I fish strictly with trout flies for gills using the same flies as I did for trout. Here in upstate New York, the gill fishing is just getting hot about the time trout fishing is winding down. Like right about now and throughout the hot part of summer. I use the same wet and dry flies I use for trout. My favorite wets are colorful types and old standbys like Professors, Grizzly Kings, etc. When I fish dries I mostly use Royal Wulffs, Yellow Sally's and other bright, attractor patterns like those, but over the years I've discovered that gills aren't really all that fussy. What are some of your favorite flies and/or poppers?
Boogle Bullets, Micro Me Poppers are some of my favorite topwaters for bluegill. A bit more expensive than betts poppers but I like them because they are very durable. I also tie some of my own and I agree I don't find the bluegill to be very fussy about what they eat, if it looks like a bug, it will do the job.
i fish trout flies for gills also,i use a lot of Bill Everhardt's yellowhammer patterns,two of my best producers are his yellowhammer nymph and his sheep fly .
i also fish a lot of leggy sinking spiders,and dragon nymphs,i also tie an estaz shrimp that workes well on chinks(red ear).
my favorite is this wierd little popper i got at a fishing camp and nailed a 8 1/2-9 incher on
it white and fat but kinda of pointy so more of a slider.
ftb95
For most of the water I fish, I like these: #12-14 Royal Wulff, #18 Griffith's Gnat, #10 popper (mostly black-over-chartreuse or white with black spots), #10 black Wooly Bugger, #12-14 yellow nymph, #12 Parachute Adams and Irresistable, #12 Green Paradrake. Wish I could remember where I got the yellow nymph 'cause the gills hit that when they ignore everything else, but I can't find the proper name for it. Think of a Pheasant Tail with yellow body and no legs. I may have to resort to tying them myself. :-D