Blue Gill

Death Dealer · Apr 5, 2013

I love to catch and eat blue gill but I don't know where to go in the Salem area. I have heard of a pond in Lyons but they are small. I like them around 8" or bigger if I am going to keep them. Can anybody help me with this.

TAD · Apr 16, 2013

Ten mile lake is the only place that comes to mind for size and numbers buts its been awhile since I have fished there. Call the marina they should be able to help you out.

The snake river and brownlee resv. has tons of crappie and some gills but I dont know if there are enough gills to target them.

St louis ponds are suppossed to have some in there but it gets fished hard.

Go to Amato books and purchase the Oregon book that shows every water shed in the state and what it holds.

mkwerx · Apr 16, 2013

Drive west / north of Silverton and start asking farm pond owners for permission to fish

Death Dealer · Apr 18, 2013

Thank you. I will defently give St. Louis Ponds a try, since that close to home, and I will give the others a try if I get a chance.

I am looking for a web page for Amato Books now. Do you happen to know the name of that book? I may be able to find it used, cheap, on Amazon.

Thanks again and happy fishing.

Death Dealer · Apr 18, 2013

Thank you, that sounds like a good idea. I will give it a try also.

mkwerx · Apr 18, 2013

Not that I would promote EATING the fish - but if you want to catch a mess of panfish - and maybe some nice catfish and carp - the slack waters around Minto Brown Park (in Salem) offer good fishing - as do most all of the backwaters along the Willamette. Again - you couldn't pay me to EAT any of those fish, but they're fun to catch.

St Louis ponds is fun to fish on weekdays when there's less crowd. I've never caught any panfish of what I would consider eating size (9 inch minimum) - but lots of smaller fish to put a bend in an ultralight rod. There's some good bass in there, but they're smart ones. They're like Hagg Lake bass - they will spook without speeding off - they'll just stop eating and slink into deeper water when you spook them.

Occasionally at St. Louis, you'll see fisherman who will give you a laugh - like the guys who bring out sturgeon bank rods that look like telephone poles, and reels the size of a gallon bucket spooled up with 200lb braid. That's good for a chuckle.

Death Dealer · Apr 19, 2013

I agree, I would not eat anything out of the Willamette, but will definatly give St. Louis ponds a try. Thanks.

Death Dealer · Apr 19, 2013

I think myself and 3 or 4 other guys are going to give the E Freeway Pond south of Albany a try tomorrow. If the water is still to cold for bluegill, I hear there is Bass & Crappie in there also, and it should have been stocked with trout this week. Something for everybody.

gunluvver · Apr 19, 2013

Favorite bluegill rig: 9 ft.fly rod with a Diawa closed faced spinning reel. I need a bluegill hole in Washington County.

ccso49274 · Apr 20, 2013

Shucks, I was just over at St. Louis Ponds yesterday. Had a few hits off a brown rooster tail, but nothing amazing. And yes, when I left there was a guy walking in with a 10' salmon rod and reel to match. But, if that guy is that optimistic about catching the big one, I need to hang out with him more.

mkwerx · Apr 20, 2013

gunluvver said:
Favorite bluegill rig: 9 ft.fly rod with a Diawa closed faced spinning reel. I need a bluegill hole in Washington County.

Hagg Lake is a good choice. Edible fish. If you find a school of dinks, they'll all be dinks, but if you find the fatties, you'll eat well.

Pictured below is a fish I'd consider at the very smallest to be worth cleaning, if I have a lot of 'em.

I get a kick out of chasing gillies with my fly rods using wet flies or small poppers. I like hunting for schools of larger fish - and out in Hagg I've run into some of the big bull gills while chasing bass with similar gear. Couple seasons back I hooked up with what I thought was 1 or 2 lb bass on a deer hair popper - only to find out it was a bluegill pushing 10 inches. It inhaled a #4 popper. That was a fun.

I hunt the creek arms in the late afternoons, looking for drop offs close to weed beds when I'm after the big gillies. They seem to be a bit more bass-like in their eating habits than the typical schoolies. If I'm using spinning gear, I use Trout Magnet jigs in tandem under a Thill balsa float, and just enough split shot to make just the tip of the float stick out of the water. I'll tip the jigs with Berkley Crappie Nibbles - those things are fish crack.

Good luck

gunluvver · Apr 20, 2013

Thanks for the info. I'm not far from Hagg, and have caught trout there before. While good eating, I prefer bass, panfish, or catfish to catch or to eat.

kburr64 · Apr 20, 2013

+1 For Tenmile Lake, I have spent many hours there & caught more than my fair share of Blue Gills. Cooked up on a bed of wild rice, nothing like it ! :s0155:

mrblond · Apr 20, 2013

only thing I have caught at St Louis ponds were a few bass off a rapala. There was a slough I used to fish with my dad that was full of crappi and bluegill but honestly I don't recall the name.

Death Dealer · Apr 22, 2013

Well, five of us went to E Freeway Lake, south of Albany, this weekend and between the five of us we cought 4 trout and 3 crappie. The only thing any of us could get a bite on was rooster tails. Not a very productive day but lots of fun. After all, to me, catching fish is just a bonas. As long as I get to go fishing, I'm happy.