigs have been around for a long time. They can be as simple as a roundhead jig tipped with whatever grub or minnow lure you can find, or they can be intricate designs that rival fly tying and look like insects. There are also some that come with a spinner blade, such as this set of crappie baits. The blades on these acts to reflect light and attract panfish such as bluegill and sunfish to the lure.
My favorite panfish jig is called the marabou jig. I’ve been fishing with these artificial lures for bluegill and sunfish since I was just starting out as a kid. They work great on Lake Champlain and also work very well in colder water such as early spring. As a bonus, smallmouth bass also tend to love them! I’ve had the most luck fishing white and chartreuse marabou jigs, though black can be a good choice if the skies are overcast. This kit offers a hot pink and orange set up too, in case the fish are feeling frisky.
How to Catch Sunfish and Bluegill
It’s not particularly hard to catch sunfish and bluegill (after all, four-year-old’s do it all across the country each year), but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a learning curve. In this section I’ll discuss a few different techniques you can use to catch bluegill and sunfish like bobber fishing, drop shot fishing, and using a free worm. I’ll also briefly touch on where you can probably find them in terms of habitat and depth. Before we get to that though, let’s talk about the #1 and #2 mistakes I find people making while they fish for panfish.
The Top Mistake Beginners Make Fishing for Panfish
The biggest mistake folks make when trying to catch sunfish or bluegill is to use too large of a hook. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been fishing a bank with my kids next to a parent just a few yards away and we are catching fish and they aren’t. When I go to help them out, it’s almost always that their hook is too big. Sunfish and bluegill will do a great job robbing a hook of its worm if you let them. They can peck around a big hook and just strip the worm off bit by bit. What you need are size 6 or 8 Aberdeen hooks with a long shank that are going to fit in the fish’s mouth easily. If you’re not catching bluegill or sunfish but feel them biting, odds are your hook is too big.
The Second Mistake People Make Fishing for Sunfish and Bluegill
The second mistake I see people making when they fish for sunfish is that they set their rod down and therefore don’t feel the bites. If you want to keep sunfish from stealing your bait, you want to hold your rod while you’re fishing instead of putting it down in a rod holder. Sunfish and bluegill are outstanding bait robbers and if you aren’t present while they’re nibbling, they’re known to completely strip a hook. By being there to set the hook when they bite, you have a much better chance of catching them and at the very least to keep sunfish from stealing your bait.
Bobber Fishing
I am not crazy about fishing with bobbers. I know that probably seems strange for a website dedicated to fishing with kids, but I find bobber fishing boring. What most people do is take a bobber or float, rig it 12-18″ above their hook with a worm, and toss it out waiting for a bite. I will grudgingly admit that this does work and it even has it’s place. For example, bobbers are quite useful tools when you’re fishing over weed beds or other snags because you can keep the bait presented for bluegill well above anything that can foul you up. Bobbers are also useful if your kids are distractible and need to spend more time playing with a ball nearby than fishing. At least with a bobber, you can toss out your bait and get some action while you’re hitting up the ice cream truck.
I just tend to find that you’re less successful when you set a rod down than when you hold it, which is something most folks do when they use a bobber. You won’t be there to detect the little nibbles and set the hook, as we’ve seen from mistake #2. This will mean you lose fish but it will also mean you hurt fish. You see, one of the big problems with live bait fishing is fish can swallow the hook. When a little fish like a sunfish or bluegill swallows the hook, it can be very hard to get it out safely. They’re much more likely to swallow the hook if you just leave your rod in a rod holder and let a bobber tell you when they’re on.
Drop Shot Fishing
My preferred way for catching bluegill is to use a drop shot. This is a hook that has a long strand of line dangling from it which you affix a sinker to. This brings the bait down towards the bottom where many fish hang out during the day. You can adjust how far down the bait will be pulled by adjusting the length of the line attached to the sinker.
I find the drop shot to be an outstanding technique for catching sunfish and bluegill. In fact, I like it so much that this is usually the technique I use when I’m exploring a new fishing spot to see if any fish are around! I figure if I can catch bluegill or sunfish, there will be other fish nearby.
I once wrote an article that went into depth about how to tie one of these set ups as its one of the things you need to know to take your kids fishing. Go check it out if you aren’t sure. If you have heard about it, rest assured, it’s not just for bass fishing!
Free Worm
If the drop shot is too much for you (or if you want a gentler approach) you can also just free worm fish. This is as simple as putting a worm on the hook and casting it out. While you might need to use a full nightcrawler to get any casting distance here, this technique works great for bluegill and sunfish as the worm will sink much more slowly than it would with a drop shot. Sometimes, this is just too much for nearby fish to ignore, and they hit it on the fall.
If you don’t get a bite on the fall, jerk your rod tip up to rip the hook and worm back towards the surface and let it fall again while reeling in some slack. Most fish will hit it as it is falling, but you will occasionally stick one on the rip as well.
Where to Catch Sunfish and Bluegill
The great thing about sunfish and bluegill is you can catch them pretty much anywhere in the lake assuming there is appropriate cover. They tend to get around and cover a lot of water and are much easier to run into than say a bass or pike. Still, if you focus on a few types of habitat and depth, you’ll have better luck.
Habitat
Remember that sunfish and bluegill are right there on the cusp of being predators and prey. While they like to pack up and pick on the little guy, they are the little guy to many other fish in the lake. Therefore, they like to stay near some sort of cover to hide in and provide them with a measure of protection. You can find sunfish and bluegill near all sorts of cover, be it weed beds, rocks, docks, and fallen trees. In the height of summer, check for cover that is going to produce more shade vs. cover that won’t.
In early spring, look for little circles in the weed beds in the shallows. This isn’t really cover, but the tell tale sign of a bass bed. Bluegill and sunfish will be nearby, trying to pick off the eggs and fry and get a quick and easy meal.
Depth
Bluegill and sunfish can be caught quite shallow for much of the year, though most of the larger ones are going to prefer deeper water. I’ve caught bluegill and sunfish in as little as 6″ or so of water. Often, you’ll catch them right near the shore. They do make some changes seasonally, however. Your best bet to find them shallow is always going to be in spring and fall, while they like most fish will search out deeper water in summer and midwinter. Note that this is relative, and “deeper water” may well be about 10 feet or so!
If you can find a floating dock that is in relatively deep (call it 6 – 8′) of water, you can find an absolutely amazing bluegill fishery in the summer. If you can find a pier with all the crisscrossed timbers you’d expect, you can absolutely clean up, assuming it isn’t a public spot that is fished out.
How to Spot (and Catch) Sunfish and Bluegill Easily
By far the easiest way to find and catch bluegill or sunfish is during the largemouth bass spawn. They’re extremely easy to spot if you keep your eyes and ears open, and when you find them, they are in full bloodlust mode and will hit a worm the instant it hits the water.
The way to spot them is to look for the tell tale sign of bass chasing them away from their nest. You see, bluegill and sunfish absolutely torment largemouth bass while they’re spawning. They’ll just stack up next to the bass bed just out of reach and wait for the bass to turn their back before rushing in to steal some eggs or fry. The bass parents do a decent job of preventing this and chase off the bluegill and sunfish from time to time. When they do, you’ll usually see a big swirl from the bass charging, immediately followed by a wider pattern of smaller splashes and waves of all the bluegill trying to escape the counter attack.
Catching sunfish while they’re trying to pick off bass fry also helps the bass out, so consider it allying with an old friend. Just make sure it’s legal to “target” largemouth bass during the spawn when you try this, as game wardens might not believe you that you’re really after bluegill (though an ultralight rod and an assortment of tiny hooks might save you).
Good Equipment and Tackle for Sunfish
In addition to choosing the best bait for sunfish and bluegill, you’ll want to make sure you have the right tackle and equipment to connect it to. Here are some rods, reels, fishing line, and hooks that I’ve used while fishing for sunfish and bluegill with my kids over the years. This stuff has never let me down and I’m sure you’d do great with it too.
Rods
It doesn’t take much of a rod to catch a sunfish. I enjoy fishing for them with ultralight rods about 5-6′ long as that lets the larger bluegill and sunfish put up a pretty good fight. These rods are also great for fishing with kids since children of any age can use them. My favorite brand is Ugly Stik. While they’re a “value” brand they have the perfect rods for this sort of fishing. I wrote a long review of the Ugly Stik Elite that you should check out here. Believe me, once you do, you’re going to run out to Amazon to buy one (or three).
Reels
You always want to match your reel to your rod, and it’s no different when considering tackle for bluegill. If you’re using a light or ultralight setup, you’re going to want a reel that matches well with it. I personally find the Plfueger President to be a wonderful reel that comes in plenty of sizes that match well to your bluegill tackle. If you’re throwing light or ultralight rods, I’d suggest buying one in the 20 or 25 series. These reels are high quality and can hold up to many seasons. They’re also smooth and capable enough of handling the occasional bass that hits when you’re fishing for sunfish or bluegill.
Fishing Line
Sunfish and bluegill aren’t very line shy so you can use pretty much any line you want while fishing for them. You’ll probably catch more bluegill and sunfish if you don’t go overboard, however. Trilene XL in 6lb test is pretty much the standard line you want when fishing for sunfish. While 6lb is probably a little stronger than you need, it will also hold up when you hook the occasional bass or catfish as a bycatch of bluegill.
Hooks
The biggest mistake I see people make when they’re trying to catch bluegill or sunfish is to use too big of a hook. The fish have to be able to fit the hook into their mouth, after all! Also, if you’ve ever observed panfish nibbling at a worm, you’ll see that they do a good job of hitting the edges and avoiding the pointy end of a hook. The way around this is to bury it in a nightcrawler where they don’t see it. You can’t do that with a larger hook. I recommend hooks of about size 6 or so. I personally choose the Eagle Claw Aberdeen style hooks as they fit in a sunfish’s mouth well and also have a decently long shank that makes unhooking them easier. This reduces fish mortality and saves you a lot of time. These hooks also hold up well when you get the occasional bass while you’re fishing for sunfish with your kids.
Other Relevant Questions About Sunfish and Bluegill
I thought I’d take a few moments to answer some other relevent questions you might have about how to catch sunfish and bluegill. If you think of any more I don’t cover, drop me an email and I’ll be happy to help.
How to Keep Bluegill From Swallowing the Hook
Bluegill and sunfish have a bad habit of swallowing the hook from time to time, especially if you’re using a bobber or aren’t there to set the hook immediately. To avoid this, use a long shank hook. This way, even a bluegill swallows the hook, you’ll be able to manipulate it and get it free with minimal injury to the fish. You should also avoid fishing with bobbers if you want to keep bluegill from swallowing the hook. Instead, hold your rod with your hand so you can set the hook immediately when a bluegill bites, before it has a chance to swallow and get itself in trouble. If you do find that a bluegill has swallowed the hook, consider a dedicated hook remover to retrieve it with minimal injury to the fish.
Detailed Tips for Keeping Bluegill From Swallowing the Hook
- Use a long shank hook. A long shank hook will allow you to remove it from a bluegill much easier, even if they swallow the hook. While you could use small circle hooks when fishing for panfish, I don’t find them as practical. I’d just recommend sticking with an Aberdeen style long shank hook. Here’s a nice assortment of sizes depending on what you’re fishing for.
- Don’t use a bobber. While bobbers can have their place in fishing, they’re also responsible for many gut hooked fish. The reason is that many folks who fish with bobbers just “set it and forget it.” Well, if they aren’t quick to set the hook when a fish strikes, they can swallow the hook easily.
- Do set the hook immediately. If you’re actually holding your rod and feel nibbles, set the hook. This will not only help you catch more panfish, but it will prevent bluegill and sunfish from swallowing the hook simply because they won’t have the chance. Holding your rod and setting the hook on detected bites is a best practice for fishing for bluegill.
- Use a hook remover. If all goes poorly, and a bluegill swallows the hook despite your best efforts, you’re going to want a dedicated hook remover like this one from Crazy Shark. As you can see, it is a narrow tool that will fit in the mouth of a bluegill and can go deep enough to grab the hook and retrieve it safely. This will put much less stress on the fish. I recommend picking one up from Amazon today. After all, there is nothing more distressing to a child on a fishing trip than seeing a fish they caught die.
What is the Best Time of Day to Catch Bluegill and Sunfish?
Bluegill and sunfish aren’t as picky about what time they’ll bite as, say, largemouth bass. You can tend to catch them all day. Having said that you will usually have better luck earlier in the morning or later in the evening due to low light conditions. Fish rely on these both to hunt and also to offer them some protection from predators out to get them. Having said that, it’s really not hard to catch bluegill or sunfish in the afternoon if that’s the only time the kids can get there. Just make sure you focus in on cover that is going to produce shade as you might find the fish closer to it when the sun is high.
Can you Catch Bluegill at Night?
While you can catch the odd bluegill looking for a midnight snack, nighttime is not your best best to catch bluegill. Trust me, over the years I’ve spent plenty of time on my dock fishing at night. The same nightcrawlers that catch bluegill all day suddenly fail to produce once the sun sets. Instead, you’re likely to get into a mess of bullhead.
You have to remember that bluegill and other sunfish are right on the razor’s edge of being “predator” and “prey.” Nighttime is often too much for them as this is when some real giants like catfish, huge largemouth bass, and bowfin start to roam hungrily about. Bluegill tend to shut down from my experience and are much less likely to bite.
If you absolutely have to try and prove me wrong, I’d wager your best bet would be casting as close to cover as possible. This is probably where most bluegill will be hunkered down for the night, and if you get some bait in close enough, they might figure it’s worth it and dart out for a snack. If you were dead set on catching a bluegill or sunfish at night, I’d definitely recommend using the best bait you could, to try and entice them. A big, juicy nightcrawler might do the trick.
Can You Catch Bluegill in the Winter?
Many an angler catches a fine meal of panfish such as bluegill through the winter ice. When you’re trying to find them, just pretend that the ice isn’t there. Bluegill are still going to need the same structure and cover as they had when there wasn’t ice over the water to help them hunt and survive. If you can locate any weed beds that still live, that’s going to be a great spot. If you combine it with some structural change such as a drop off where they can roam about and change depth as necessary, all the better.
Not all the aquatic vegetation is going to survive long during the winter. By the middle of the season, much of the cover available in the shallows will be dead, and bluegill will move out to other available structure. In most lakes, this is going to mean near drop offs. Bluegills can be a little tough to find this time of year but if you do, there’s a good chance you’ll run into a school of them. Flashers are definitely useful for cutting down the process.
As spring nears you’ll again find bluegill moving in to the shallows as they prepare for their yearly spawning ritual. At this time you might be able to catch them where the ice breaks up in your first open water. I’m usually dying for an open water fish by this time of year and any panfish that will strike an early season marabou jig is just fine with me.
How to Catch Bluegill in Summer?
Bluegill are easily caught throughout the summer. Many will remain in shallow water throughout the year though some of the larger ones go deep. Just remember that when fishing in the summer, shade is key. Look for bluegill under boat docks or on the edge of weeds or other structure. If you’re trying to catch larger bluegill in the summer, you might want to look for some drop offs as they’re going to seek the refuge of the cooler water. As with other species, a steep drop off near some deeper cover can be a fantastic place to load up on some fat panfish during the summer months.
You Can Catch Sunfish and Bluegill if You Try!
Sunfish and bluegill can be very rewarding fish to catch with your children, or even by yourself if you’re in search of a meal. While as with any species, the true lunkers are hard to come by, it’s not too difficult to catch a bunch of panfish if you have the right tackle and approach. Pick the best bait for bluegill you can find, ensure your hooks are the proper size as that seems to be a major hurdle for many folks fishing for sunfish and blue gill. Also, make sure your bait is fresh as they do better with live worms than dead! Bring rods and reels that are appropriately weighted for your tackle, and find areas where sunfish and bluegill might congregate to enhance your chances.
As always, if you are starting out and need some extra help, please feel free to reach out to me via email and I’ll do the best I can to help you.
Thanks,
John Paxton
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