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

GIZZARD SHAD QUICK TIPS

 

One cannot simply grasp how important Gizzard shad are to our water ways as a bait fish.  They are literally the meat and potatoes and everyday fare of too many species to count.  There mere presence in most reservoirs is a good indication that there are going to be some really nice game fish present,  If that water way boasts a healthy and properly managed shad population, you can bet those gamefish you target are going to be "thick".

Looking at the distribution map above, one can easily see these little guys are adaptable to a wide range of waters and temperature ranges, making them the preferred forage stocking option in most of the country, although that option does come with caveats.

They have high growth rates and if they live to age 3, they are starting to reach the size where they are too big of forage for most fish.

If they do reach this size, they then can rapidly become a detriment on the waters ecosystem, straining available resources for almost every other species of fish.  Quite simply, introducing them is the easy part.  Managing their numbers and size effectively is quite another.

 A BRIEF LOOK INTO SHAD IN MY AREA

I fish a few lakes that have shad present.  Chief among these are the Lake Sharpe, Oahe and Lewis and Clark Lake, all reservoirs on the Missouri River system, so I am going to use them as an example 

From what I have researched, Gizzard shad were already present throughout the Missouri River system before any of the dams were built.   Once they were built, Gizzard shad were not present in  after Oahe was finished.  Thus, it seemed that Oahe seemed to be the northernmost limit of their range.  

It wasn't until the late 90's that gizzard shad suddenly started appearing in survey nets that biologists  knew something had changed.

That something was shad stockings in western South Dakota reservoirs.  Shadehill and Angostura.  These stockings happened in the 1990's in an effort to help increase the forage base for walleyes in those reservoirs.

Mother Nature had other plans.  The mid- late 90's saw a lot of high water years and as a result, gizzard shad passed through or over those spillways and found their way into both the Cheyenne and Grand Rivers.  Once they were present  in those systems, it was only a matter of time before they followed the tributaries to Oahe.  

 Since then, Oahe has had a growing shad population.  Lake Sharpe already had a healthy shad population. Lewis and Clark shad were stocked a while ago and from I hear, are doing well..  They are now an important part of those ecosystems  and for now, it seems that they are in a healthy balance. 

So, in an effort to actually use this to our advantage, we need to understand some basic facts and info on their patterns and behaviors.

Since I fish both these reservoirs quite frequently, I wanted to know all I could about them.

SHAD QUICK FACTS

It seems through all the documentation I've read through so far that Gizzard Shad in these reservoirs tend to spawn in mid to late May or when the water temps heat that magic mark of 64-69 degrees F. 

They prefer to spawn during stable or warming trends.

By August or September, the young shad become large enough to attract the attention of predators like Pike, White Bass, Smallmouth, and walleye.  Its unclear if Chinooks or Atlantics (In Oahe) prey upon them at this point, but my instincts tell me if they do, it would be juvenile fish only.

Shad prefer quieter open waters or the edges of strong currents.  Optimum habitat for them is fertile shallow bodies of water that are warm, with soft muddy bottoms, low predator counts and high turbidity.  Unfortunately, if they find such places, that almost always leads to an overpopulation of shad.

Changing water levels, deep clear water, steeper shorelines and moderate to heavy predation all lead to lower gizzard shad populations according to several papers I researched.

Another item of note is that Gizzard Shad typically feed during the day and try to minimize their activity in low light periods.  

They also feed on detritus and mud.  One can make a fairly logical assumption if you can find mud flats with a few of those optimum habitat variables present, shad should be present or somewhere near by, at various times of the year..

The behaviors I have mentioned are fairly typical of gizzard shad.  How they apply to the bodies of water each individual fishes is open to each individuals interpretation of available shad preferences.  

Make educated guesses, get information from the locals, observe surface activity (gulls tend to be good locators of shad)...try to put all those pieces together and give yourself a better chance of connecting fish.  

Just remember, those predators feeding on shad may not be immediately nearby, but chances are pretty high they are relatively close.  Look at structural elements, cover, current etc to try and further define viable fish locations.  

Keep those lines wet, those hooks sharp and the fish afraid.  

 

.