Bluegill Fly Rodders

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Comment by Bill Dungan on February 28, 2015 at 10:40am

Thanks so much for all the good tips and info. I think I need to tie more sub-surface flies now. Carl, I'm going to check out your page too. We have snow here in Eastern Okla. so I might as well enjoy some fly tying for a few more weeks. 

Comment by Andy is OptiMystic on February 28, 2015 at 2:58am

To add a little to what David said, even when fish are surface feeding they will rarely turn down something just below the surface and dark and buggy seems to be a strong preference. When they are feeding below the surface, dark and buggy still seems to be a strong preference. The most boring looking nymph in my box catches a bunch when they are actively feeding.

90% of the stuff we do beyond that is to try to increase their activity when they aren't all that active, IMO. At the other extreme, when they get really active and competitive, they hit almost anything that moves and many things that don't. In another month or two we will all be geniuses because almost everything we have will work.

I think the conversations will soon start to shift to where to fish (deep versus shallow, in the slop, reading current, etc) with mostly the usual suspects as the chosen fly.

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on February 27, 2015 at 11:45pm

Thanks Carl, I got carried away!

Comment by carl hendrix on February 27, 2015 at 11:43pm

by the way Bill-- a pix of those bream killers is on my pix page if you want to check them out

Comment by carl hendrix on February 27, 2015 at 11:38pm

Bill Duncan--  to add somewhat to David-- a dropper on a popper is EXTREMLY deadly!!  a very slow sinking spider;; ant; or the like-- tied onto the hook of a popping bug- roughly 18 in. to 2 feet behind the popper,  and a lot of times i catch 2 gills at one time!!  the spiders i use at that time are called legions bream killer-- super easy tie!!!  the popper actually acts as a float for the spider;; and the gills swat the popping bug constantly;; giving more fun to them!!

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on February 27, 2015 at 9:31pm

Like all fish, gills orient to one of two points in the column:

Surface

Somewhere between the surface and the bottom, aka, Subsurface

Time of year and available forage dictate which.
A difficult reality for most anglers is this: surface feeding and orientation account for about 10-20% of the total fish taken. Put another way, for every surface feeding bluegill, there are many others, watching. It's also a general truth that few genuinely trophy sized bluegill are caught on surface flies.

That said, subsurface flies are then the likeliest to catch fish, consistently.
Poppers are fun, and I love em. But when their bite slows, it's time to look below the surface.

Enter the Wooly Bugger and Bully's Bluegill Spider.
The former is probably the single best streamer-type fly of all time. It's been said that more fish have fallen to the WB than any other.
Bully's Spider is the brainchild of Terry and Roxanne Wilson, members here at BBG. It is a very focused tie, it's recipe quite specific.
Where the Wooly Bugger is forgiving, Bully's Spider is a precise thing.

Do they work on bluegill? Yes!
But size is crucial. Something between 8-12 is about right. Keep the small mouth of the bluegill in mind.

We've all seen those pugnacious sunfish that get themselves hung on crank baits, large spoons and what have you. But bluegill don't always strike to gobble - they tend to "swat" bigger foods first, and come back around for their (hopefully) stunned prey. Those admirable little fish that end up stuck on these big lures are reaction swatting, and are essentially a fluke. Fun, yes- but not dependable.

Bottom line, the forage that triggers bluegill feeding MOST will fit on a nickel.

So, I like bluegill baits a little smaller, and tied a bit sparse. I also prefer somber colors; black, brown, olive and tan/white being preferred. A bit of orange, yellow or red as "trigger spots" is a personal choice. I weight them so they sink slowly, and I really like bead chain eyes on the Woolies.

A few floating flies added to the poppers and the two flies mentioned here are really ALL you need. That's a wet-blanket statement when you consider all the really cool flies you MIGHT tie and fish. But for a first year fly flicker, it's a great place to start.

Comment by Bill Dungan on February 27, 2015 at 8:55pm

 OK, where do Woolly Buggers rank as far as great Bluegill flies? And are those Buggy Bluegill Spiders as great as they say? I hope so as I/ve been busy tie a bunch. I also have hopes for poppers. This is my first year to target Gills with a flared. Thanks

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on February 26, 2015 at 2:06pm

;-)

Comment by Andy is OptiMystic on February 26, 2015 at 12:58pm

Carl, the reason I asked is that I have a hard time rolling the heavier nymphs; they sometimes sink so far before the energy gets there that the loop collapses.

David, I enjoy fly fishing too much to do it when I don't, if that makes any sense.

Comment by carl hendrix on February 26, 2015 at 12:38pm

Andy there is no set rule  for stripping line from the reel to role it out;;  its what your comfortable with..  generally  i strip from the reel 3 to 5 times  and roll it out.  but i have been doing it for a real long time-- about 20 years  or better!!only by practising it-- can you get better with it.  wish i could be with you for some pointers to give ya first hand!!

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