GENERIC BLUEGILL PATTERN

 

It's been a bit cold here the last week .  Took a little break from the madness in the Lure Foundry and headed out to the lake to check on some things.  Looking over the vast swathe of ice covering the lake in all but a few places brought my thoughts back to warmer days and the expectations that inevitably follow.

One of the things I thought about was the importance of the bluegill in this lakes food chain.  I know I've brought it up before in other articles, but it got me to really thinking on how despite all my crankbait painting, I really don't have a generic bluegill pattern I can just throw anyway and expect to catch some fish.

The problem there is the invariable and infinite color variations one finds in bluegill, hybrids and sunfish.  

Another problem is that if one tries to really replicate the colors those fish sport, you tend to get a really dark patterned bait that only darkens further once you put the clear coat on.  There is a fine line to walk when painting crankbaits that is far to easy to cross.  

On the flip side, having a lure that is slightly different than what most predatory fish see can be a bonus.  If it is close enough to the usual selection of forage they see, but slightly a different color, it sets the bait apart from everything else, effectively making it a target.  

So, after I got home, I got out the airbrush, arranged the airbrush paints, pulled up a photo of the lightest bluegill I could find with spring and summer colors and put together a quick plan to see if I could 

As you can see with the nearly finished bait, the bluegill I found on the internet was rather light and even after I finished painting the blank and held it up to the photo for comparison, it was still a bit dark.

I felt it still might be a step in the right direction.  As it is, I also feel this lure might be a better option since most bluegill are typically darker in this area of the US.

I opted for the the basic shad rap crankbait blanks I got from a US based distributor.  The shape is close enough, definitely the right size and dives deeper than the usual crankbait body I use.  They have run well in the past, usually need very little tuning and tend to be tough enough to handle bigger fish.

An even better reason is the fact they seem to be easier to paint than other styles of crankbaits.  Every crankbait painter I know has favorite body style that work well with how they paint.  Given enough time and choices, one will always find a few that fit.

So without further adieu, lets get this show on the road so you can take this pattern and use it to put your own spin on it.

I started with a body I had primed flat white with Rustoleum spray paint.  This is how I usually start most of my patterns for future reference.

I then mixed up a classic bone color.  I tend to use about 4 drops of createx white then add 1 drop of opaque yellow. 

 As I mentioned, I wanted this bait to a bit brighter than usual since I know the colors will darken with the clear coat application.

I painted the bottom half of the bait with this bone color.  Doesn't have to be exact as I have seen tons of bluegill with varying shades of this color in a range of body locations.

I've said it before and I'll say it again.  Nothing in nature is perfect so don't be too worried about taking the bone color the body further if you need to.  Also, make sure you paint the belly this color also.

Without cleaning the airbrush of the remaining paint, I then added a few drops of fluorescent orange, to give me a creamy orange coloring along the shoulders.  I paid special attention to avoid the head area of the bait.

If you noticed, in the photo of the finished bait. you don't see any of this color.  One might ask why even bother laying down that color if it is not going to be seen.

The answer is it is not meant to be seen, it is meant to help slightly change the hue of another color I'll put down later. 

This was something I discovered quite by accident.  I liked the end result and filed it away for future reference.  depending on the color, it can produce remarkable transitions that are not easily replicated by any other methods I am currently aware of.  

Additionally, it saves me time trying to mix up another  color later on in the process.

Again, without cleaning the brush of the remaining paint,  I add a few more drops of fluorescent orange to lay onto the breast area on the bait.  I target the lower hook area.  That orange is a draw and serves to help focus most strikes.

It is also a common identifier on a bluegill and other sunfish and perch.  Kind of an forage marker that says "eat me" and is understood by every predator that swims...  

I cleaned out the airbrush and put in a few drops of createx Pearl Lime color and lightly hit the back and overspray the shoulders lightly.

Remember, I was looking for a brighter looking bait and to achieve that, I had to have a lot of lighter background colors on the bait.

I started working on the head and gill area of the crankbait with 
a few coats of the pearl Lime until I get the depth and darkness of color I wanted.  

Once I was finished, I added a few drops of Folk Art color shift green Flash and a small drop of transparent gray to the remainder of the paint in the bowl to get this color 

Seems like kind of an odd mixture, but the tonal value was already there, I just needed a darker hue.  Adding the grey achieved that end.  

I went over the back and was even more subtly over spraying the shoulders.  I wanted a visible transition area that didn't take up too much space along the bait sides.  This fit the bill nicely.  

I opted to use a fine tooth comb and sprayed through it onto the bait to get the striping pattern I was looking for.  

If one notices, the stripes are slightly darker and sprayed with much less pressure than the rest of the bait pattern. I added another small drop or two of gray 

Went over the back at slightly lower air pressures with sepia in an effort to try and bring out the striping and give the bait a more lifelike look.

Rather than clean the sepia out of the brush, I added a few drops of black, got out my home-made blue gill "ear-flap" stencil and painted the ear flap with light low pressure passes.

Now all I have to do is add eyes, split rings and hooks and these bad boys are ready to rage!

They are indeed lighter colored baits, but are also readily identifiable as a bluegill pattern. 

I should state, that this generic pattern has a lot of possibilities.  Change a few colors and you'll still have something that looks great to most predatory fish.

Enjoy