Find optimum bedding conditions for the spawn and you’ll find the biggest and most aggressive male bluegill of the year. (Photos Provided)
If you’ve relied on the spring spawn season for ultimate panfish success in the past, this spring’s horrific rains and high water may make you alter plans for some of the best fishing of the year.
By Ray Reilly for Press Pros
One thing every outdoorsman knows is that you cannot control Mother Nature. She has a mind and agenda of her own.
And when she goes out of her mind, as is the case with this wet, cold 2026 spring, it’s going have a negative impact on fishing. No life in a bubble can save you or change things.
Coverage of the outdoors on Press Pros is proudly sponsored by Olde English Outfitters, in Tipp City.
Spring, you see, is the bedrock of some of the year’s best fishing – especially panfishing. That’s when the bluegill, crappie, shellcracker and perch congregate to spawn and when you can take advantage of their change in habits and mood. Fish become more aggressive towards baits presented in their spawning beds and attack that kind of intrusion with force and relentlessness. Find a good bluegill bedding area during the spawn and you can easily catch a five gallon bucket full of the biggest bluegill of the year, and do it all in one sitting.
But maybe not this spring. My own personal trips to favorite areas like Salt Fork Lake in Guernsey County have been hit and miss, and mostly miss. That’s not to say you can’t find fish, but you don’t find them in traditional stages of spawning. Many of them are still out in deeper, cooler water, waiting, just like you, for the temperature and conditions to become favorable and familiar.
What happens?
First, they become unhappy with water temperature. Typically they like water temps in the 60 to 65 degree range before they engage with normal spawning patterns
Second, they prefer water depths of 1 to 4 feet, and that depends on clarity of water, as well. So typically you’ll have your best success within ten feet of the bank.
Three, panfish are creatures of habit and instinct. They’re perfectly willing to wait until the conditions get right. So don’t believe that you’ve missed it just because it hasn’t happened yet. Give it a few days, let the waters go down and temperatures up, and see what a different it makes. It’s also important to know that bluegills can spawn multiple times in a year, so be prepared when it happens.
Four, there are a lot of people who swear by the stages of the moon when it comes to catching spawning bluegill. I can’t, but you’ll find plenty of written evidence that a majority of the spawn takes place during the full moon phase. But I’ve had plenty of success at other times.
Five, is it best to fish from a boat or the bank during the spawn. I personally believe it’s better to fish from a boat (if you have one) and cast towards the bank, so as not to spook bedding females and concentrations of fish. It’s also easier to land fish at the side of the boat instead of the brush and cattails that grow along the bank.
And is it better to keep males or females? Does it make any difference? I prefer to keep the bigger, more colorful males, and allow the females to continue to do their work in propagating the species. And nothing fights harder on a two-pound line and a flimsy six-foot rod than a rowled-up male bluegill.
Last, what do you do if it continues to rain? One thing sure is that fish are more prepared to wait things out than people are. So patience is a virtue, just like waiting for a bite once you have line and bait in the water.
You’ll also find that all fish change their spawning habits according to weather, so what works with bluegill probably works for crappies, as well.
And of course don’t forget that every body of water is different. If there are shelter areas where the fish feel safe and protected there’s bound to be some spawning activity going on, regardless of how much it rains. Just look for calm, shallow water with a swept-out-looking area about the size of a trash can lid. And be patient. If it’s not happening, it will, and more than once.
And remember, it’s well worth the wait. As much as I like to catch bass and walleye, there’s nothing more fun than bluegill, and nothing tastes better on the table.
‘Til next time, I’ve enjoyed it.
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