Welcome to The Bluegill Pond

Excessive heat and a prolonged drought dramatically changed my favorite smallmouth stream. The water was low and clear with a sluggish flow. While there were fewer places for the fish to hide, I was concerned that the elevated water temperature would cause the fish to...

A Great Blue Heron squawked in annoyance as it took flight, prompting the sun-bathing turtles to slide from their deadfall perch into the still pond. I maneuvered my float tube into the shade of bankside willows, and the 8-weight rod sent a purple/pink size-2...

A 95-degree afternoon led me to a rocky, shade-shrouded stretch of river clad in shorts and wading boots. Armed with a 5-wt. rod, I knotted a size-8 Mini Minnie to 4X tippet in response to my observation of small minnows leaping from the water to escape predation....

A pattern of near-constant rains has sidelined numerous fishing trips and removed the option of streams from the equation. Finally, a warm, windless afternoon sent me to a favorite pond in search of surface-feeding largemouth bass. I launched a float tube accompanied...

Many describe their fascination with fishing by stating that “the tug is the drug.” Likely, most anglers agree, but shouldn’t we then ask what provides the best tug? A heavy percentage of those I’ve asked believe it is the size of the hooked fish. In other words, they...

The sun danced among fluffy white clouds as I waded into the stream. The White Bass migrating from the nearby reservoir to spawn in the river were the target, but the fishing is shared with many others. The smashing strikes and wild, bull-dogging battles of these bass...