Finally... Bluegills!

[Tailing looper 0]

I bought Terry and Roxanne Wilson's book "Bluegill" this winter and really enjoyed it. I have a few other books on warm water fly fishing but this one really takes bluegill fishing seriously, is very thorough, and has lots of good information.

 

It was a long winter and cold spring here in the Northeast, and the local lakes were slow in warming up. My favorite bluegill lake has finally hit the 60* mark, and things have turned on. I spent the morning in my Outcast FatCat on calm waters. The lack of wind made it fun to fish with my 6 1/2' 2wt. I rolled it myself several years ago with a Pacific Bay IM6 blank and it casts like a true 2wt. I also fish an older Orvis Rocky Mountain Series 8 1/2' 2wt. but, to me, that rod is more of a 3wt. and that's the line I use on it.

 

Today was the first day fishing my new Hook & Hackle "Classic Hi-Floater" WF2F line on the short rod. I was VERY pleased with it, regardless of the fact it cost about half what I would expect to spend on a new fly line. I would have never tried an off-brand line like that if I hadn't read good things about it here. Time will tell if it proves to be durable.

 

I guess I had never taken bluegill fishing very seriously in the past. I just fished for them when I wanted to relax in the float tube on nice days. :-) After reading the Wilsons' book, I was more tuned in to finding the bigger fish and it payed off in fun dividends.

 

I had always had a preference for yellow foam spiders and olive damselfly nymphs as bluegill flies. Today, I tried some Bully Spiders and I can see why the Wilsons regard it is their number one fly for 'gills. Easy to whip up too, although I fought with the silicone mini-legs to get them splayed out in the recommended manner.

 

I had a great time catching those beautifully-colored, hard-fighting little fish and spent the afternoon daydreaming about "what if they grew to 10 or 20 pounds?" I don't think I'd ever fish for anything else!!!

 

Tight lines,

Bob

 

[FlaFly 0]

You talked me into it. I'm going to order a copy of the Wilsons' book. According to Amazon, they also wrote one about crappies. Do you know if it's similarly successful?

 

I mostly fish for bluegills (in Florida) and you're right... they're real easy to catch on popping bugs or rubber spiders, but you get what you get, and rarely does that mean getting a big one. Best I've done recently was three 8 inchers in rapid succession on a beetle spin (ultralight).

[Tailing looper 0]

I think anyone that fishes for bluegills will find the book informative and worth the read. I haven't read their book on crappies. I don't fish for them often but the other book was so informative, I may pick up the crappie book too. ( Not often I want to buy a "crappie" book on purpose....)

 

Yesterday, I probably caught four or five 'gills that were all as big or bigger than what had been my best. I didn't measure them, but they were the ones that made me wonder what I had hooked; the size that you stop and admire them for a moment before turning them loose. I'm feeling stupid for not measuring them as I have a de-liar printed right on my float tube's stripping apron. I rarely remember to use it.

 

These big 'gills were all slowly cruising a small gravel bar that had some sparse lily pads on top, shallow, weedy water to one side and deep water on the other. I also saw a BIG female largemouth and her partner cruising the bar, stopping occasionally to arch and roll on her side while he sidled up next to her. Breeding time! I'm always amazed at how close you can get to fish in a float tube without spooking them.

 

I'm also amazed when I cast a 2WT line with a small fly on a 7' leader up in the shallow water under an overhanging tree or bush and see the water erupt as spooked fish panic like I had just thrown a cinder block in there.

 

After more thoughts about the fun I had yesterday, I'll change my previous daydream to ask "What if they routinely grew to five or ten pounds?" I think they're all I'd fish for. If they DID grow to 10 or 20 pounds, I think you might need a fighting chair and offshore gear to get them in. ;-)

 

Tight lines,

Bob

[RickZieger 0]

Bluegills are great fun to catch. There are many flies made that work very well for bluegills.

The Wilsons talked at SowBug last year about their crappie book.

The fish many resivours and use flies with spinning gear to get deep enough to catch the fish.

I get crappie out of farm ponds all summer long.

 

Rick

[feathers5 0]

Wilson's book is excellent. But, you know what they say, you just can't tell us you caught fish, you gotta show us a picture. HA!

[FlaFly 0]

The world record Bluegill was caught in South Carolina in 1998 and weighed 5 lb. 7 oz. According to fisheries scientists, a 1 lb. bluegill would be 10.5 inches long. A 3 lb. BG would be 14.5 inches. I haven't seen published data for a 5-7 fish, but it must have been close to 2 ft. long! You couldn't get a 20 pounder in your boat. And you'd need a rope instead of a fly line.

[Tailing looper 0]

Wilson's book is excellent. But, you know what they say, you just can't tell us you caught fish, you gotta show us a picture. HA!

 

I was thinking about that a few minutes ago. I wish I had brought my camera. I just finished mowing the lawn after work and as I sat on the porch steps relaxing, I was thinking about just how beautiful those brightly colored male bluegills were. A few summers ago, I was lucky enough to go on a saltwater fly fishing trip to Loretto, Mexico on the southern part of the Baja Peninsula, to fly fish for Dorado (Mahi mahi; Dolphin fish). Their colors were incredible. But I think their size made the colors more impressive. I think if a male bluegill in his full spring spawning colors were three feet long, he might be regarded the prettiest game fish that swims.

 

I promise I'll bring my camera next trip. It's not one of the newer waterproof versions so I get nervous taking it when wading or float tubing, but I do take it occasionally. I keep it in a freezer-weight ZipLok bag, which are pretty durable and waterproof. The new compact and waterproof digital point-'n'-shoots are pretty nice (and pretty pricey). I would have loved to have a photo of the big female largemouth and her boyfriend that I saw yesterday, doing their little pre-spawn dance. With one of those waterproof cameras, I think I could have stuck it in the water and got a great photo... they were in shallow water and it was really bright and sunny out.

 

I do have a photo of my beloved float tube. It's a FatCat in cattail camo color that was offered years ago:

 

Tight lines,

Bob

[mikechell 0]

The world record Bluegill was caught in South Carolina in 1998 and weighed 5 lb. 7 oz. According to fisheries scientists, a 1 lb. bluegill would be 10.5 inches long. A 3 lb. BG would be 14.5 inches. I haven't seen published data for a 5-7 fish, but it must have been close to 2 ft. long! You couldn't get a 20 pounder in your boat. And you'd need a rope instead of a fly line.

It doesn't actually work like that. After a certain length, the Bluegill doesn't get much longer, but they do get fatter. There are some pictures online of 2 lb.+ 'Gills that just look ... FAT.

[Tailing looper 0]

I would LOVE to catch a five pounder so I could tell you all what length it was!!! :-)

 

The Wilson's book (or is it Deke Meyers' float tubing book?) has a map of the US that's shaded to show the record bluegill weights. I live in NY, right on the VT border and usually fish 'gills in VT. If I remember correctly, something like 17 states have bluegill records over four pounds, but NY's record is two-something and VT's is one-something. I guess the odds of me catching a five pounder are pretty darn slim. Sigh....

 

Tight lines,

Bob

[shoebop 0]

I would LOVE to catch a five pounder so I could tell you all what length it was!!! :-)

 

The Wilson's book (or is it Deke Meyers' float tubing book?) has a map of the US that's shaded to show the record bluegill weights. I live in NY, right on the VT border and usually fish 'gills in VT. If I remember correctly, something like 17 states have bluegill records over four pounds, but NY's record is two-something and VT's is one-something. I guess the odds of me catching a five pounder are pretty darn slim. Sigh....

 

Tight lines,

Here you go guys

 

A 5.75 lb suncracker caught in Lake Havasau Ariz. Pending world record. I didn't know they could get that big.

 

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[FlaFly 0]

Mike is right about BGs getting fatter instead of longer. Go to http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/*222.html. From the New York State DEC. A 1 lb. fish is 10.5 inches, a 2 lb. fish is 13 inches (only 3 inches longer). They don't provide numbers up to 3 lb., but looks like they would only be about 14 or 15 inches.

[FlaFly 0]

Sorry.... that link should be ..../9222.html not asterix.

[Tailing looper 0]

 

 

A 5.75 lb suncracker caught in Lake Havasau Ariz. Pending world record. I didn't know they could get that big.

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Holy!!!!

 

You knock the sides of a couple of them and you'd have a pretty nice fish fillet supper.... ;-)

 

Amazing!

 

Tight lines,

Bob

[ditz2 0]

Too bad that sunkracker will not be able to pass along more of that great DNA

[Tailing looper 0]

Wilson's book is excellent. But, you know what they say, you just can't tell us you caught fish, you gotta show us a picture. HA!

 

I was thinking about that a few minutes ago. I wish I had brought my camera. I just finished mowing the lawn after work and as I sat on the porch steps relaxing, I was thinking about just how beautiful those brightly colored male bluegills were. A few summers ago, I was lucky enough to go on a saltwater fly fishing trip to Loretto, Mexico on the southern part of the Baja Peninsula, to fly fish for Dorado (Mahi mahi; Dolphin fish). Their colors were incredible. But I think their size made the colors more impressive. I think if a male bluegill in his full spring spawning colors were three feet long, he might be regarded the prettiest game fish that swims.

 

I need to make a correction on my "prettiest fish that swims" statement. It was the big Pumpkinseeds that were absolutely spectacular to look at, not the 'gills. Sorry for the mixup.....

 

Tight lines,

Bob