Old ways pay off in a modern big bluegill bonanza

I didn't know what was in store for me when my late father and I met his friend on Crystal Lake for a late afternoon of fishing.

Irv's friend went by the name of Lefty. The peculiarity of that name remains a mystery to this day. What really mattered that day, however, was the phenomenal fishing we encountered as Lefty maneuvered his 14-foot wooden rowboat around the lily pads and weed edges.

First came the largemouth bass. These were yearlings to 3-pounders. Then the pike decided to join the foray.

As much as I was enjoying it, and even though I didn't have much fishing experience back then, I knew from my father's stories about this lake that the real fun had yet to start.

Because we were Lefty's guests in his ancient craft, Irv didn't want to push the issue, and yet my impatience helped him broach the story of the lake's notoriously big bluegills.

Lefty was ready to take us to one of his "secret jumbo" spots when Irv opened his tackle box to retrieve several small cartons of bait. I laughed to myself, knowing my father brought along his usual menu of red worms, mealworms and nightcrawler pieces.

Lefty was wise to Irv's arsenal, and proceeded to inform him we would use something else for the jumbos.

Upon arriving at the secret spot, Lefty opened a large cooler and retrieved a metal bait bucket. I looked inside and saw it was filled with dozens of minnows. I kept my mouth shut (a rarity for me).

"We'll use minnows, a small hook, and a single piece of split shot," Lefty instructed. "Don't worry about anything. Just allow the minnow to swim near the bottom."

And so we followed those directions.

Please keep in mind that this was 1957, not 2015, and not many fishermen my father knew back then ever used this particular live bait for bluegill angling.

Irv was the first in the boat to get a strike. He reared back, set the hook, and started cranking his well-worn Luxor spinning reel.

My father drummed into me that if a bluegill ever got to be as big as yearling smallmouth bass I probably would fight the big-bugger for a half-hour, or never land the bluegill at all. Right.

The one Irv had on was one of those beasts, and after a prolonged battle I netted the fish, which measured just over 11-inches.

We caught slightly over 40-monster 'gills. Every fish went back - except six for that evening's dinner.

Now the story shifts to 2011 and my quest for large 'gills in area ponds.

I was taken to a pond in an industrial park where the primary live bait consisted of 4-inch minnows once again. Using a slip-float, No. 8 hook, and split shot, we were able to determine the depth of where we suspected the big bruisers were hiding.

It was a mere few seconds when the slip-float disappeared beneath the surface and stayed submerged. I suspected I was in big fish territory. And I was right.

Before we got to this pond my fellow bluegiller rambled on about this place holding 12- and 12½-inch 'gills. I didn't say anything.

"Nobody can get in here to fish," he said, "and there ain't many who will believe you when you tell the world you caught a 12-incher."

I thought to myself how prophetic that statement was, especially when Chuck Thompson reads this column.

After a 10-minute battle I hauled in a fish that was just shy of 11½ inches and weighed close to a pound. I caught eight more with two of them scratching the 12-inch mark on the ruler.

I already know I can expect catcalls and a few negative emails from some people who will refuse to believe there are giant bluegills in our area that fall prey to fresh bait and small hooks. I had trouble believing it as well until I experienced it.

I'm sharing these events with you simply because I rate bluegill fishing right at the top of my never-ending bucket list of angling challenges.

And again I cannot reveal the location of this place because it's private, as well as any other of the ponds I fish in the area, simply because I once made the mistake of having a picture of a local, public crappie pond in the column and the place was literally overrun and cleaned out.

Just do what I did. Dive around and prospect where the ponds are devoid of "no fishing" signs. You'll find plenty of action. And you may even discover an acquaintance willing to share the extraordinary panfish action.

• Contact Mike Jackson at angler88@comcast.net, catch his radio show 7-9 a.m. Sundays on WGCO 1590-AM (live-streamed at www.1590WCGO.com) and get more content at www.mikejacksonoutdoors.com.