While bluegills are known to eat just about any bait they can fit in their mouths, wadded-up bread dough is one of the most popular of baits. Unfortunately, once a bread dough ball hits the water, it quickly disintegrates and is stolen. To fix this problem, make a simple dough bait that you cook in your microwave oven. The microwave toughens the dough. This makes the dough bait rubbery and resilient so it can survive longer on the hook, while retaining the scent and color of bread.

Place the flour in the bowl and mix it with just enough water to form a moderately stiff dough.

Enhance your dough bait with scent attractants, such as vanilla extract, creamed corn, onion powder or other flavoring agents. For liquid flavorings, reduce the amount of water used to make the dough.

Remove the dough from the bowl. Knead the dough with a dusting of flour until all of the flour is incorporated and the dough is easy to handle.

Flatten the dough out to form a patty. Place the dough in a microwave oven on a sheet of wax paper. Cook the dough for 30 seconds on medium power.

Pinch a small piece of the dough from the edge of the patty. Roll it into a ball to test it. The dough should have a rubbery consistency. If not, microwave the dough for 15 to 30 seconds more.

Store the dough bait in a glass jar with a tightly sealed lid. Place the bait in the refrigerator until needed.

Make several small dough balls with your bait and drop them in water where you know bluegills inhabit to test your bait flavoring. If the bait disappears quickly, that flavor works in your area. If not, make a new batch of bait and try a different flavoring agent.