25 replies to this topic

[novabass]

Will bluegill bite on trout flies?

[oatka]

Heck yeah! That's how I started fishing for warm water species. I went to a pond with a guy to test out his new fly rod. I normally would have used spinning gear, but decided to use my fly rod since that's what he was using. I caught more bluegill in that HOUR than any SUMMER in the past. I was using trout flies. Bluegill don't really care what you throw at them. My advice is to keep it moving....even if slowly. It forces them to decide if they really want to bite. If you let it sit too long they might just stare at it and give up.

Good luck!!!

[RickZieger]

Yes they will.
Another thing to consider is that many folks have developed flies that work great for warmwater flyfishing.
There are several sites that have alot of info on this.
I have outfished several folks using trout flies with flies designed for panfish.
Rick

[Mickalo]

The Copper John & Hare's Ear are one of the most productive "Traditional Trout" flies I've used here in my neck of the woods. We don't have any trout waters in my area but most panfish will hit those flies just as well as any fly specifically tied for panfish or smallies.

Mike

[steeldrifter]

As the other guys have already said, gills will take trout flies no problem. Just because a fly is deemed as a certain type of fly doesn't mean it won't catch other species. I caught one of my biggest gills on a bass/trout deer hair mouse, and some of my best trout streamers were actually originally designed as saltwater patterns. So don't be afraid to experiment a bit

Steve

[Peterjay]

Bluegills will eat anything that even vaguely resembles a bug. When I was a kid, I developed my fly fishing skills on a farm pond that contained a huge population of bluegills. All you need is some chenille wrapped on a hook - just let it slowly crawl along the bottom and keep a tight line. Just about anything tied for trout will also take bluegills.

[novabass]

Okay, that is great news!
I actually figured they probably would, but I wanted to see if you guys had experience with it, so I'm glad to hear it does work. I have more lakes here that have bluegill than I have trout streams. But I really enjoy tying trout flies more than any other.

I was at a private lake yesterday that had more bluegills and redear(shellcrackers) more than anything else and they were aggressive little farts too!

[TheCream]

Oh they'll take them, but also remember that they will flat out destroy them. Quickly. I learned my lesson early on in fly fishing (before I tied much) when I went through a large portion of my trout flies on hungry bluegills in the matter of a few outings. I tie a lot of bluegill stuff now, both for me and friends. Bluegill flies need not be fancy, but I do try to make them durable. Simple foam spiders are awesome, as are "critter" type flies made with mostly chenille, rubber legs, and maybe a marabou tail.

[utyer]

Bluegills will eat anything that doesn't eat them first. All those chewed up, raggedy looking trout flies, or your "failed" attempts, will work great.

[imx]

like already stated they work...i tore up the crappies and bluegill this weekend on a #10 woolly bugger. my two favorites are a prince nymph and a size #8 dragon fly nymph.

[C LeBo]

It is also SUPER fun to take bluegills on dries. My favorite is using a olive Elk Hair Caddis, dry or wet!

[WiperDawg]

Small bead head buggers (usually white or yellow) and bead head princes really tear em up here in Colorado, but as already stated, if you find them and they are hungry, it doesn't much matter what you use.
Wiper Dawg  IMG_1532.JPG   1.04MB   29 downloads

[deeky]

Will they work? I'll respond with a question - why waste a good fly on a snobby, high-brow, finicky trout?

Ok, add a great deal of sarcasm to that question, but seriously, cast away. It's great fun for beginners (better than trout in my serious opinion) all the way to life-long flyfishers.

Deeky

[perchjerker]

The only thing I can add to what has already been posted is the very simple fact that the major groups of acquatic insects ('bugs') that inhabit 'so-called' trout waters, mayflies, caddis flies and stoneflies, and which the "Trout Flies" mimic, also occur in the very same waters inhabited by bluegills, and other of the smaller members of the sunfish ('bream') clan; even here in the south. Furthermore, large bluegill can, and definitely will, become very selective feeders during 'hatches', just like trout! Remember, a fish is a fish is a ....

Believe it or not, the fabled Hexagenia limbata of the Great Lakes, and other parts of the U.S., where it's hatches are often detected on airport radar systems, also occurs here in my neck-of-the-woods on the upper Texas Gulf Coast (Houston/Galveston area.) The local 'gills love both the adults and the nymphs!

Cheers!

Frank

[ditz2]

BG (a term for all sunfish) can be very selective and sometimes they want the fly to just sit with no movement for agonizingly long periods. I always have a good selection when I hit the water for gills. I always start with floaters but it does not take long to decide if that is not what they want. One of the biggest gills I have ever caught was on a size 1 Micky Finn. It might have been a 1/0 even. I am still amazed how he got it in his mouth. I mostly use size 10 hooks but I do get a bigger average fish when I use 8 or 6's. Larger gills don't seem to have a problem with up to size 4 hooks and I am not talking about monsters either. Just good sized gills. I have fished gills for 60 years and I still enjoy them.