Bluegill Fly Rodders

Comment

Comment by jim cosgrove on March 6, 2015 at 10:17am

well tony,thats good to hear but surface temp and temps near the thermocline can vary.the problem with the cooling lakes is the water is mixed.more like a hot river than a still water that stratifies.some fish do survive and in the heat of summer stripers congregate near the intake as it is the coolest water and people target them.i dont think they are stocking them much anymore.yellow bass seem to thrive and nave filled the niche once occupied by sunfish and crappies which were plentiful years ago.one of the lakes used a cluster of old strip mines as part of the lake and the tailings were left as islands.one actually looks like a volcano in the middle of the lake.this lake still has bluegills and some smallmouths.smallmouths are my canary in the coal mine as this used to be their peak range.

Comment by B. Waldman on March 6, 2015 at 9:43am

I hear you, Jim. I sold my bass boat about 6 years ago, bought a 16' jon boat with a 10 hp engine, and have caught more fish since. This year I've promised myself I'm going to pull out the fly rod and the long pole and check out a few more overlooked waters from the bank.

Comment by Tony Livingston on March 6, 2015 at 9:43am

Since I grow fish, I keep a close eye on my water temps. Our bluegills do fine even in 95 degree surface temps, as do the largemouth bass. Feeding certainly falls off, but survival has never been an issue. The hybrid striped bass we have in two of our ponds however, are another story. We don't fish for them in the heat of the summer.

Comment by jim cosgrove on March 6, 2015 at 9:41am

well they are either feeding or not feeding.all the confidence in the world wont make them bite.

Comment by jim cosgrove on March 6, 2015 at 9:37am

blue cats can tolerate an even higher temp.they have been stocking them in the nuke lakes and they are getting to incredible size.30 lbers are becoming common.our nuke lakes used to be mush better as the power produced stayed in state.with deregulation they can sell the power whoever they wish so the plants run at a higher capacity than the lakes were designed for resulting in much higher water temps.many species have disappeared and are no longer stocked.the backup coalfired plants are going off line as smaller more local gas fired plants that dont require water are replacing them.these lakes are now going into a more natural state.no more fishing the ON switch when the lake would have a c strong current when the plant was turned on.i sold my big boat and concentrate on smaller queiter electric only or shore fishing these days.i am actually having better success and my beat up body likes me to walk a few miles.. the waves in those cooling lakes beats the heck out of you.

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on March 6, 2015 at 9:36am

Andy-
"...back on track here with the "old baits" comment and fly rods...
Lets say I have a wooly bugger, a nypmh, a popper and a spider and I am gill fishing in a warm month. Why do I feel the need to tie and use other flies?"

It's a question I've asked many times.
I can only attribute it to the 'Everest Theorem.'
Why? Because it's there.

Comment by Tony Livingston on March 6, 2015 at 9:26am

Totally agree Andy.

Comment by Andy is OptiMystic on March 6, 2015 at 9:23am

"belief" = confidence. Just like some people swear by lures others swear at. If you believe in it you work it carefully and are alert for it being bumped. I think the same sort of thing can apply to believing the fish are active.

Comment by B. Waldman on March 6, 2015 at 9:22am

Ray Ditzenberger - You are right on the thermal maximum of fish. Each species has a point at which it commonly starts "shutting down" and stops feeding to conserve energy. Much beyond this point ultimately results in death. It seems to be less studied in the warm water fishes, but there are quite a few studies on cool water fishes like trout, salmon and even striped bass. The 95 percentile limit seems to be around 90 degrees for fish like bluegill and bass. Highest survival temps I've seen for bass are near 100 degrees, with channel cats coming in a bit warmer at 105 deg.

Comment by Andy is OptiMystic on March 6, 2015 at 9:20am

back on track here with the "old baits" comment and fly rods...

Lets say I have a wooly bugger, a nypmh, a popper and a spider and I am gill fishing in a warm month. Why do I feel the need to tie and use other flies?

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