Bluegill - Big Bluegill

Do you love big bluegill?

Hello all,

I signed up for this site a while back, then had a kid (well, my wife did), so I've not been out fishing much since (not complaining at all though!). I'm taking my kayak out tomorrow and plan to do some bluegill fishing on my 3 wt. I'm in South Carolina, and the lake I plan on fishing is probably somewhere in the mid 80 range in terms of temperature.


Anyone else fly fishing for bluegills right now? Any tips on depth, types of flies, etc. I plan on going out pretty early (I probably should have posted this yesterday) so I can maybe catch them a bit closer to the shore.

Thanks for any input and I look forward to contributing some to this site!

Views: 529

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

WELCOME TO THE SITE RYAN, I'D suggest real early and last two hours before dark . Take a nap mid day .......

OH BY THE WAY CONGRATS AND THE BABY !!!!!!!! LOTS MORE IMPORTANT THAN FISHING .........

I'll be fly fishing for bluegill in a couple weeks, here in San Diego. I know exactly what you mean about time to fish when you have kids :-) I have three, the oldest going into 7th grade in the fall, and I haven't been fishing in a year :p They all went to Vietnam for the summer with my wife, to visit her family, and in about 2 weeks I figure I'll be caught up enough on things to go fishing at last, woohoo!

I did manage to get out for a few hours. Caught about 30 or 40 I'd guess. All were around 6 or 7 inches. Had a great time.

Bluegills around my area will pretty much hit anything. Depending on what type of water I am fishing dicatates what type of flies I am using. I really like to use bluegill bullies but only for bigger gills and clear water where I can see my fly. For bank fishing I love to fish caddis or other bug immitations that lay just under the surface, I strip them in quickly in sets of 2-6 and then let sit which in a pond with a lot of bluegill produces just about every cast. Weather over here has been really weird though and it has thrown the fish off big time, my last trip only produced a few fish on poppers.

Bluegills will hit anything that looks like a bug.  The key to successful fly fishing is finding out what they are feeding on.

There is a Hex hatch coming off one of my home lakes.  Gills will take cripples and spinners, but the action is slow.  Now, throw something that looks like a Mosquito in there, and it gets slaughtered.  The reason is that there is a floating crappie dock here, that has a fluorescent light on 24/7.  Thousands of skeeters on the walls and ceiling.

If I go someplace more "natural", then whatever they are feeding on becomes more apparent.  I have luck with Deer Hair Caddis, Muddler Minnows, Purple and Starling soft hackles (no idea what that mimics, but it works), Gurgle Pops, etc. 

Yup, matching the hatch is always good. Don't forget to un-match the hatch though sometimes. Just as an example lets say theres a big midge hatch and fish are actively feeding on it, well I'll throw a big ant or hopper, something that makes a bigger splash and gets their attention off the midges, usually produces some fish! :)

Thanks for all the tips. Took my son out hiking today and saw a ton of beds with fish on them. I figured it was probably too hot for them to still be on the beds but then again I don't know a whole lot about bluegill (which is why I signed up for this forum!). I'm going out in my kayak tomorrow evening so hopefully I can get a few. 

they do spawn more than once some years ryan.full moon this weekend so right on schedule.i have caught a few monsters in july off beds even tho they had already spawned in june.dont get too close and if they spook give them some time they will return.have fun and take some pics

Bluegill spawn multiple times every year in the South.  The largest spawn usually happens in April or May, but there will be some percentage of the population of most water bodies spawning throughout the summer.

That is good to know!

Thanks for the info. Will definitely take some pictures (if I catch some good ones)

RSS

Latest Activity

John Sheehan commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

Spoon Bass

"Thanks Jeff!"
4 hours ago
John Sheehan commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

Rattle Trap Bass

"Yes, the front one at least! What do you suppose happened there ,Jeff?"
4 hours ago
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

Rattle Trap Bass

"Another good bass…..his dorsal fin is almost gone completely….."
4 hours ago
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

25"+Spoon Pick

"Big chain, very nice!"
4 hours ago
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

Spoon Bass

"Nice bass John!"
4 hours ago
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on John Sheehan's photo
4 hours ago
John Sheehan added a discussion to the group Lure History
Thumbnail

Discontinued Lures

Some of my favorites I can't find anymore: Acme Fash King Flutter Spoon, Eppinger Flutter Chuck,…See More
23 hours ago
John Sheehan posted photos
yesterday
John Sheehan commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

25"+Spoon Pick

"25+inch Pickerel was best of the 13 Fish caught today a day after the Worm Moon. Two Bass and the…"
yesterday
John Sheehan commented on dick tabbert's photo
Thumbnail

IMG_0186

"1/16th oz., good!"
yesterday
dick tabbert commented on dick tabbert's photo
Thumbnail

IMG_0186

"These are my last build. I added more colors."
yesterday
dick tabbert commented on dick tabbert's photo
Thumbnail

IMG_0186

"No Jon I went with the 1/16 oz jig heads so I could have a larger hook for crappies. It's a #4…"
yesterday
John Sheehan commented on dick tabbert's photo
Thumbnail

IMG_0186

"Colors are great !"
Monday
John Sheehan commented on dick tabbert's photo
Thumbnail

IMG_0186

"Thats a good Crappie size! Are they 32nd Oz Jigs?"
Monday
dick tabbert commented on dick tabbert's photo
Thumbnail

IMG_0186

"They are right at 2" long."
Monday
John Sheehan commented on dick tabbert's photo
Thumbnail

IMG_0186

"I Can see Crappie and Bass chomping on them, Dick!"
Sunday
dick tabbert commented on dick tabbert's photo
Thumbnail

IMG_0186

"I made these up for crappie in mind. They might be a little big for gills unless it a bigger gill."
Sunday
John Sheehan commented on dick tabbert's photo
Thumbnail

IMG_0186

"What Species you got in mind for these great Minnow ties , Dick?"
Sunday
dick tabbert posted photos
Sunday
John Sheehan commented on Sam k.'s group Trout Bums
""Trout Season opens April 6th 2024 in New Jersey. Waters are runnin' high for…"
Sunday

© 2024   Created by Bluegill.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service