Teasing Winter Bluegills

A good assortment of tiny ice jigs or flies in colors is needed.

Bluegills have an endearing habit. Once hooked, they swim at right angles to the pull of the line and it makes them feel much larger than they actually are.

The other day before all the rain was a case in point. A small lake not far from Traverse City had six inches of ice. I eased onto the lake, checking the ice as I went, and reached an area pock-mocked with frozen holes left behind by other anglers.

A few things have been learned about catching winter bluegills, and one is to auger a bunch of holes and then let the noise settle down. Start fishing in the first hole drilled, and the reason is it’s had the most time to settle down from the commotion of drilling other holes.

It’s my preference to use short, limber spinning rods.

I prefer a short soft-action spinning rod with a wee spinning reel and one- or two-pound test clear or green mono. I like tiny ice jigs in a variety of colors. I also like a thin wire rod bobber rather than a float (bobber) because of the sensitivity of some bluegill bites.

I also use thick coiled rod holders that sit on the ice. There’s a big reason why this technique works so well.

A tiny ice jig of silver, silver-blue, silver-green, silver-orange, orange, yellow, red and white and almost any other color combination will work, but if one color isn’t producing fish, tie on a different color. Experiment with fishing depths, lure colors and jigging action.

My rod is inserted into the coiled rod holder, the jig is baited with a mousie or wax worm, and slowly lowered to bottom. The rod holder is set on the ice and jigged an inch or two and allowed to dangle in the water column for several seconds before being jigged again.

Ice rod holders keep the rod, reel and line up off the ice.

I drill my ice holes three feet apart, and use two rod holders with a line down each hole. Watch the tiny wire bobber on the ice rod, and if it moves a fraction of an inch, set the hook.

Some anglers go to one-pound mono because bluegills can be so finicky during winter months. Too much jigging can spook fish, and learning to spot that delicate bite when a ‘gill sucks on the bait’ requires some experience.

Often the hooking and landing of one fish will lead to a strike on the other line. As one fish is reeled to the surface, keep an eye on the other line. if the spring bobber moves, up or down, set the hook.

One thing some anglers don’t know is that a bluegill will push the bait upward slightly, and the trick then is to lift the rod and rod holder up until the fish is felt, and then give it a soft hook set.

Bluegills will hit in one spot and then move on in search of food. Try a different hole, and if it doesn’t produce a bite or a fish within 10 minutes, try another spot. Sitting in one spot and fishing just one or two holes doesn’t produce as good. The thing I like about these ice-rod holders is an angler can walk away from them for a minute to try a nearby hole, and if a fish hits while you are prospecting, the fish will often still be hooked when you return.

Successful bluegill anglers move around and fish different holes

Of course, sitting on a bucket with a rod in hand will work. Anglers can still use the wire rod bobber or use a tiny bobber that floats on the water. Remember to keep jigging strokes very short (an inch or two is plenty), and don’t jig too often. Too much jigging action can spook fish.

The whole jigging thing is nothing but a tease. Bait the tiny ice jig or ice fly, and move the baited lure up and down slightly, and it doesn’t hurt to try to move it sideways on occasion. Shivering the lure in place can be deadly at times, especially when fish are really picky.

Bluegill fishing is a great way to spend a winter day. Fish near the edges of green weed beds, and try to avoid exaggerated movements. Keep everything low key, use light line, and prospect a bit for fish, and catching a mess of bluegills can be fun and provide some mighty fine eating.

Don’t forget: Get solid information on ice thickness, and even though some angler fish on one inch of ice, it’s never recommended. Be safe!

Change things THIS year

Bunches of deer or just one. A new hunting spot can certainly help.

Some things never change. Many deer hunters choose the same tree for a stand, walk the same trail into and out of a hunting area, and nothing ever changes.

Many will sit on the same stump, along the same runway, as they did 10, 15 or 20 years ago. It’s difficult for many sportsmen to break their old habits, and some deer hunters never try. It becomes a tradition to again hunt where a buck was killed sometime in the far distant past.

They often wonder: If it was good 20 years ago, it should be a good spot now. Won’t it?

Maybe yes and maybe no. That tradition of returning, year after year, to the same spot has probably saved the life of more bucks than poor shooting or a lack of preseason scouting.

Sadly, clinging to a traditional spot, even when it no longer is good, is a lesson in frustration. It also leads to fiery claims by skunked hunters that the Department of Natural Resources’ reports of deer numbers for whitetails are grossly inflated.

Perhaps this season is the time to cast aside the traditional old haunts, and think about trying a new area. Too many people never realize that food and habitat conditions can and do change, and if the landowner doesn’t do something to make the land produce more food and offer more cover, the deer will move on. It’s as simple as that.

Deer are animals of farmland and woodland. Granted, some deer live in deep forest and many live on farms, and that’s a fact of life in this state.

If you agree that a new hunting location should be tried, where should hunters start in their search for a new spot to test their luck or skill?

Hunters can start with the DNR. They keep track of deer trends, and know which counties have the highest deer numbers and which ones produce the largest deer. The county extension agent often deals with farmers and other landowners, and they also can help.

Determine if you want to hunt the Upper or Lower Peninsula, but if you’ve read hunting reports here or elsewhere about deer hunting prospects, the U.P. is not the place to go. The area with the most deer is south of an east-west line from Bay City to Muskegon.

Start asking questions. Learn which counties produce big bucks and lots of deer, and learn why deer numbers are high in such areas. Determine the availability of state or federal lands nearby, but both state and federal land is quite sparse and over-hunted in the southern Lower Peninsula.

Spend time scouting two or three different areas. Determine which ones offer the best combination of land, cover, deer foods, bedding cover and access. Walk around the land, and check for well-used deer trails leading from bedding to feeding areas and back.

Look for buck rubs and deer scrapes now. Check barbed wire fences for bits of hair that indicate deer passing through the area.

Talk with nearby landowners to determine their idea of hunting pressure. Often, in agricultural areas, the major hunting pressure is from the landowner and his or her family and close friends.

Consider the possibility of leasing hunting rights. Fees vary depending on length of the lease, property size, whether it is ideal or marginal deer habitat, and what it offers the hunter.

No one owes today’s sportsman anything in terms of hunting private property. I manage my land to produce big bucks, and crop lands are rotated and some timber is cut. Doing so helps maintain good hunting, but it’s a never-ending learning process to keep up with where whitetails travel after crop rotation and timbering takes place.

I spend many hours scouting for good spots. Deer habits change, food supplies change, and hunting pressure can make deer seek quieter areas. A hunter doesn’t know these things unless they spend time in the field on a regular basis.

Public lands feature too many hunters in narrowly confined areas, and the hunting pressure is too high. Food supplies are far better on private land than state or federal lands. Private property holds deer, and, in many areas, it supports more whitetails than public land. For this reason it’s easy to understand why more people lease hunting land even though the price of leasing acreage is rising.

Whether a hunter leases private land, hunts on public land, or manages to wangle an invitation from a landowner, scouting is a never-ending problem. Hunters who don’t scout old land or new land run a major risk of not being successful.

Knowing what lies over the next ridge and why deer travel one trail and not another is why some sportsmen bag whitetail bucks year after year, and why some hunters never tie their tag to the rack of a good buck.

The old ways are not always the best

(left) Scouting can lead to a big buck.  (right) This nice buck bedded in high grass.

Some things about whitetail hunting never change. Many deer hunters choose the same tree for a stand, walk the same trail into and out of a hunting area, and nothing changes.

Many will sit on the same stump, along the same deer trail, as they did 10 or more years ago. It’s difficult for many sportsmen to break their old habits, and some hunters never try. It becomes a tradition to again hunt where a buck was killed sometime in the far distant past.

Hunters often wonder: If it was good 20 years ago, it will be a good spot now. Right?

Such a hunting attitude cause deer to go elsewhere. If possible move with them.

Maybe not. That tradition of returning, year after year, to the same old spot has probably saved the life of more bucks than poor shooting or a lack of preseason scouting.

Sadly, clinging to a traditional spot, even when it no longer is hot, is a lesson in frustration. It also leads to fiery claims by skunked hunters that the Department of Natural Resources’ reports of deer numbers for whitetails are grossly inflated and way out of whack.

Perhaps this season is about time to cast aside the traditional old haunts, and think about trying a new location. Too many people never realize that food and habitat conditions can and will change, and if the landowner doesn’t do something to make the land produce more food and offer more cover, the deer will move on. It’s as simple as that.

Change is good but it also can be bad. Hunters must study the land, learn what natural forage is present, and nearby farmers plant that deer will eat. To change for the sake of change makes little sense. Hunters must grasp the philosophy that more food is a good thing.

Deer are animals of farmland and woodland. Granted, some deer live in deep forest and many live on farms, and that’s a fact of life in this and many other states across the nation.

If recent hunting years have been unsuccessful, change your hunting ways.

If you agree that a new hunting location should be tried, where should hunters start in their search for a new spot to test their luck or skill?

Hunters can start with the DNR. They keep track of deer trends, and know which counties have the highest deer numbers and which ones produce the largest deer. The county extension agent often deals with farmers and other landowners, and they also can help gauge a new area.

Determine if you want to hunt the Upper or Lower Peninsula, but if you’ve read hunting reports elsewhere about deer hunting prospects, the U.P. is not the place to go. The Upper Peninsula has lots of wolves and fewer deer. The area with the most deer is south of an east-west line from Bay City to Grand Rapids.

Start asking questions. Talk with regional game biologists. Talk to conservation officers.

Learn which counties produce big bucks and lots of deer, and learn why deer numbers are so high in such areas. Determine the availability of state or federal lands nearby, but both state and federal land is often quite sparse and over-hunted. especially in the southern Lower Peninsula.

Spend time scouting two or three different areas. Determine which ones offer the best combination of land, cover, deer foods, bedding cover and access. Walk around the land, and check for well-used deer trails leading from bedding to feeding areas and back. Always be on the lookout for tiny thick covers like and over-grown and abandoned apple orchard. Tiny clumps of heavy brush on the top or side of a hill is often overlooked. Places where human foot traffic is tough are good spots to find deer.

Forget the U.P. Draw a line from Tawas City to Manistee, and hunt south of there.

Look for buck rubs and deer scrapes now. Check barbed wire fences for bits of clinging hair that indicate deer passing through the area.

Talk with landowners to determine their idea of hunting pressure in this spot. Often, in farmland, the major hunting pressure is from the landowner and his or her family and close friends.

Learn where nice whitetail lead bedding cover and how they move.

Consider the possibility of leasing hunting rights. Fees vary depending on length of the lease, property size, whether it is ideal or marginal deer habitat, and what it offers the hunter.

Good land should support good truck crops, mast and other natural forage. Sometimes, an area with some does and some bucks can lead to big bucks if they are given time to grow. If you find a good spot, practice crop rotation and try to build better ground cover.

Remember: deer need five things to grow big racks: three or more years to grow, good cover, good secure bedding areas, plenty of food and water. A sixth key is a lack of steady hunting pressure.

No one owes today’s sportsman anything in terms of hunting private property. I manage my land to produce big bucks, and crop lands are rotated and some timber is cut. Doing so helps maintain good hunting, but it’s a never-ending learning process to keep up with where whitetails travel after crop rotation and timbering takes place.

Finding a good spot means scouting, being in the right area and being smart.

I spend many hours scouting for good spots. Deer habits change, food supplies change, and hunting pressure can make deer seek quieter areas. A hunter doesn’t know these things unless they spend time in the field on a regular basis.

Public lands feature too many hunters in narrowly confined locations, and the hunting pressure is far too high. Food supplies are far better on private land than state or federal lands. Private property holds deer, and, in many areas, it supports more whitetails than public land. For this reason it’s easy to understand why more people lease hunting land even though the price of leasing acreage is rising.

Whether a hunter leases private land, hunts on public land, or manages to wangle an invitation from a landowner, scouting is a never-ending problem all year. Hunters who don’t scout old land or new land run a major risk of not being successful.

Those who scout properly will never spook deer. Those that make numerous mistakes often chase the deer over onto the neighbors, but don’t expect them to thank you.

Look for some new deer areas

Hunters who want good deer land will probably wind up paying plenty for it.

Deer hunters are creatures of habit. Many staunchly resist any form of change.

Many will sit on the same tree stand, along the same runway, as they did 10, 15 or 20 years ago. It’s difficult for many sportsmen to break their old habits or traditions, and some deer hunters never try. It becomes a tradition to again hunt where a buck was killed sometime in the far distant past.

They often wonder: If it was good 20 years ago, it should still be a good spot now. Right?

That’s not always true. In fact, it is seldom true with whitetail deer.

Maybe yes and maybe no. That tradition of returning, year after year, to the same stand has probably saved the life of more bucks than poor shooting or a lack of preseason scouting.

Sadly, clinging to a traditional spot, even when it no longer is hot, is a lesson in frustration and futility. It also leads to fiery claims by skunked hunters that the Department of Natural Resources and Environment reports of abundant whitetails are inflated.

Well, they no longer are. It’s true that Michigan’s deer herd is down in numbers, and that should be a good enough reason to start using the old noodle for something other than a place to store a camo cap. Changing stand locations is probably long overdue.

Perhaps this season is the time to cast aside the traditional old haunts, and think about trying a new area. Too many people never realize that food and habitat conditions can and do change over time for a number of reason, and if the landowner doesn’t do something to make the land produce more food and offer more cover, the deer will move on. It’s as simple as that.

Deer are animals of farmland and woodland. Granted, some deer live in deep forest and many live on farms, and that’s a fact of life in this state.

If you agree that a new hunting location should be tried, where should hunters start in their search for a new spot to try their luck or skill?

Finding good deer areas isn’t as easy now as it was 20 years ago.

Hunters can start with the DNRE. They keep track of deer trends, and know which counties have the highest deer numbers and which ones produce the largest deer. The county extension agent often deals with farmers and other landowners, and they also can help find a spot.

Determine if you want to hunt the Upper or Lower Peninsula, but if you’ve read hunting reports elsewhere about deer hunting prospects, the U.P. is not the place to go. The area with the most deer is south of an east-west line from Bay City to Grand Rapids.

Start asking questions. Learn which counties produce big bucks and lots of deer, and learn why deer numbers are high in such areas. Determine the availability of state or federal lands nearby, but both state and federal land is quite sparse and overhunted in the southern Lower Peninsula. It’s not as heavily hunted in Region II because deer numbers are way down from four years ago.

Spend time scouting two or three different areas. Determine which ones offer the best combination of land, cover, deer foods, bedding cover and access. Walk around the land, and check for well-used deer trails leading from bedding to feeding areas and back.

Look for buck rubs and deer scrapes in late October. Check barbed wire fences for bits of hair that indicate deer passing through the area.

Talk with nearby landowners to determine their idea of hunting pressure. Often, in agricultural areas, the major hunting pressure is from the landowner and his or her family and close friends.

Leasing land can be done, but depending on habitat & deer, the cost can be high.

Consider the possibility of leasing hunting rights. Fees vary depending on length of the lease, property size, whether it is ideal or marginal deer habitat, and what it offers the hunter.

No one owes today’s sportsman anything in terms of hunting private property. I manage my 20 acres to produce deer and hopefully one big buck will move through my land on occasion.

Crop lands are rotated and some timber is cut. Doing so helps maintain good hunting, but it’s a never-ending learning process to keep up with where whitetails travel after crop rotation and timbering takes place.

I spend many hours every day, 365 days a year, scouting my land. Deer habits change, food supplies change, and hunting pressure can make deer seek quieter areas. A hunter doesn’t know these things unless they spend time in the field on a regular basis.

Public lands feature too many hunters in narrowly confined areas, and the hunting pressure is too high. Food supplies are far better on private land than state or federal lands. Private property holds deer, and, in many areas, it supports more whitetails than public land. For this reason it’s easy to understand why more people lease hunting land even though the price of leasing acreage is rising.

Whether a hunter leases private land, hunts on public land, or manages to wangle an invitation from a landowner, scouting is a never-ending problem. Hunters who don’t scout old land or new land run a major risk of not being successful.

Knowing what lies over the next ridge and why deer travel one trail and not another is why some sportsmen bag whitetail bucks year after year, and why some hunters never tie their tag to the rack of a good buck.

When deer don’t move

This hunter set up closer to a bedding area & shot this buck as he moved out.

It’s always been a perplexing time. There comes a period about two weeks after the Oct. 1 bow opener, when the deer seem to stop moving around.

The woods get still. There are few if any sign of does and fawns moving about or feeding, and the bucks have taken an apparent siesta. There is nothing much to be done for it.

Some call it the doldrums, although that applies more to the hot summer months. Many feel the deer are slowly becoming more accustomed to humans in the woods.

The 10-day period is when deer slow down. It‘s time for a new trick.

Some hunters feel this is the time when deer begin shifting to their fall mode or travel as they begin preparing for the upcoming rut that will start the end of October and early November. Still others believe the deer are just starting to settle into their autumn routine.

It makes little difference what causes this slowdown of whitetail deer activity. It’s enough to realize it happens, and there is little that can be done to change things.

Over the years I’ve learned that if a savvy hunter can move in close to the bedding area without making noise, or being winded, that they often can get a better chance at the deer as they move out. Those hunters who are set up along field edges will see few if any deer. Most of the action, such as it is, will happen in or near heavy cover.

Knowing that this annual phenomenon does occur, and that making slight changes in hunting techniques can turn this two-week period around, is important to bow hunters. The month of October begins with deer still following their summer mode of travel, and it is followed by 10 days to two weeks of inactivity, and then the rut kicks in during late October.

Several things can work, and all can fail unless the hunter recognizes the need to be scent-free, and to approach hunting areas with the wind in your face and avoid making noise.

One thing that has worked for many hunters is to get in as close to the bedding area as possible without spooking deer. Make one mistake with this hunting method, and all the deer will head for exits in other parts of the area and you won’t see a deer.

Another thing that can produce is to mix a little rattling with a little grunting. Keep it low-pitched, soft and quiet, and make it sound like two deer testing each other without either one wanting to get hurt.

Soft, non-aggressive grunting and rattling can get deer up & moving.

This often occurs if a doe is close to entering estrus. Nearby bucks will push and shove, grunt softly, but neither buck wants to get gored in the eye or become seriously injured if she isn’t ready and willing.

Keep the calls soft, and the antler rattling gentle without the violent clashes of bone against bone. Remember that the best response to antler rattling and grunting will come during the pre-rut. Set up shop near travel routes that lead to food sites, and keep the rattling and grunting short, not violent and make certain you are downwind of the bedding area.

There are times when this grunt and rattle routine will draw deer out a bit earlier than normal. Play the weather as well. If a storm is due to move into the area, make certain that you are in a key location to intercept deer as they dash out for a quick feed before the storm arrives.

Another major problem during this period is that the wind direction often shifts and brings in an east wind. Such wind shifts have become all too common in the past several years, and few deer move on an east wind. One can try to establish a blind set up for an east wind, but deer often try to cut the corners on an east wind, and come in from a cross-wind position, and they can and may pick up your scent.

Many hunters give up during this in-between period, and sit out the east wind days and do household chores so they can hunt the rut. That’s OK, but it robs hunters of several days when trying different techniques might work.

It’s my belief that shooting deer is impossible from the house, and especially from a couch in front of a television set. My thought is to get out in the weather, regardless of what it is doing, and try to puzzle out a workable hunting strategy.

It doesn’t always work, and in truth, it seldom works but hunting during bad conditions makes people hunt harder. Those who put in their time, and try different tactics, will occasionally shoot a good buck.