A little early season gill success

[Jigging Nomad]

Tried to get on Coventry Lake in CT this past Saturday afternoon.  There was ice, but not quite enough to be safe, maybe 2". 

Found another nearby pond and drilled a bunch of holes in 5 to 7' of water.  Had 4" of solid ice.  Air temp was about 25 and it was breezy.  Jigged up 20 bluegill and 1 pumpkinseed in about 3 hours on diamond eye jigs tipped with waxworms.  From 3:15 to 4:15 the bite was great.  Nothing real big, but some beautifully colored gills.    Once people saw me out there, it wasn't long before a hockey game broke out. 

Nice to get out and enjoy the afternoon. 

Huskybass 
 
 
 

[deebsey]

NICE....Any pics?

[Jigging Nomad]

Sorry, no pics this trip.  Everything was small to average size.  I hope to post some photos soon though if I catch anything photoworthy.

MNB

[Townie]

Ya try the micro plastics yet Mike?

[Jigging Nomad]

I got whacked hard a couple times on a Maki, but didn't connect.  Real nice baits though. 

[Van_Cleaver]

My first outing of the season; I released more than I kept, including a legit 10'' hog which I wish I had photographed. It took a rosie red o na Mr. Jigger set up. These are 7.5-9+ in.

A nine in that went back

[Yopy]

you got urself a nice meal right there

[Van_Cleaver]

Two nice meals for my wife and me, that's what I look for; everything else goes back. Had a late dinner tonight and man was it good!

[Townie]

Sweet gills VC!

[Van_Cleaver]

The perch weren't bad either; tastiest meal(s) I've had in some time. For a size reference the perch were all 10-11'' Best part was releasing some big fish for another day. People in my part of the world are generally obsessed with perch, so if you can find a lake where people don't target gills it can be a blast!

[Jigging Nomad]

I hope to get out on my "trophy" bluegill lake this afternoon or tomorrow morning.   If I do, I'll be the first to hit it this season. 

[Van_Cleaver]

Good luck; hope you get that uneducated first ice bite. You should be able to start with a little larger jig size under those conditions.

[tipwaydown]

nice mess of gills me and my dad got

[Jigging Nomad]

We got on the gills pretty good yesterday in 6' to 7' of water.  We kept 30 plus for chowder and released a bunch.  

For the last hour or so, I got hit on EVERY drop with a diamond eye jig tipped with a waxworm.  I bet I pulled over 25 from that one hole and literally left them biting.  

Biggest for the season stands at about 9" though, with a bunch more at about 8 3/4."  No beasts yet this season.    

[Van_Cleaver]

Nice mess of gills and seeds; can you lend me 30+ bucks?

[Townie]

nice mess of gills me and my dad got

(Image removed from quote.)

That's a lot of fillet work