Bluegills have many endearing habits. Once hooked, they swim at right angles to the pull of the line and it makes them feel much larger than they really are. They also are fun to catch, and a plate offried bluegills is simply impossible to beat.

The other day was a case in point. A small lake not too far from Traverse City had eight inches of ice. I eased onto the lake, checking the ice as I went, and reached an area pockmocked with frozen holes left behind by earlier anglers.

Use a 1/32 or 1/64-ounce ice jig and fish near bottom.

A few things have been learned about catching winter bluegills, and one is to auger a bunch of holes and then let the noise settle down. Start fishing in the first hole drilled, and the reason is it's had the most time to settle down from the commotion of ice drilling.

I prefer a short soft-action spinning rod with am ultralight spinning reel with one- or two-pound test clear or green mono wound onto the reel. I like tiny ice jigs in a variety of colors. I also like a thin wire rod bobber rather than a float (bobber) because of the sensitivity of some bluegill bites.

I also use thick coiled-wire rod holders that sit on the ice. There's a big reason why this technique works.

A tiny ice jig of silver, silver-blue, silver-green, silver-orange, orange, yellow, red and white and almost any color combination will work, but if one color isn't producing fish, tie on a different color.

My rod is inserted into the heavy coiled rod holder, the jig is baited with a mousie or wax worm, and slowly lowered to bottom. The rod holder is set on the ice and jigged an inch or two and allowed to dangle in the water column for several seconds before being jigged again. If the fish are really picky, go from a 1/32 to a 1/64-ounce jig. Cut the mousie or wax worm in half to reduce the overall bulk of a bait and lure.

Mousies or wax worms make great bait.

I drill my ice holes three feet apart, and use two rodholders with a line down each hole. Watch the tiny wire bobber tied to the end of the ice rod, and if it moves a fraction of an inch, up or down, set the hook.

Some anglers go to one-pound mono because bluegills can be so finicky during winter months. Too much jigging can spook fish, and learning to spot that delicate bite when a 'gill sucks on the bait requires a bit of experience and a sharp eye on the spring bobber.

Often the hooking and landing of one fish will lead to a strike on the other line. As one fish is reeled to the surface, keep an eye on the other line. if the spring bobber moves, up or down, set that hook.

One thing some anglers don't know is that a bluegill will push the bait upward slightly, and the trick then is to lift the rod and rod holder up until the fish is felt, and then give it a soft hook set.

Bluegills will hit in one spot and then move on in search of food. Try a different hole, and if it doesn't produce a bite or a fish within 10 minutes, try another spot. Sitting in one spot and fishing just one or two holes doesn't produce as good catches as moving around does.

Tiny lures like this can hook pug-nosed bluegills.

The thing I like about these ice-rod holders is an angler can walk away from them for a minute to try a nearby hole, and if a fish hits while you are prospecting, the fish will often still be hooked when you return.

Of course, sitting on a bucket with a rod in hand will work. Anglers can still use the wire rod bobber or use a tiny bobber that floats on the water. Remember to keep jigging strokes very short (an inch or two is plenty), and don't jig too often. Too much jigging action can spook fish.

The whole jigging thing is nothing but a tease. Bait the tiny ice jig or ice fly, and move the baited lure up and down slightly, and it doesn't hurt to try to move it sideways on occasion. Shivering the lure in place can be deadly at times.

Bluegill fishing is a hoot. Fish near the edges of green weedbeds, and try to avoid exaggerated movements. Keep everything low key, quiet, use light line, prospect a bit for fish, and catching a mess of bluegills can be fun and provide some mighty fine eating.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors

Mark Rinckey, Michigan salmon and steelhead fishing guide on the Betsie and Platte rivers, received a big shock today. He learned that he had been inducted into the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Guide.

The Hall of Fame is located in Hayward, Wisc., and each year it inducts some agencies and people into various categories into the Hall of Fame. Inductions this year were made in categories such as Enshrinement, Legendary Angler, Legendary Artist, Legendary Communicator, Legendary Guide, Organizational/Government and Special Recognition. The specifications for induction into the Hall of Fame as a Legendary Guide include: persons  who have gained by their expertise and professionalism, a status of credibility and immortality, judged so by their customers and/or their peers.

Anyone who is inducted into any Hall of Fame, whether baseball, basketball, fishing, football or hockey, has been chosen through a nomination and selection process that chooses people based on their skill levels and not who they are. It's impossible to buy your way into any Hall of Fame. You either have a high level of skill or you don't, and those who don't meet a serious criteria will never see their name  in a Hall of Fame. A person must meet specific criteria to be considered for induction into the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame.

"Your name will be added to this very prestigious group of 56 recognized for Legendary Guide status since its inception in 1992," said Bill Gauche, Jr., the Hall's Awards Committee Chairman. "It goes without saying this honor recognizes you for your contributions, dedication and service to the fresh water sportfishing industry. With this, your Pioneering Spirit will always be remembered."

Client Arnie Minka (left) and Mark Rinckey with a spring steelhead.

Rinckey has been a true pioneer when it comes to guiding wading anglers to salmon and steelhead in local streams. It was noted, when Rinckey's name reached the Hall of Fame's headquarters, that he was not a boating guide, but a boot-foot wading guide, that the Hall saw the real importance of him as a candidate for Legendary Guide status. Most of the 56 other Legendary Guides achieved their lofty status by taking people fishing from a boat.

That's not Rinckey's style. He prefers walking his clients into certain Lake Michigan tributaries to spots that he knows are usually good for one or both game fish species. He then instructs them on how to wade the rivers, how and where to cast to make certain the bait or lure bounces along bottom, and educates them on how to detect the often subtle strike of these fish. Once a fish is hooked, he often shows his clients how to wade downstream, following the fish, until it tires enough to be landed.

Rinckey has more than 30 successful years of guiding river anglers. In many ways, guiding on foot is much more difficult than guiding from a boat. Boat guides can work their clients into areas where most boat fishermen will never go, but year after year, Rinckey has taken people into some of his personal hotspots on these rivers. The people he guides can easily memorize how to find the location again but sometimes they forget exactly how to fish these choice spots.

"I occasionally will see someone I guided many years before and they will be fishing one of my key locations," Rinckey said. "However, they don't always have my fishing techniques down pat, and often I can come in behind them with my new clients once they leave, and we will catch the fish. I never try to hide myself on these streams, and anglers can often find me but there may have been a certain something I showed my anglers how to do that tips the scales in favor of a great catch. If I have that certain feeling that all fishermen know, I don't care if I've guided someone before. Perhaps it's my client's presentation that hooks a fish, but there often is a small difference between success and failure on a stream. Frankly, my clients seldom have a really bad day on the river.

Rinckey removes the hook from a nice client-caught steelhead (right).

"To be included with this year's selection of other legendary guides, such as Edwart Lints of New York and Shane Watson of Georgia, is a tremendous honor. This is a dream come true for any fishing guide, and I'm most grateful for this recognition."

If Rinckey sounds happy, it's because he is. Rinckey is perhaps the best steelhead guide I know. I've personally fished with him for more than 30 years, and he possesses an uncanny sense of where these migrating game fish will hold. I've stood, and watched him fish, and have seen him or his clients catch fish on a day when he is prospecting for fish. Often, he doesn't set the hook because he has a guide trip the next day. He is just looking for fish, and feels the fish that he doesn't hook will still be there for his clients.

(Left) Mark Rinckey hefts a nice Lake Michigan fish.

He practices catch-and-release fishing when he and I go out, and doesn't care if an angler catches and keeps a big fish. He will let a person keep his three-fish limit, but in his own quiet way, will offer a reason why some of the big females should be released so they can spawn and create a new generation of fish for others to catch.  Oddly enough, when he presents his case for catch-and-release to his anglers, many will listen and follow suit by putting a big fish back.

A spawn-bag hook is removed from this nice steelhead (right).

As is true with the old and famous U. S. Marines motto: Many aspire but few are chosen. This aptly describes the rigorous selection process for the Hall of Fame's Legendary Guides.

Rinckey was officially inducted into the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame on Jan. 12, 2010, and the official announcement to the media was made today. Mark will receive his Legendary Guide plaque on March 20 at the Traverse City Hunting & Fishing Expo at the Howe Arena in Traverse City at about 1 p.m. Anglers are urged to come in and meet this Legendary Guide, talk fishing and take in the show. It's not every day that one gets a chance to meet and shake hands with a true Legend from their area, and you'll find Mark Rinckey the most humble and quiet person you'll ever meet. Anyone seeking a fishing trip on the Betsie or Platte rivers this spring or fall can contact him at Mark Rinckey, 2081 Goose Road, Honor 49640. Phone (231) 325-6901 for more information or to book an unforgettable trip with a fishing legend.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors