(Network Indiana) This weekend might be the perfect time to fill tackle boxes, polish fishing poles, and hope for the perfect catch.
What is the perfect catch?
Results from the 2016 Indiana License Angler Survey report bluegill are the most pursued fish in Indiana. Largemouth bass, black crappie, and channel catfish don’t fall far behind. however, the bluegill remains the top dog as it has for the last 40 years in the eyes of Indiana fishermen, according to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
Reasons for this could be that Indiana waters are full of bluegills.
Corey DeBoom, Fisheries Biologist with Indiana Division of Fish and Wildlife says they’re a native fish.
“They’re native to this part of the country” he said. Bluegill were known as a fish that survived, reproduced, and grew well in small farm ponds and that’s what people wanted in their ponds and recreational lakes.
DeBoom also said because they’re native, “they tend to do well in both the natural lakes where they naturally existed, and when we create impoundments and ponds.”
Which is where fishermen fish most often according to DNR, so there should be no doubt that a bluegill might be one of the catches of the day.
Another reason could be that bluegill can be found almost anywhere in Indiana. DeBoom said one of the better places to find bluegill is Summit Lake near Muncie, or any small to mid-size impoundment that lacks one of bluegill’s top competitors-gizzard shad.
July is also part of the Bluegill nesting season.The season takes place May through July, according to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
DeBoom said one of the more favored approaches to catching bluegill is when their nesting in the shallows.
“They’re colonial spawners, and so there’ll be these patches of nests distributed around the shoreline and the shallows, and anglers will cautiously approach and then fish a variety of small baits,” he said.
