As kids, who didn’t love the sight of a bobber slowly going down? Who among us still doesn’t enjoy that sight? For many, our first fishing memories are sunfish taking our earthworm dangling beneath a bobber.

June in the Midwest signifies the beginning of summer, and of bluegill, pumpkinseed, and hybrid sunfish moving onto beds in their annual spawning ritual. Most of us live near waters that abound with sunnies. The bedding period of June provides a great opportunity to find them shallow and aggressive. It is also the time to catch some of the biggest male sunfish in the lake, anytime of the day. With a few simple strategies, you can rekindle fond childhood memories or make some new ones for your kids.

In natural Midwestern lakes, sunnies begin moving shallow to bed anywhere from late May to early June. When water temps in the shallows reach 70 degrees, start looking for bedding sunfish. Bluegills will likely make up most of the sunfish in your lake, but you will probably catch pumpkinseed sunfish, as well as some bluegill-pumpkinseed hybrid sunfish at the same time.

Sunfish are very adaptable when it comes to bedding, but the best places to look for them are shallow shorelines, in water 1 to 5 feet deep. Bottom content should be somewhere between hard and soft. Bluegills do not bed on rocks, nor in mud. Sand, fine gravel, or even clay are good bottom compositions for bedding bluegills.

Swimming beaches and areas between docks often host bluegill beds. On lakes with good weed lines, look for these moderate-hard bottom areas between the inside weed edge and the shoreline.

Male (bull) sunfish, large and brilliantly colored to attract females, move into these areas and begin fanning out a bowl-shaped “nest” in the lake bottom. Female sunfish, in schools suspended slightly farther offshore, begin swimming in to look for a “nest” to lay their eggs in. Brightly colored males circle their bed, attracting females to lay eggs in the bed. Females usually return to school farther from shore immediately after laying their eggs. Males fertilize the eggs in their bed, and then guard the bed until the eggs hatch.

This “security” detail is what makes fishing sunnies on beds so much fun. The fish do not have to be hungry to bite. They will bite at anything that comes near their bed simply to drive it off or kill it. This makes male sunfish easy to catch, anytime of the day.

Tackle for this type of fishing is very simple. I like to search likely areas for sunfish beds with a “horizontal” approach. This basically uses a “panfish-sized spinnerbait” consisting of a 1/16-ounce VMC Mooneye jig with a small “jig-spinner” attached. I tip the jig with Berkley Powerbait 2-inch Minnows or Ripple Shads.

I use the trolling motor to work slowly along an area, keeping the boat out from likely bedding spots and casting the bait to bedding areas. I then slowly retrieve it back to the boat. Forward facing sonar or side-finding sonar can be a real asset in spotting sunfish on the beds to the side of your boat, but if you don’t have this technology, don’t worry. If you come across sunfish beds, the fish will quickly announce their presence.

A 7- to 8-foot ultralight, spinning combo spooled with 4-pound-test Fireline Crystal allows long casts with the light presentation. A moderate or moderate-fast action rod with a “softer” tip that bends further down the rod helps casting light baits, and the extra “give” in the rod makes it easier for fish to inhale the bait on a strike.

If there are bedding bluegills in the area, this technique will find them. Sometimes they will hammer this presentation, and you can catch plenty of fish. Other times, ‘gills will short-bite and be difficult to hook. If so, they will have revealed themselves to you and you can switch to a “vertical” presentation to catch them.

For a vertical presentation, I again like to use ultralight spinning gear with 4-pound-test line. Again, long, 7- to 8-foot rods allow you to cast small presentations for this type of fishing. The longer rod is also good for taking up slack line on the hookset when fishing with a bobber rig. More and more rod manufacturers are recognizing the need for and are making longer ultralight models.

I use St. Croix Panfish Series spinning rods paired with ultralight Pflueger President spinning reels. I tie the Fireline on the reel to a tiny barrel swivel, and then run a leader of 6-pound-test fluorocarbon from the swivel to the same 1/16-ounce VMC Mooneye jig used for the horizontal search presentation. The fluorocarbon enhances stealth and abrasion resistance. I tip the jig with a soft plastic like Berkley Powerbait Micro tubes, grubs or nymphs.

I will also use a 1/16-ounce Northland Tungsten Roach Jig (hair jig) with this approach. I hang this presentation under a small, weighted bobber. This rig casts a long distance and enters the water without too much noise.

You won’t need to let this rig sit very long if you are near an area with sunfish beds. Male sunnies do not want anything but a female sunfish near their bed, so they will instantly attack your bait, often on the fall. If you don’t get bit quickly, move the bait a few feet and let it sit again. If the water is shallow and clear, a good pair of polarized glasses often reveals several fish darting towards your jig and plastic as it slowly sinks beneath the bobber; be ready to quickly set the hook. If you miss a bite, let your bait sit and it will most likely get hit again very quickly.

Looking for more ways to increase your catch rate? You’ll find plenty of suggestions in every issue of MidWest Outdoors. Subscribe on our website.