Bluegill Fly Rodders

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Comment by Allen Morgan on September 14, 2016 at 5:32pm

I fly fish for all sorts of things.  Including Trout, although I'm not very successful at it.  I have flies all the way down to size 26!  I agree with everyone else, as well.  Tying small is a challenge in itself.  Not to mention actually tying the bug onto my tippett!  Also, like Mark said, the smaller flies tend to change the wee little 'gills. 

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on September 14, 2016 at 4:17pm

I quit tying smaller than #14.
Its just not worth it.

Comment by carl hendrix on September 14, 2016 at 9:34am

ROB;; I TOTTALLY AGREE WITH BOTH MARK; AND DICKY;; JUST BEING ABLE TO SEE; TO TYE THOSE SMALLER HOOKS ; IS A ADVENTURE IN ITSELF !!  ALSO; THINK ABOUT THIS;;  AFTER YOU TYE UP A FEW OF THOSE SMALLER HOOKS;; THEN; YOU ACTUALLY HAVE TO TIE ONE ONTO YOUR FISHING LINE !!  NOT FUN !!  AND; IF  MOTHER NATURE IS AT HER BEST;; YOU OPEN UP YOUR SMALLEST FLY BOX;; ONLY TO HAVE A REALLY GOOD WIND START TO BLOW; AND THERE GOES SOME OF YOUR PRECEIOUS FLIES !   I TRY TO LIMIT MY FLIES ;; TO A NUMBER 10 HOOK;; TO A NUMBER 6 HOOK..  ITS JUST EASIER FOR ME TO SEE TO TYE THEM UP; NOT TO MENTION; TIE ONE ONTO A FISHING LINE !!

Comment by Mark Stine on September 14, 2016 at 9:08am

Rob, I am pretty much right in line with Dick on #6 to #12's;  I do #14s on some epoxy ants and a couple "soft hackles" I like to use as droppers hooks any smaller and I seem to catch three and four inch gills.

Comment by dick tabbert on September 14, 2016 at 8:37am

Rob most tie larger flies because our eyes ain't what they use to be. In my opinion most bluegills flies from #6 to #12's work well  and catch fish. But if we really set and think about it sometimes smaller is better especially as we get into fall and early winter so your only limited in our case is what you can see to tie. I ordered some small hooks yesterday in hopes maybe I can tie some smaller stuff I guess with my aging eyes and my big hands it will be a challenge in the making. So to some it up its not a bad thing to have a variety of flies in numerous sizes.

Comment by Rob Hilton on September 14, 2016 at 8:03am

I was wondering how small of a fly hook some members have gone to. I rarely tie anything under a 12 but have been reading some stuff lately about finicky bluegills hitting nothing but 16 anbd 18 even 20's. Thoughts ...

Comment by Ray Ditzenberger on April 4, 2015 at 4:23pm

Carl....I am curious as to where you live and which SA line you had problems with. Some lines are made for cold temp and some are made for warmer temps and then there are some made special for the hot tropics and they don't interchange well. If you use a warm area line in cold water they will get quite stiff. If you use a cold water line in warm water they get quite soft and don't work well.  Just a thought. I personally partial to SA. I would for 3M when they owned SA. Those old old lines I mentioned before were SA. My last stay in FL I was using an old 9wt SA and I noticed it had about a million cracks in it. I went ahead and used it and it did fine. I trashed it when I got home and bought the new Wulff. That old SA salt water taper AirCell Supreme, which was their top of the line offering when I bought. That line was at least 30 years old so it deserved to be cracked.

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on April 4, 2015 at 3:52pm

.... And I'm just gonna say Carl it sound a like you've solved you problem:
"Cortland makes a good descent line in 333 for around 36 dollars. Corrtland 444 is also good- at around 60 dollars..."

Do some shopping around and you'll knock 20% off those prices.

Problem solved.

Comment by carl hendrix on April 4, 2015 at 3:43pm

Marty; and Ray;; thanks guys;; this is the type of information i was wanting!!  the SA line i had problems with before;; it kinked un-merceiful!! cast very poor; I have 3 ;3 wt rods; 2 in a 5 wt; and a 8 wt rod. it gets expensive buying line for all of them-- just trying to find out what other guys have tried; and preferr!

Comment by Ray Ditzenberger on April 4, 2015 at 3:15pm

I will jump un here again. I have several old line. I am embarrassed to tell how old and I have some new lines. The new ones do seem to work better or at least shoot better. My old line just don't want to shoot. I also have some high end lines and some moderate and some cheap lines. Perssonally I can't tell a lot of difference between the good and the cheap. The biggest difference as I see it is the shootability. My old lines don't shoot very well nor do most of my cheap lines. I also have SA, Rio, Cortland, Wulff, Cabelas, BassPro, and a couple of really off brands. My first wf line was a Herter's line and it was terrible. Other than that I don't find a lot of difference. I have never had a line that the tip would continue to float for even a half day of fishing. I paid some big bucks for a Rio 5wt that I don't really car for but it has a an extra long front taper and that maybe the reason. I have a 9wt Wulff that I can cast farther than any line I own but I have never had it on the water but I love the 100' casts for the salt. I have 3 lines for my 7wt one is high dollar but it has yet to be wet as well. The other one is a Cabelas saltwater line and it works fine. Also this winter I bought a $20 SA at WalMart and it does a great job but it has never been wet either. I have an off brand 6wt that doesn't shoot for crap but it casts just as well as the rest of my lines. For my 2 thru 5wt rods I have SA, Cortland, BassPro, Cortland 333 and maybe a Cabelas thrown in. I, again, find little difference between any of them. They cover the full price spectrum. I have heard good things about the Cortland 444 but I have never use one so can't say. The final result of all this is that unless I am looing for something special like a real shot head with a short front taper I intend to stick with low end lines for my general sweet water fishing and the $20 SA at Walmart is a great deal IMO. ....No line will fix casting issues and I have some of those also. Some of these line I bought out of need and a few I bought out of curiosity.

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