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Who among us, as a kid, didn't love the sight of a bobber slowly going down? Who among us still doesn't enjoy that sight? For many of us, our first memories of fishing are of bluegills taking our earthworm dangling under a bobber. June in Minnesota signifies the beginning of summer, and of bluegills moving onto the beds in their annual ritual of proliferation. Most of us live very close to waters that abound with bluegills. The bedding period of June is a great opportunity to find bluegills shallow and aggressive. It is also the time to catch some of the biggest bluegills in the lake, anytime of the day. With a few simple strategies, the opportunity is yours to re-kindle fond childhood memories, or make some new ones for your kids.

Not Too Hard, Not Too Soft, but Just Right

In natural lakes in Minnesota, bluegills begin moving shallow to bed anywhere from late May to early June. When water temps in the shallows reach 70 degrees, it is time to start looking for bedding bluegills. Bluegills are very adaptable when it comes to bedding, but the best places to look for them are shallow shorelines, in water one to five feet deep. Bottom content should be somewhere between hard and soft. Bluegills do not bed on rocks, nor in mud. Sand, fine gravel, or even clay are good bottom compositions for bedding bluegills. Swimming beach areas, between docks, will often host bluegill beds. Remember that first time swimming at the beach on an area lake each summer when you were a kid, only to have small fish nipping at your feet and legs? Those were bluegills defending their beds that you were stepping on. On lakes with good weed lines, look for these moderate-hard bottom areas between the inside weed edge and the shoreline. Male (bull) bluegills, large and brilliantly-colored to attract females, will move into these areas and begin fanning out a bowl-shaped "nest" in the lake bottom. Female bluegills, in schools suspended slightly farther off shore, begin swimming in to look for a "nest" to lay their eggs in. The brightly-colored males circle their bed, attracting females to lay eggs in the bed. The females usually return to school farther from shore immediately after laying their eggs. The males later fertilize the eggs in their bed, and then guard the bed until the eggs hatch. This "security" detail is what makes fishing bluegills on the beds so much fun. The fish do not have to be hungry to bite. They will bite at anything that comes near their bed simply to drive it off or kill it (like they were with your toes when you were swimming as a kid). This makes the male bluegills easy to catch, anytime of the day. Push Their Buttons

Tackle for this type of fishing is very simple. First, I like to search likely areas for bluegill beds with a "horizontal" approach. This is basically a "panfish-sized spinnerbait" consisting of a 1/16 ounce roundhead jig with a small "jig-spinner" attached. I tip the jig with Berkley Powerbait Micro grubs or tubes. I use the trolling motor to work slowly along an area, keeping the boat out from likely spots for beds and casting the bait to the bedding areas. I then slowly retrieve it back to the boat. A 6' or 6'6" ultralight spinning combo spooled with 2 or 4-lb. test Fireline Crystal allows for long casts with the light presentation. A moderate or moderate-fast action rod with a "softer" tip that bends further down the rod helps with casting the light baits, and the extra "give" in the rod makes it easier for fish to inhale the bait on a strike. If there are bedding bluegills in the area, this technique will find them. Sometimes they will hammer this presentation, and you can catch plenty of them on it. Other times, gills will short-bite, and be difficult to hook. If this is the case, they will have revealed themselves to you, and you can then go to a "vertical" presentation to catch them. For this technique, I again like to use ultralight spinning gear with 2 or 4-lb. test line. Again, longer rods like 6'6" or 7' allow you to cast the small presentations for this type of fishing farther than the traditional 5'6" ultralight rods of a decade ago. The longer rod is also good for taking up slack line on the hook set when fishing with a bobber rig. More and more rod manufacturers are recognizing this and making longer ultralight models. I like to use a super line like Berkley Fireline Crystal for this technique as well, as it is super-smooth casting to get a light bait a long way out there. Bluegills on the beds in shallow water can be spooky, so you will want to stay as far away from them as possible and make long casts to them. I tie the Fireline to a tiny barrel swivel, and then run a leader of 2 or 4-lb. test fluorocarbon from the swivel to a 1/16 or 1/32 oz. roundhead jig. The fluorocarbon is simply for stealth. I tip the jig with a soft plastic like Berkley Powerbait Micro tubes, grubs, or nymphs. I hang this presentation under a small torpedo-shaped weighted bobber. This rig casts a long distance and enters the water without too much noise. You won't need to let this rig sit very long if you are near an area with bluegill beds. Bull bluegills do not want anything but a female bluegill near their bed, so they will instantly attack your bait, often on the fall. If you don't get bit quickly, move the bait a few feet and let it sit again. If the water is shallow and clear, with a good pair of polarized glasses you will often see several bluegills darting towards your jig and plastic as it slowly sinks beneath the bobber-be ready to set the hook quickly. If you miss a bite, leave your bait sit and it will most likely get hit again very quickly. For an extra bonus to this pattern, have a heavier rod, reel, and line combo rigged with a shallow-running crankbait at the ready. Predators like bass, pike, and muskies are often cruising these areas looking for a bluegill dinner. You may hear bass hitting the female bluegills near the surface a bit farther off shore, and you will often see a musky or pike follow up a bluegill you are reeling in.

Try this pattern for lots of big bluegills. This pattern is also a perfect situation to take a kid fishing for fast and furious action in the pleasant weather conditions of an early June day in Minnesota. Another upside to this fishing pattern: fresh bluegill is hard to beat in the frying pan. However, please remember to practice selective harvest. Take only what you need for a meal, and put the biggest "bulls" back to be caught again next year. Once you experience this great June fishing action, and see the smile it brings to a kid's face as well as to your own, I think you will want to do this again next year, and the year after, and the year after.