A spring bobber can detect light bites from finicky winter bluegills. / Joe Shead If you wait to feel the classic “thump” of a fish hitting your jig, you’ll miss a lot of subtle bluegill bites.

Bluegills, longears, pumpkinseeds, redbreasts, crappies, and perch provide fodder for fish fries all over the country year. Of course, if you’ve got a big family to feed, you need to catch a lot.

Drop a worm in the water on a summer day and just try to not catch a bluegill ... with negative or neutral fish. If you haven’t already, switch to tungsten jigs. Tungsten is denser than lead ...

In terms of availability, access, and a willingness to bite, it's hard to beat a bluegill ... re ready to fish. During ice season, Brosdahl is fond of dropping Northland tungsten jigs, as the ...