Do you love big bluegill?

Friends of the Fliers

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This group is for the anglers that don't want a seldom seen member of the sunfish family to be overlooked...They happen to be one of the prettiest members of the sunfish family....

Location: USA
Members: 17
Latest Activity: Dec 28, 2021

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Flier Sunfish Spawning 2 Replies

I often find Fliers mixed in with other sunfish beds like Bluegill. Some of the biggest Fliers I have ever caught have come out of large Bluegill beds. Has anyone else had the same experience in…Continue

Started by Jeffrey D. Abney. Last reply by Jeffrey D. Abney Dec 25, 2011.

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Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on May 20, 2012 at 12:47pm: A couple Fliers didn't want to be left out this morning. These guys were mixed in with some big bluegill so they had to be aggressive to take this big bait....Pink grub with the curly tail on a 1/32 ounce jig head with no other weight and a very light float.....Many of these fish would strike on the fall, just remove the slack and start reeling! The Flier with the bait hanging out of his mouth was a beautiful specimen......

Comment by Tim Overbaugh on May 14, 2012 at 8:30pm: We don't have these up in the north country, but I wish we did. They look like a cross between a crappie and sunfish, 2 of my favorite fish.

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on May 14, 2012 at 3:47pm: After a near sleepless night with anxiety to wet a line I got out on the Pasquotank River today with pending rain and thunderstorms but they still haven't hit....LOL..... Yesterday I noticed a mockingbird working my front yard vigorously and I determined he was catching black field crickets..Of no significance this is the same bird that helps his self to my brown crickets if I forget to cover the trap or one or two get loose on the boat....When I went to the yard a few minutes before dark the field crickets were everywhere and I managed to snag about a dozen to add to the brown crickets I had already purchased.....Get to one of my Bluegill holes and immediately caught some nice Coppernose and the next throw yielded my personal best Flier at 9.5 inches and 18 ounces......I love catching these fish........Welcome Home!

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on May 12, 2012 at 6:28pm: Picked up a few nice Fliers this afternoon on the Back River down in South Carolina.....Exciting fish to catch and I'll look for some in the Tarheel State starting next week......Biggest one today was 9 inches long and 1Pound 1Ounce.......These fish were crushing Live Crickets.......

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on May 9, 2012 at 4:09pm: South Carolina is one of the few states that has decent Flier fishing.....The state record of 1 pound 4 ounces has stood since 1977.....I have caught a 1 pound Flier in the Low Country of South Carolina but fish bigger than that are very rare.....Here's a few pictures from 5/9/2012 on the Marrington Plantation.....These fish were caught on very small minnows.....The big one I was looking for didn't hit this afternoon but a good thunderstorm did and my fishing was prematurely over because I don't do lightning!

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on May 5, 2012 at 4:25pm: Got out to my Flier lake in South Carolina....Had a good time and caught good numbers but no wall hangers....Several fish of the 37 total were eight inches long.....93 degrees here in coastal S.C. today on Cinco De' Mayo!

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on April 25, 2012 at 4:39pm: Caught another ten Fliers today and this time they hit little live minnows......Still nothing replica worthy but I won't give up......Gators and Bowfins complicated my fishing this afternoon.......Got up into the 80s but very blustery with gusts to 25....

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on April 22, 2012 at 8:41am: Flier fishing has provided me some mental hygiene during a busy time on the road......with weather patterns difficult this year and fish behavior still unpredictable, it has been nice to stab at these seldom fished Sunfish species for some great fun after work...The Little lake pictured can only be accessed from the bank on one shoreline but it's ample to catch fish you just look at those other spots and wander "What If"? But like the Apple Dumpling Gang....you can only put 20 pounds of stuff in a 10 pound bag so I'm having a good time fishing from the bank right now......If you guys catch any Fliers, share some photos and how you caught them with us....

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on April 21, 2012 at 4:52pm: Having only a few hours after work today in South Carolina...I decided to go back to a lake full of Fliers and man I'm thankful that I did.......This place is slam full of Fliers and they are traditionally active first ahead of the other Sunfish and today they were dominant.....I ended up with 37 total Fliers up to 8.5 inches........They were hammering Crickets in and around the stumps and Lily Pads. This five acre holds the best Fliers I've ever caught in South Carolina...I have been releasing all fish hoping to grow the wall hanger........I wouls love to have a pair of 9 inch Fliers all flexed out on a pedestal mount....I'll have a few more chances in this lake before I return home next month......Has me excited to hit my Flier honey holes back in North Carolina and Virginia as well......

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on April 14, 2012 at 4:02pm: Down in South Carolina for a business trip but I got in a little fishing this afternoon and had a Flier frenzy in one of the small lakes I fished.....Lots of vegetation so I believe the oxygen level is somewhat low thus the fliers are thriving and I didn't catch a single bluegill in this lake......Had one 8 inch Flier which was the biggest of the 31 I landed.....It was in the mid 70s and very breezy here in Coastal South Carolina but I was kind of protected by big timber and had a blast....Fished two feet deep near vegetation and the Fliers were smashing the live crickets......A great way to end the work week!