What are the best flies to use for bluegill

[Guest]

There are days when 'Gills will hit almost anything, and days when you can't buy a bite from the big ones. Those are the days when a fly really proves it's worth.

 

 

Generalities:

 

Movement and color are, in order, your primary triggers. This is why rubber legs (Spiders) are so popular and effective, because the legs are a great trigger. The wet fly above with the herl body and the wrap of hackle is very similar to one of the all time best 'Gill flies, which of course, I cant' remember the name of. (I'm not on my home computer - when I am, I'll get the name and a picture) It goes like this:

 

Thread: Black

Hook: #10 Nymph

Weight: 4 turns of .20 lead wire

Body: medium Black chenille:

legs: 4 white round rubber

 

Tie as the fly in the picture above, being sure to wrap the weight near the butt of the fly, so that it sinks tail first. You want a very slow sink on this fly, even if you are fishing 'Gills sitting deep, because it's meant to tease them. Attach the rubber legs so that they point out to the sides, two on a side. When you cast this fly, let it sink slowly, with no action at all. If this doesn't produce, or you think it should produce more quickly, give it the occasional slight twitch on the way down. This isn't my fly, but I'll have to get the name of the guy credited with it at home tomorrow.

 

Bluegills will certainly hit a suitably sized streamer as well. Big Bluegills feed on minnows, so it's a natural fit. One of my favorites is:

 

Thread: White

Hook: #10 Streamer

tag: red marabou

body: silver braid

wing: grey Zonker hair (Cut from skin) reaching just short of tail.

eyes: mono

head: either the same braid as the body, or the thread. I haven't noticed a real difference in effect.

 

This fly started as a Damsel nymph, but mutated. In form it still is one, but the materials make it a minnow.

 

Small Wooly Buggers will do the trick too. Black, White, Yellow, Brown and so on.

 

There are days when you must use a natural to get them to bite. They can be as selective as trout sometimes. I have had days when they wouldn't hit anything but an Adams dry. Surprisingly, many days. Lake Arthur, in Moraine State Park, Butler County PA, has a Caddis hatch every Summer that turns the fish off everything else. This hatch is tremendous, and if you want live bait, all you have to do is stand still in the water for a minute or two, and you will have several adults crawling on you. EVERYTHING keys on these, even the Bass. A little kid I had fishing with me once grabbed one and stuck it on a number two hook, cast, and within 90 seconds, caught a beautiful 3 1/2 pound Smallmouth. It wasn't a coincidence either, as I've learned in the years following. At these times, everything in the lake hits anything Black of the appropriate size.

 

However, after a couple weeks of this hatch, the bigger 'Gills start to become selective. The best way I've found to fool them then is to use black+movement. Solution? The first fly I described, but with black legs. Yes, it makes that much of a difference.

 

If you want to weed out the little guys, don't be afraid to go up to as much as a size 6 hook. The bigger fish can take it in. A size 6 Wooly Worm with a Brown or Black body and red tail is a good choice.

 

Don't forget topwater! Small poppers, Spiders, Crickets are all good choices. The most popular colors are Black, Yellow, White and Red for Spiders.

 

When you get a chance, wade out about thigh deep in clear still water. Drop your offering within a couple of feet of you, and watch as Bluegills hit. Don't set, just watch. I guarantee, if you haven't watched it before, you will be very surprised at how fast and how subtly a Bluegill can taste and reject your fly!

[redneck 0]

Thank yau'll for all the information, I know it will help, I can't wait to get out there fishing for them, LOL. Tomorrow I'm going bass fishing though at Lake Allatoona, I can't wait. Hey Redneckfisherman, that would be great! If your dad has a problem with it, just tell me and I will try and pay for the supplies. I can't wait for the BDO get together and meet you and the other guys. You're younger than I am and you're the one that has all the experience out of us two, LOL, but it's cool though. I appreciate all the help you've been giving me with fly fishing, and I will pay you back some time. We will talk more through AIM bud, Redneck.

[Guest]

luvinbluegills, the first fly you describe sounds like a "Rubber legs" although some versions may have other regional names. Tied with a forked rubber tail it's called a "Girdle Bug"

[Guest]

Okay, finally had a chance to look at the book where I first saw this fly. Terry and Roxanne Wilson claim to have started developing this fly in the seventies, and call it the "Bully's Bluegill Spider". Of course, this could take us back to "Is there anything new?" but I ain't goin' there!

[Guest]

I don't know who should be credited with the invention of that fly, but I know it's been around awhile. It could easily have been simultaneously discovered by 100 tyers in any part of the world as simple a pattern that it is.

 

It certainly is a fine fly & one of the patterns I recommend to beginning tyers that is easy to tie & use.

 

I'm glad you're not going there!

[dayhut 0]

luvinbluegills: Okay, finally had a chance to look at the book where I first saw this fly. Terry and Roxanne Wilson claim to have started developing this fly in the seventies, and call it the "Bully's Bluegill Spider". Of course, this could take us back to "Is there anything new?" but I ain't goin' there!

 

Jim Hester in MD : I don't know who should be credited with the invention of that fly, but I know it's been around awhile. It could easily have been simultaneously discovered by 100 tyers in any part of the world as simple a pattern that it is.

It certainly is a fine fly & one of the patterns I recommend to beginning tyers that is easy to tie & use.

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Pretty sure Terry and Roxanne are the originators of Bully's Spider. I knew it immediately from your excellent description, redneck. There are imitations and a lot of variations on the theme, but the story of its origin is there in the WIlson's book, "Bluegill... Fly Fishing and Flies." In this case, the designers are both alive and approachable... if you want, you can reachTerry at BigBluegill.com where he is a member. Ask him.

 

And while it seems like a little bit of nothing to the experienced fly tyer, according to their account there is nothing "simple" about Bully's development. It was quite a labor of love to get it to its present state. The techniques and materials are not complicated, that much is true; but the recipe is VERY specific with a designed purpose for each element. The Wilson's prefer 'Bully's Bluegill Spider' in overall yellow with white legs, by the way.

 

As for the question, "Is there anything new?" The only practical reponse has to be a "yes." You are limited only by your imagination. Now, if by "new" you mean revolutionary and able to assure your fortune into perpetuity, well - there are no guarantees of that.

[dayhut 0]

Most of my favorites are subsurface flys.

 

Small Wooly buggers size 8 or 10

 

 

Soft hackle wet flys, size 10 - 12

 

 

A rubber legged thing that I copied from a bought fly whose name I can't remember. produced well this year. If this had some foam on the back it would be close to the spider mentioned above.

 

 

And finally a maribou muddler size 8-12. I prefer them unweighte

The Wooly Bugger has a glas bead head? Good call there. I like them for the moderate sink rate.

That rubber legged "thingy" is one In going to have to try.

[Christopher K 0]

take a look at your fly box, you see that trout fly in the corner that you've never found a time to use? That's the magic fly

[Flyunder 0]

I like the top bead head one

[gregmuri 0]

I tied a bunch of these and they worked like a charm

[J0Gu7 0]

 

[J0Gu7 0]

 

[nicktrap 0]

Here is a link to a site with a lot of warm water fly patterns, how to tie them and best ways to fish them. Most of the rubber leg patterns are great for gills.

http://www.warmwaterflytyer.com/welcome.asp

 

Best of Luck,

Nick

[RogueFlies 0]

Here in Southern Oregon, basically anything worms for bluegill, dries especially.