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I mentioned last week that the time to get out and experience fantastic bluegill fishing is now upon us. Well, it’s a week later and the male sunfish continue to guard their nests, so if you didn’t read last week’s column, I’m here to remind you that limits of over-sized bluegills and pumpkinseeds remain very simple to catch.

With that said, it would be a logical progression this week to remind you to get the kids out there to experience this fast action. Don’t listen to gibberish like, “You know, it’s enough just to get out on the water. Catching fish isn’t what’s really important.” Believe me, harebrained statements like that can only come from somebody that doesn’t regularly fish with children. Have you ever been in a boat with a couple of high-octane kiddies when the fishing was crummy? Thoughts of flinging yourself overboard and paddling for freedom begin to creep out of your subconscious and suddenly become very real. Need I say more? If you have kids in the boat and you want the fishing trip to last longer than fifteen minutes, you’d better find some fish and start catching. The way I see it, the only way you’re not going to catch a load of fish this time of year is if you’re not using a hook.

Last Sunday, I had my son, Anders, out in the canoe on the in-law’s lake, where we soon discovered that a vast majority of the lake’s shoreline was pockmarked with those telltale, circular spawning beds. We were using our fly rods and casting small beadhead nymphs (under strike indicators) directly on top of the beds. As we fished, I witnessed something interesting that I hadn’t noticed before in past years. I observed that the large males kept their bellies fairly close to the bottom while tending their nests, and I discovered on Sunday that when I used a nymph without the aid of a small splitshot (which sinks the nymph fairly quickly to the bottom), the bluegills were reluctant to abandon their post to smack the fly. It was as if they didn’t perceive the flies higher in the water column to be a threat, just so long as the fly remained a few feet above the nests. It was only after I added a small splitshot that sent the fly down to the fish in a hurry that I realized the bluegills felt threatened by this fast-moving fly and viciously inhaled it with reckless abandon.

I honestly couldn’t tell you how many enormous sunfish we caught last Sunday. We probably threw back three or four to every fish we kept, and we did keep a limit for the fry pan, so you do the math. It was a few hours of crazy-good fishing that kept Anders and me marveling and laughing at the sight of our 4 and 5 weight fly rods severely bent to the cork and the realization that, on occasion, some of these big-shouldered sunfish were actually able to cleanly break our lines. I’ve caught a lot of big trout in my day, but I’d argue that those giant bluegills gave my equipment - not to mention my shoulder and arm - a better workout.

This time of year, there is no magic to catching these fish. The trick is to be observant and time your fishing to coincide with the post-spawn period that compels the large males to faithfully guard their nests. If your timing is right, you’re in for one heck of a good time. Oh, and you’ll be far too busy catching fish and baiting your kids’ hooks to even think of swimming for shore.

Dan Brown’s weekly outdoor column is brought to you by Frankie’s Bait and Marine, in Chisago City, and St. Croix Outdoors, in St. Croix Falls, Wis.

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