Bluegill fishing at Twin Lakes

I am still trying to catch up from last week. Last Thursday I traveled to Preston, Idaho, to try for bluegill for the first time in over 30 years. They did not disappoint me.

In four hours float tubing on Twin Lakes I caught over a hundred bluegill up to 9 1/2 inches and six small largemouth bass. It was great fun. All were caught using a sinking fly line striping a beadhead Mity Mouse (as you can see in the pictures hanging from the mouths of the fish.) I did not have to fight other fishermen as I was the only float tuber and the three other boats fishing went to the other side of the lake.

I fished three other lakes near Preston and two of them skunked me. Winder and Condi Reservoirs did not produce for me and I fished each for about an hour. I could have been fishing wrong, but I was fishing the same way I did at Twin Lakes. Johnson Reservoir treated me a little better as I caught a lot of small bluegill.

I also checked out Glendale and Lamont Reservoirs, but they were very busy with recreation watercraft. Glendale was covered with visitors from Utah and Lamont had all the local teenagers sunbathing and showing off to each other.

I decided to finish the day out at Twin Lakes and met a local fisherman putting his boat in.

Here is his assesment of the lakes:

Twin Lakes - the best around for big perch, bluegill, and bass with some trout and crappie there.

Condi - mostly dead with a few fish early in the spring. (Ruined by the F&G by making it a trophy bass lake and then forgetting about it.)

Treasureton - Same as Condi except for trout instead of bass.

Glendale - taken over by Utah waterskiers.

Lamont - good before the kids get on it.

Foster - forget it.

Johnson - Second best to Twin Lakes, but have to fish it early in the day.

I had a great day but had to battle the wind to get off the lake as a storm rolled in.