PATTERNS FOR WINTER BLUEGILLS

[willhunsaker 0]

ANY gill fly patterns are welcome

 

will h

[JSzymczyk 0]

I would pick Bully Spider in many colors, woolly worm in black, olive, yellow, and white, and rubber-leg dragon in black, olive, and chartreuse. All in sizes 8, 10, and 12.

[Normand 0]

ANY trout fly will work for bluegills

[sparkleminnow 0]

ANY trout fly will work for bluegills

Bead head caddis larva, sz 12, tied using hare's ear dubbing. Great WINTER pattern. I also tie it in chartreuse. I find that smaller than sz 12, and you'll be digging it out of their gut. Larger than sz 12, and you might miss a few fish.

[Fred H. 0]

try micro buggers on a dry fly hook #10 with a cone head. By using the dry fly hook instead of a streamer hook you keep the profile short and widen the hook gap. Best colors are black & black/char for dark days and silver /gray for light days. And remember when fishing in winter ; (as far as movement is concerned) less is more.

Fred

[nwstreamer 0]

At what temp do the gills stop biting?

 

What part of the country can you fish for gills in the winter?

 

:bugeyes:

[Fred H. 0]

At what temp do the gills stop biting?

 

What part of the country can you fish for gills in the winter?

 

:bugeyes:

I'm not sure about the rest of the country but in SW La. you can fish for any spieces year round

with traditional tackle. Sometimes the fish move too deep to allow good oppertunities with a fly rod though. And I don't know at what temp gills stop biting . I only know at what temp I stop fishing for them.

 

[JSzymczyk 0]

they don't stop biting. We used to catch them through the ice in Pennsylvania and New York. They slow down, but don't "stop".

[jared sartini 0]

ya, they don't stop biting. we ice fish for them every winter here in michigan. if you're able to fly fish for gills in the winter, besides what was already mentioned i would try some midge patterns, grub, and worm patterns. zebra midges are great, and very small so if you aren't going to keep the fish or you just don't want to tie size 18, 20 or smaller nymphs i would try some blood worm patterns in a size 12. try some wax worm patterns and san juan worms. i've done a bit of researching and it says that bluegills optimum temperature is 65-72 degrees. i hope this helps you.

[Futzer 0]

We fish for them through the ice too, but you have to be a good caster. I try at about 60 feet, for some reason those guys that live in the little huts get pretty territorial about their open water.

 

Cheers, Futzer.

[willhunsaker 0]

thanks for all the ideas

 

 

in georgia it never gets to cold for them

[steelie 0]

Good Day,

 

All good suggestions. Don't forget a cream black bead head maggot. Then, depending on location and water temp, be prepared to fish DEEP.

 

Steelie

[willhunsaker 0]

thanks all it worked in my pond espesily the wooly worm

 

 

will H

[Twist 0]

This is a great topic to post on, Winter BlueGill is my favorite fishing. Down here in Florida they bite all year round,and typically you can find them "sunning" in the shallows. Especially in the early morning they will be in the shallows trying to warm up. One of my favorite techniques in correspondence with Fred's "less is more" post about the action, is using a Red or brown hackled dry fly ,Cast it out and tug it under so it starts sinking,give it slight twitches and tugs,before you know it, your line tip will jump,and try to dart away. Using this technique it's not uncommon to get a couple of dozen in a mornings fishing,typical temperature that this style is practiced at ,is between 35-60F. Hope this helps some!

 

-Mark

[willhunsaker 0]

nice like i said it never slows down in ga

 

 

thanks for all the patterns

!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

will h