Small ponds and quarries are prime habitat for jumbo ‘gills. Photo by Ron Sinfelt.

A downrigger rod snaps to attention, and then violently bows over as an outsized Lake Michigan chinook salmon rips 100 yards of line from a screaming reel. The bill of a hungry sailfish whips the water behind the trolled bait, gobbles the lure and leaps 10 feet above the sea.

Your seductively bubbling surface lure suddenly disappears in an explosion of spray as a 4-foot muskie pounces on a seemingly easy meal.

These are the heart-stopping thrills of the angling world we all dream about. The anticipation of such events draws anglers to lakes, rivers and oceans all over the world hoping for the experience of a lifetime.

However, in the real world, few of us ever wet a line in places where such aquatic denizens lurk. While most fishermen will never see such sights except on television, many less exotic fishing pleasures await in numerous small waters close to their homes.

My lifelong obsession with sport-fishing began, as it has for just about all of us, as a boy fervently trying to outwit one of the smallest of game fish, the mighty bluegill.

I learned the basics from my dad, perfected my technique in park ponds and small local lakes and then all around the Midwest. I worked my way up from a cane pole to casting, spinning, and finally fly rods. I never tired of it.

There is something magic about watching a slip-bobber suddenly twitch and make a tight circle before plunging beneath the surface as a big bluegill inhales your tiny offering and makes off with it.

The power transmitted to your wrist by a 9-inch fish never ceases to amaze, and the blending of the ‘gill’s gaudy colors is one of nature’s finest works of art.

Bluegills and kids were made for each other. What better way to ingrain a love of the sport in your youngster than to let him catch plenty of fish? To a young angler, size doesn’t matter; action and success are what count most. After a kid learns how to put a worm, grub or maggot on a hook, toss it out a few feet and actually catch a fish, chances are he’s on his way to a lifetime of good, clean fun.

The bluegill is, without doubt, one of the major reasons angler surveys reveal we go fishing to be one with nature, enjoy the company of friends and relatives and then to catch fish. What better way to enjoy a day than quietly probing a lake in search of bluegills? It’s peaceful, it’s easy and it’s simple. It is just great.

Illinois bluegill addicts don’t have to travel very far to find good fishing. From one end of the state to the other, this popular panfish has prospered, despite encroaching human development. All the little battler needs is a few feet of reasonably clean water, a healthy ecosystem and, strangely enough, sufficient angling pressure to keep the prolific critters from over-populating their habitat.

Bluegills often spawn three or four times between spring and fall. The first and most intense spawning effort comes in late spring. In most cases, I have found that bluegills begin spawning shortly after bass finish their duties. In northern Illinois, this usually occurs in mid-May and continues for three or four weeks. In southern Illinois, spawning activity commences about a month earlier.

The best time to catch big bluegills is when they congregate on their spawning beds. Search for hard, clean bottoms in 3 to 6 feet of water. As a rule, when you find one big ‘gill, there will be many more.