Big bluegill flies?

[Nathan]

Hello all,

I was wondering if any of you fly fisher's out there had a go to pattern for big bluegill. Somethat that seems to attrach big bluegill better than the little guys. A lot of times while fishing for bluegill with small ant patterns I will see a big fish but have 20 little fish on my fly before the big fish even gets a chance to see it. And I know there will probably still be little guys chasing just about fly but I figured I would ask and see.

 

Also do you guys have an out of the box pattern that you use for tricky fish? I have a little pond near my house with some pretty nice pumpkinseeds, warmouth and bluegill but I have not been able to catch any of them on the fly. They have chased afew and hit afew but the few times they did hit I missed them, they seem to just sit in the sun. However, my friend who fishes with worms catches them left and right. The fish seems to be pretty picky to flies as I have tried just about everything I have from woolly buggers to small ants, dries, nymphs and all that.

 

Any help is appreciated! Pictures are always good too. :)

Thanks!

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

I wish I knew!

[Nathan]

Thanks guys. I am gonna try some minnow patterns and see if that will get them. I will try something with rubber legs to see if that will get their attention and tie up some larger patterns to try and trigger a strike.

 

Thanks guys for the suggestions.

[chris kowaleski]

What Mike said, and maybe try a San Juan worm pattern?

[Lynn Recker]

Try a grey, tan, pink or orange scud.

I've also caught bluegill on purple colored wet flies (as well as chartreuse, orange, black and some other colors).  A friend swears by his wet fly tied with purple starling hackles.

Finally, I once tried the steelhead pattern called Chicken Little or Chicken Hawk in pink and also chartreuse.  The bluegill went wild for those flies.

[charlie flanders]

Couple of ideas:

Use a bigger hook on your favorite pattern

I like a Muddler minnow pattern on a 3x #8 Mustad. Can fish it dry or wet.

Lastly try some fast retrieves, they can trigger a big gill into striking.

Good luck and have fun!

[Allen Morgan]

Nathan, in my thread about the Damselfly Nymph, I have a pic of the bug, as well as the recipe for the fly.  I didn't catch any "big" Bluegills on it, but I did get a couple Hybrid Sunnies, that just inhaled the bug and took off so strongly, I thought I had a LMB.

[Steve Totten]

This sometimes fools the worm-eaters.

http://bigbluegill.com/group/flytyingandspecificinstructionsonly/fo....

 I would use as small a bead as possible to make them sink slower

[Nathan]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I have not been after these guys for a few weeks now but I am going to try my hand tomorrow hopefully.

[shooter]

go to you tube and look at (

Tying Michael Verduin's Dragonfly Nymph .

[shooter]

this fly can be tied in a #6 but i like it in a #4  i use a TIEMCO :TMC200R NYMPH  HOOK stright eye  3XL standerd wire semi dropped point  hook.

 i catch big gills and chinks on this fly as well as bass  i use  olive and black rabbit  strips.

 just watch the video,Mike was  true lover of the art of fly fishing.

[shooter]

man you struck a nerve Nathan, the dragon nymph has caught more fish then any fly i use,after over 50 yrs of fly fishing for chinks and gills,it is hands down the most productive fly i tie.

 like Mike i love top water,but when it comes to production the dragon beats them all,any time of year and any weather hot or cold. fished weighted or not this fly can be tied in many variations but Michael Verduin"s pattern works so well although i tie several variations of that pattern it is his dragon that i tie and it catches fish.

 the dragon nymph is found in most lakes and streams and the life cycle of most dragon fly's  is a year and most of that time is spent as a nymph although 3 to 5 yrs for some types.. they are a high protean source for all fish.

[Jesse Denton]

That is a new pattern for me, a little on the complicated side for anyone who hasn't been tying for a while.  Another good pattern that is similar is Carter's Rubber Legged Dragon.  A little easier tye that will catch fish.

Check it out here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Xy3E54UTsw