Bluegill Setup

[Fire Ball]

What do you think is a good bluegill setup? I caught about 50 of them this week and I am really liking it, but I want a little more fun so I was thinking about an ultralight setup. How does a 6' ultralight rod with an ultralight reel holding around 100 yards of 6 lb test sound? Should I use 4 lb test or 6 lb test? Will it be more fun or will there be any advantages to 4 lb test? Should I use fluorocarbon/copoly or mono? I really think that flurocarbon is great because you can feel the slightest pulls on the line and can set the hook easier. I might also be catching a few crappie on this rig too.

[bsp]

Go with 4lb, more fun and you'll get more bites. You can use any UL rod from 5' up to 9'. How much are you looking to spend?

[Fire Ball]

I don't want to spend too much money. $40 sound like a good budget? Will fluorocarbon increase the amount of bites over mono or can they not see that well?

[bsp]

For $40, try to pick up an Ugly Stick UL combo or look at the Shimano Voltaeus line up. Fluorocarbon really isn't worth the extra money IMO for bluegill. You can get it, but mono will get bit just fine.

[Fire Ball]

For $40, try to pick up an Ugly Stick UL combo or look at the Shimano Voltaeus line up. Fluorocarbon really isn't worth the extra money IMO for bluegill. You can get it, but mono will get bit just fine.

I think I will go with copoly, because that is what I have been using lately.
What if I only wanted to spend $20 or $30? I'm not sure I want to go for $40, but Ugly Stiks are great for the price.

[bsp]

Copolymer is good.

I have no clue about anything in that price range. Sorry man.

[Hometown]

Most any ultra light but i stick with 2 lb

[Fire Ball]

Copolymer is good.

I have no clue about anything in that price range. Sorry man.

I will try and find a Big 5 special for $20 or $30, lol. They tend to be decent most of the time. If not, then I will get an Ugly Stik or just keep using my 7 foot medium power rod and AX4000 reel spooled with 6 lb fluorocarbon.


Most any ultra light but i stick with 2 lb

2 lb test even more fun than 4 lb test? If it gets snagged or get a bass will it break?

[Hometown]

most any ultra light but i stick with 2 lb
and i forgot it must be high quality line small hooks and try a wax worm :hometown:

[Fire Ball]

and i forgot it must be high quality line small hooks and try a wax worm :hometown:

I use #10 mosquito hooks and they work great. The line will probably be copoly or fluorocarbon. I was using meal worms and nightcrawler bits. I found the nightcrawlers and they seemed to work better than the meal worms because the fish couldn't steal them off the hook as easily and I caught most of my big ones on the nightcrawler bits.

[Hometown]

and i forgot it must be high quality line small hooks and try a wax worm :hometown:

you need to set the reels drag right but my fishing buddy caught a 9 or 10 lb bass on 2 lb 2 months ago i love the fight on light line but you will lose some but a lot more bites wich means more hook ups more fun

[Fire Ball]

you need to set the reels drag right but my fishing buddy caught a 9 or 10 lb bass on 2 lb 2 months ago i love the fight on light line but you will lose some but a lot more bites wich means more hook ups more fun

WOW! A 10 lb bass on 2 lb test! That must have been really fun and hard to fight. How should I adjust my drag? I usually just have it so that nothing will be able to pull line off or I can pull line off barely.

[Hometown]

wow! A 10 lb bass on 2 lb test! That must have been really fun and hard to fight. How should i adjust my drag? I usually just have it so that nothing will be able to pull line off or i can pull line off barely.
you need the line to be able to pull off the rel without breaking i go a little lighter than ithink is right that way if a bad spot it wont break let the pole do the work dont pull to hard most of the fish when pan fishing wont break the line if drags not to tight and a little finnese the night crawler pieces work great at times and will get some bigger fish but try wax wo0rms and some of the better fish will come on crickets :ht:

[Fire Ball]

you need the line to be able to pull off the rel without breaking i go a little lighter than ithink is right that way if a bad spot it wont break let the pole do the work dont pull to hard most of the fish when pan fishing wont break the line if drags not to tight and a little finnese the night crawler pieces work great at times and will get some bigger fish but try wax wo0rms and some of the better fish will come on crickets :ht:

Is it really that easy to break 2 lb test on a bluegill if the drag is not set properly? I heard crickets are great and the only thing better are grasshoppers, but you have to catch those instead of buying them.

[Hometown]

No most blue gill are not going to break 2lb unless they a branch to tangle in but there is allways the chance of the big bass cat crappie etc. Thats why i use high quality line and set my drag

[Fire Ball]

No most blue gill are not going to break 2lb unless they a branch to tangle in but there is allways the chance of the big bass cat crappie etc. Thats why i use high quality line and set my drag

What kind of line and what brand do you prefer? Is it sensitive enough to feel small bluegill nibbles?

[Hometown]

what kind of line and what brand do you prefer? Is it sensitive enough to feel small bluegill nibbles?
i have been using vanish

[Fire Ball]

i have been using vanish

I have Vanish on my bass/surf fishing reel and it is pretty awesome but expensive! I might have to go with something cheaper because I don't want to spend too much on a bluegill setup. Does fluorocarbon work much better than monofilament for bluegill? I love flurocarbon or copoly for everything, but I don't know if I really want it for bluegill.

[Hometown]

i have vanish on my bass/surf fishing reel and it is pretty awesome but expensive! I might have to go with something cheaper because i don't want to spend too much on a bluegill setup. Does fluorocarbon work much better than monofilament for bluegill? I love flurocarbon or copoly for everything, but i don't know if i really want it for bluegill.
ande mono works just as good in most conditions or the yo zuri mono floro combo i really like it a little cheaper than vanish but good line in my opinion

[Fire Ball]

ande mono works just as good in most conditions or the yo zuri mono floro combo i really like it a little cheaper than vanish but good line in my opinion

I have 12 lb test Yo-Zuri Hybrid for my baitcasting reel and it works great, but the lightest they make it is 4 lb test! I won't be able to get 2 lb test, but it will be cheap and work well. I will probably try out cheap Stren 2 lb test mono. I am thinking I should get green for Castaic, but I don't know that much about line.

[Hometown]

ande mono works just as good in most conditions or the yo zuri mono floro combo i really like it a little cheaper than vanish but good line in my opinion

and like you said ultra light reels only hold 100 175 yards rinse your reels good and dont leave stored in bright light and your line will last longer

[Hometown]

i have 12 lb test yo-zuri hybrid for my baitcasting reel and it works great, but the lightest they make it is 4 lb test! I won't be able to get 2 lb test, but it will be cheap and work well. I will probably try out cheap stren 2 lb test mono. I am thinking i should get green for castaic, but i don't know that much about line.
you sound like like you know more than given yourself credit for if you have a good tackle store near by take your real in they should be able to load it with some ande or maximia mono they charge by the yard great quality mono good luck i sent a pm

[smokehound]

a great line would be stren original 6 pound test, clear.

This, to date, has been the best line i've ever used.

Very low-key, yet surprisingly strong for light line. Ive pulled batrays over 7 pounds onto piers with leaders made with this line.

People really love this line back east, its very popular amongst catfish lovers.

It's also not too expensive. Try it, you wont regret it.


If you can afford it, try getting some gamakatsu hooks. They are fantastic.

[Fire Ball]

a great line would be stren original 6 pound test, clear.

This, to date, has been the best line i've ever used.

Very low-key, yet surprisingly strong for light line. Ive pulled batrays over 7 pounds onto piers with leaders made with this line.

People really love this line back east, its very popular amongst catfish lovers.

It's also not too expensive. Try it, you wont regret it.


If you can afford it, try getting some gamakatsu hooks. They are fantastic.

I have used Stren original and it is my favorite mono, but lately I have been using fluoro or copoly lately. I am probably going to go with Stren 2 or 4 lb test green line because it is so cheap and works well for mono.

I usually buy Gamakatsu hook, but I hate the price! A lot of the time that is all I can find and there is nothing cheaper that will work for me, but I bought some Owner hooks last time and my friend bought some Gamakatsu hooks for about the same price a few days later that I missed when I was in a rush to buy hooks. I like those cheap South Bend ones that you can get at Big 5 because they are so cheap, but Sport Chalet don't have them.

[calico killer kevin]

For the rod, I would recommend the Daiwa Spinmatic X's. Great value rod for ~$30 on ebay. You're gonna have to figure out the reel part because that is the one thing I never cheap out on. Just don't buy a reel larger than the Daiwa/Shimano equivalent of 1500 size. Larger than that and it just holds too much line.

Definitely spool 2lb. You will get many, many more bites. I like Izorline XXX or Tectan premium. You can find a couple thousand yard spool on ebay for about $13 and you will be set forever regarding line. Tectan can be found at Cabelas ~$10 a smaller spool. Don't worry about fishing 2lb because it's stronger than your think. Especially the XXX. If you're trying to keep cost down, don't buy fluoro. It'll cost about a third of your setup. Regarding Vanish, I hate that ish. Had a few break at the knot on hooksets, so I burned the spool. Yes I burned it.:LOL:

As far as setting drags, use it. That's what it's there for. If you accidentally hook a larger fish while fishing for bluegills, etc it will cushion the line so that it will not snap. If you don't, the fish will either snap your line or break your rod. Most people go by the rule, 1/3 of your lb test is what you should set your drag at. For example, 6lb line should be fished at 2lbs of drag. Meaning, you should be able to use at least 2lbs of force to pull the line off the spool.

I like Owner as well as Gama hooks. I prefer Owner because they have the bulk packs I like their cutting edge hooks. Don't rust like Gamas.

[tall tales]

check out bass pro shops for the rods i have a sam super sensitive 12' real fun. wally marshalls rods are great also got an 8'. i only use pline 4lb on these rods and dont set the hook to hard or youll breakem. got a 12lb carp and a 4lb bass on the 12' what a blast good luck for the panfish just fish light line and youll be ok just loosen the drag.

[Fire Ball]

How many hooks can I legally use while fishing for bluegill?

[Fire Ball]

I ended up buying a 5'6" ultra light Shimano Stimula rod and Shimano FX1000FB reel. Spooled it with 2 lb test P-Line CXX X-Tra Stong in moss green color. The line didn't spool too evenly, but it will probably be fine.

Thanks for the help everyone!