What color jig or chatterbait skirt color do you like best to imitate a bluegill in the summer months ?

None of the 3 you choose ?

 

But of those 3 green pumpkin 

Dear how wrong was I, decades of fishing, thousands upon thousands of bass caught with a white skirt spinnerbait when what I should have used was a "bluegill" skirt spinnerbait, which makes me think ..... them lil 'gills don't got no high speed rotating blades on them

 

For largemouths I've found no color , including bluegill, that works as well as black.  Spinnerbaits and chatterbaits, clear water and not so clear.  Not the same for smallies.

 

2 hours ago, Catt said:

None of the 3 you choose ?

 

But of those 3 green pumpkin 

*What's your bluegill skirt color then ?

I like this skirt.

Siebert Outdoors "Bluegill" skirt looks good to me.

Tom

bluegills vary in color quite a bit, some are drab and some are brightly hued. Something green pumpkin with a little purple and orange mixed in works well. The skirt on the SK tour grade swim jig is a good gill imitation, and a good color all around, as are some other dedicated gill colors from other makers. 

Stanley (Vibrashaft) made the best bluegill colored skirt I ever saw. Guess you might call it "bream." Honestly not sure what they called it, but between that and their baby bass color, those two would cover me for the entire summer around here.

I use z-man breaking bream and I've seen some custom ones on eBay that look nice.

I generally look for something with green pumpkin and chartreuse. My water isn't clear so I think that chartreuse is key when imitating bluegill.

3 hours ago, WRB said:

Siebert Outdoors "Bluegill" skirt looks good to me.

Tom

 

Another vote for @Siebert Outdoors "bluegill" skirt. His "pumpkinseed" skirt is also another killer combo I use for bluegill imitation. 

Bluegills are the top forage in my waters. “Imitation”, though, is in the eye of the beholder. So, we’d really have to try and put this through a bass’s cognitive filter —underwater. That’s a complicated and elusive subject. In my mind though, other things trump color/finish. But I like to try just the same. So I like to at least visually suggest “bluegill”. And… I'm not all that sure how much this really matters.

 

That said... I've gone to some pains to "suggest" "bluegill" to bass. I'll “bluegill-ize" (repaint) hardbaits, look for certain plastics colors, and have looked at a LOT of skirts over the years. I've yet to find what I would consider the perfect BG skirt. Although I’ve been a long-time fly-tier, I’ve not yet bothered to make my own, although I’ve considered it.

 

First, we have to define what a BG looks like; they change by age, and seasonally. Most “BG” colors from manufacturers look like they are trying to suggest BG to people, rather than bass. Most are highly colorful, like spawning BGs. But, much of the year, and esp smaller BGs like our northern bass target here, are not highly colored or patterned. The “BG” color I try to mimic is that pale golden-green. I’d prefer a contrasting pale belly and darker back, and some reflectivity on the sides. When I see such skirts, I grab them, bc skirt colors come and go.

 

All this said, the simplest approach, and the one I generally adhere to, is to use dark opaque colors in low visibility conditions, and lighter -esp translucent- colors in more high vis conditions. So, my standards are black, and a pale Pumpkin color. Much to be said for… not trying to say too much, when trying to communicate with wild critters.

 

I’ll almost certainly go to my grave looking for the perfect “bluegill” colors, despite a friend’s sobering comment: “You know, I started catching more bass after I stopped trying to feed them. Reaction strikes are my bread and butter.”

12 hours ago, ChrisD46 said:

*What's your bluegill skirt color then ?

 

I don't do bluegill...I do bream ?

 

9 hours ago, Team9nine said:

Stanley (Vibrashaft) made the best bluegill colored skirt I ever saw

 

Color #124 Golden Bream?

 

I don't have my spinnerbait box here & the picture on the website does it no justice.

 

Here's little thought, if I'm on a spinnerbait bite with whatever "bluegill" color I'll put that skirt on a jig & match a trailer to it.

My favorite Spring time spinner bait. This or white/chart

I like darker colored skirts with a little bit of chartreuse mixed in . I make some of living rubber that is a combination of black ,brown , blue and chartreuse .

Those fish are so many different colors its not funny. I have personally made 17 different skirt colors based on photos people have sent me.

 

Allen

I'm amazed no one has selected black & blue ? ... Many pros in Florida and else where throw this color as they sure aren't imitating shad !

Either black-blue-purple and orange or junebug depending on which one gets the most action on that particular day.

On ‎7‎/‎21‎/‎2019 at 8:41 AM, Raul said:

Dear how wrong was I, decades of fishing, thousands upon thousands of bass caught with a white skirt spinnerbait when what I should have used was a "bluegill" skirt spinnerbait, which makes me think ..... them lil 'gills don't got no high speed rotating blades on them

 

I have gone behind guy that were throwing white spinnerbaits down a stretch of bank with no bites. I make 3 casts with a bluegill pattern spinnerbait (green pumpkin, blue, orange) and catch a 4lber and 2 casts after that I catch a solid 3lb fish. The guys come up after a bit and asked what I was using and I told him a 1/2oz double willow spinnerbait, he then tells me they were throwing the same thing and not even a follow. I mentioned that I saw them throwing a white one and showed him my bait, he told me he only had white and white and chartreuse and so I gave him one of my baits in my "green gill" pattern (watermelon, green pumpkin, and blue). He makes the same run as before but this time he catches 3 bass, and ever since that day he always has different color spinnerbaits with him. I saw him late last month and he had 6 different colors of spinnerbaits in addition to the white one and told me white has been his least productive since I showed him how well my blue gill color worked. So I know without a doubt that fish have become conditioned to white spinnerbaits in my waters, I'm guessing it is that way in a lot of places because most everyone throws white spinnerbaits.