By Louie Stout

When fishing gets tough, anglers get creative.

That appears to be the case with bluegill fishermen who are finding different ways to catch panfish during the dog days of summer.

Most of the fishing is being done deep, and while the bluegills are fairly easy to find, catching numbers takes more work.

A random check of area baitshops Thursday revealed that the basic livebait-and-slip bobber will catch some fish but not as well as others.

For example:

Midway Bait and Tackle owner Mike McNulty got out on the St. Joseph River with his family last week and caught 24 bluegills measuring between 7 and 8 inches on an ice jig.

“We tipped a No. 10 ice jig with a red wiggler and caught 24 rather quickly,” he said. “All we did was let the jig free fall to the bottom and they’d grab it.”

He was fishing a slack water area in about 10 feet of water, not far from the main river channel.

Bonnie Kelly said her customers have been doing best with an adjustable bubble bobber set about four feet of line above the hook baited with a cricket or red wiggler and letting the bait free-fall slowly.

“They are fishing offshore in mid-depth water,” she said. “Some are catching bluegills on drop-shot rigs, too.”

Drop-shot rigs consist of a sinker at the bottom of the line with a hook tied about 12 inches above the sinker.

Brendon Sutter of the Tackle Shack in Middlebury said his customers are getting real innovative.

“Those who are toying with perch rigs, double rigs and homemade harness and having more success,” he said.

The Perch rig can be purchased in tackle shops. It is a multi-hook system that presents multiple baits on one line.

The double rig is similar, with one hook at the end of the line and another tied a few inches above it.

“They’ve also been creating a harness for red wigglers,” Sutter said. “They are tying a short piece of line onto the shank of the main hook and adding a hook on the end of the short leader. They put the main hook into the head of the wiggler and the other hook in the tail. They add a small split shot above that they say the little harness gives the worm more natural action.”

Both Sutter and Brian Hensley of Clear H2o Tackle in Edwardsburg say anglers report they are still catching some bluegills with eggs. However, Hensley doesn’t believe they’re going to spawn.

“That’s not all that unusual as those fish that didn’t spawn earlier will likely absorb the eggs and try to spawn again next year,” he said.

Elsewhere, Jim Housman of the Tackle Box in North Webster said bluegill fishing has tailed off in his area although the few being caught are good sized.

“Bass fishing has picked up a little, with most being caught on plastic frogs and toads,” he said. “There are been a few muskies caught, but the water is still warm down here.”

Sutter said bass fishermen are getting creative, too. He’s had a run on heavy jigs for fishing in tube baits. The traditional manner is to push smaller, lighter leadhead jigs into the tubes to allow the bait glide on the fall.

“Now, guys are putting ¾-ounce jigs in tube bodies and say it’s really working on the harder, sandy bottom lakes,” he said. “Apparently, the faster falling tube is triggering reaction strikes.”

Hensley said lots of pike are being caught by bass fishermen using artificial baits. This might be one of the best years for pike fishing, as those toothy critters seem to be in good numbers on those lakes that contain them.

Angler Mike Boisseau said pike, bass and walleye are still hitting swimbaits and jerkbaits around weeds on the St. Joseph River above the Twin Branch Dam.

Lake Michigan has been in a state of flux the past couple of days due to the heavy winds and weather changes. Last week, perch fishing had been good in 30 feet of water at St. Joseph and South Haven. In Indiana, Lake Michigan biologist Brian Breidert said perch fishing had improved near the Burns/Portage Waterway prior to the heavy winds.

Although fresh steelhead have been trickling into South Bend waters of the St. Joseph River, the better fishing is in Michigan City’s Trail Creek. Hensley said he’s heard of good catches there and biologists report numerous fish have run into the cooler creek the past couple of weeks.