Where to fish sunnies and gills?

[HardWater518]

Hey everyone,

I have enjoyed reading articles for the past few weeks and now have decided to start posting on here. We have been hitting the yellow perch pretty good this year on the New York side of the lake but now I would like to try to catch some panfish. I have never ate Bluegills but I really enjoy eating sunnies. I would assume they taste pretty close to the same. I have been told that Vermont is the place to go for sunnies. Anyone have any ideas of where I can try? Would love to bring my 11 year old son and catch other species rather than perch. I was told Dillenbeck Bay and Carry Bay are both good areas. We tried Carry bay last week but had no luck. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you and happy fishing.

[wmhunts]

Welcome to Ice shanty Hardwater518, this is a fun site to part of during the cold winter months when we are not out there drilling holes. I have also met some great fishing partners through this site, Enjoy!
As for sunnies and gills good luck, they're a prized fish around here, might be tough to get info on them.
I'd help you out but Ive never targeted them

[HardWater518]

Cool. Thanks for the info. I knew that crappy were a prized fish, but did not know the same about sunnies. There is a pond over near me in New York that is loaded with them. We get them throughout the summer, but cannot seem to locate them in the winter. Maybe I am just not fishing them right.

[troutcrazy]

I love sunnies and gills! 
Funny about the names-- growing up I called them all sunfish: pumpkinseed sunfish, and bluegill sunfish.  I think it's a regional thing.  I'm from VT, but my father's from Ohio.  When I call bluegill "sunfish" other fishermen get all bent out of shape and try to explain the difference to me in serious tones.      But across the country there are lots of kinds of sunfish.  (sorry, geeking out a little)

It might be my imagination, but I think I like gills a little better than seeds.

Hmmm... Carry bay was the first spot I thought of.  I got a lot of bluegill there early this season, sizes ranging from pretty good to small, and a couple BIG seeds.  But there was also a crowd of guys there getting them all day every day, so maybe not so much now.  Or maybe they just weren't biting the day you were there.

I heard they were getting big ones at sandbar for a while, but I keep getting nothing there.

Larrabees is another good spot.

I don't think I'm giving away any secret spots here, as all these spots draw a crowd already.

[bootstrap]

where are you coming over to vt from? the bridge, rouses, whitehall etc?

[HardWater518]

We cross the rouses point bridge. I'm in Keeseville New York so there isn't much difference in range from rouses point to crown point. I'm right in the middle.

I agree. Might have been a slow day at carry bay. I did get probably 2 keepers and a lot of dinks.

Being from out of state I am not sure where larabees is or the sandbar. Thanks for any information guys. I do appreciate it.

[bootstrap]

just south of the CP bridge is a good area. larabees is just south of the Ticonderoga ferry. the ferry is closed for the season. the best tip when fishing flat fish is to use 2lb or less line, fluoro is best. tie on a 3ft or so leader. to your main line. use very small bibets with a maggot or 2 on it. start at the bottom and work your way up the water column. a #12 demon green bibbet is a good place to start, pinks and purple are good colors too. I like to bend the hooks up a bit. 

[HardWater518]

Thanks for the info. I use a bibbet perch fishing a quite a bit. its a medium size i would say. I will definitely give it a try. Thanks

[Champlain Islander]

Bootstrap gave good advice starting with the demon tipped with spikes. I use 2 pound and the #12 but find using 4 pound test and #10 works better for me. The heavier line gives a bit more insurance from breakoffs when you get inundated with pike and bass which happens often when fishing for flat fish. The HT ice blue 30" rod is popular and has a nice action. I will add this to eliminate any problems. Vt and NY have reciprocal licenses on Champlain but without a VT license the area at Carry Bay and Dillenback is off limits as well as the whole inland sea. I would hate to see someone get in trouble especially when doing the right thing by taking a kid out for a good day on the ice. If you have both NY and Vt licenses then no problem. Kings Bay just south of the Bridge on the NY side can have some good catches if you can get on the weed line. Years ago Kelly Bay on the Vt side at the end of the bridge used to be great for seeds and crappie but not so much now. Not sure why.

[spb802]

He doesn't mean Bibbet if you ever caught a sunnie on a bibbet... Amazing. You want to use small ice flies anywhere from horizontal to straight up and down and as far as color. It can change from day to day on what they are liking.... Good luck..

[VTMatt]

You're right, I've never caught a panfish on a yellow-sized bibet. Smaller almost always seems better, and usually tipped with something.

[wmhunts]

these guys are great! those sound like some good tips, I may have to give it a go now

[Champlain Islander]

My favorite is either a hot orange or chartreause rocker from Custom Jig and Spins or any of the #10 Demons especially the glows. The popee lures are often good too and the crappie like that action. All of the above tipped with 2 or more spikes.

[HardWater518]

Thanks for all the info. I do have a Vermont license as well, so that is not an issue. Can you guys post pics of these jigs you are talking about. Im not sure what a "demon" is? Im pretty sure i know what a rocker is, but everyone seems to have different names for everything. And as far as a setup, should I just run the one jig with no weights? Thanks once again for all the help.

We were over near Carrys Bay today and didn't have much luck. I was told to go out directly in line with the culvert pipe and that is a good place to start. Anyone have any other suggestions where to try in there? I was planning on trying Dillenbeck but was informed by a buddy of mine that there was a derby there today. There was definitely a ton of people out there.

[Cantgetenough]

Good pan fish are prized all over. I target the all the time I use 4lb test with a 2lb flouro leader. I also use small jigs in the #12-#18 size tipped with 2 spike or maggots. I will switch  to a small spoon if getting nothing but dinks. Now where to locate them-I find them in 3-12 fow in weeds. I lakes with toothy predators gills will always hide in the weeds. So locate an area with weeds 1-2 feet off the bottom. Drop your jig to the bottom and start working your way up. Take note of the depth your catching them at and target it. Also at times presentation matters weather its a vertical or horizontal along with color and size.  Late in the season you can even find them right under the ice. Good luck

[bootstrap]

go on custom jigs and spins web site and you will see demons and rockers and everything else, it is like an ice fishermans candy store. most good bait shops stock their stuff. they are a sponsor at the top of this site. 

[HardWater518]

As i expected, I have some of them jigs, just didn't know the name. the ones i have are quite light in weight. So should i look for some in maybe a tungsten, or should i use weight?

[Cantgetenough]

Tungsten is the way to go -drops down the hole faster and shows up better on your flasher.

[Champlain Islander]

What bootstrap said...he knows the score.