bluegill help wanted

[icemanwoody]

Can anyone help me out on fishing for gills here in utah what waters, best times, lures, ect..... any info wanted. I pretty much figured out the crappie but bluegills are also great eating and want to get them figured out so i can bring home a meal for the whole family i have caught them over the years i have been ice fishing, just not big numbers in one outing 
        Thanks woody

[toadly]

Mantua is a good lake for gills! Try the inlet side(South bank)
Small tubes work for me. Tip them with waxy or anything for that matter.
Pineveiw is ok but they tend to be very small and stunted there.
Good Luck

[sorenson]

I've done good on Mantua, pretty good at times on Hyrum and Newton, and no better than ok on Pineview (and that was a few years ago).  Bluegills seems to be really cylic in northern Utah, with Mantua being the closest thing to steady and somewhat reliable as there is to offer.  Pelican (west of Vernal) is steady and really good, but it's a bit of a drive; and it's getting really hard for me to drive past Starvation.

Nothing earth-shattering as far as techniques.  Small jigs and tear drops tipped w/ waxie or spike, sometimes a PowerBait product of some sort.  Simple stuff, but electronics have been very important to my success, as has lighter line (no more than 4# w/ 2# being my favorite).  Moving to find active fish has been key.  Early season has been better for me, but then again, I usually switch to targeting perch and crappies after mid-January. 

s

[Duneman101]

i slaughtered them with a nuclear ant tipped with a mealworm last year on mantua, nothing to write home about though, mostly dinks 7-9 inches.

[icemanwoody]

Thanks guys for the info i have caught them at mantua and a few community ponds around the house ill have to fish mantua more for this year, just cant seem to get through the trout. I here ya though on the crappie and perch i love catching them, i really love pineveiw at night for them crappie always catch alot and some pretty big ones. I always seem to focus on the trout and so i dont fish mantua when everything else gets frozen, i love to catch them big toads, are the gills good later in the season or are they harder to find at mantua

[sorenson]

I don't think they are appreciably harder to fish later in the year, but the 'community spots' get locally depleted a bit.  Don't be afraid to try some new spots; everyone knows about the SE corner of the reservoir, and it's a good spot early because it's predictable.  There's more than just a few spots out there that produce; most people just won't put in the work required to find them.
s

[icemanwoody]

Yeah i know what you mean im goin to fish it hard this year and figure it out. i been putting all my time in on other lakes, goin after trout

[jeffro9023]

Mantua is a good lake for gills! Try the inlet side(South bank)
Small tubes work for me. Tip them with waxy or anything for that matter.
Pineveiw is ok but they tend to be very small and stunted there.
Good Luck

if stunted then the best thing for the lake would be to take a bunch out...if it means some smaller filets for a year or two so be it