Gotta love them bluegills!

[Fisherboy0301 0]

Too funny! http://flyanglersonline.com/features/bobboese/010509.php

[ScottK 0]

I like that guy. Had never seen one of his articles, but I will read more of 'em now.

[Fisherboy0301 0]

I like just about all the FAOL articles, but Al Campbell is my favorite.

[FlaFly 0]

Great article! I could have written that myself (but nowhere near as well). I do have to admit that the Mainiacs have a point. When the predator population is eliminated, or reduced, more bluegills survive, and generally the lake will be full of undersized BGs. They swarm around bass nests and succeed in eating the fry, thus further reducing the predator population. I don't know the mechanism behind their effect, if there really is one, on brook trout, but I suspect the BGs don't do all those awful other things they say they do. Bluegills will truly eat anything that will fit in their mouths, but generally speaking, their diet is dominated by chironomid larvae. And bass fry if they can get them. The way to control BGs once they get out of control is to dump a truckload of five pound bass in the pond. Or maybe a family of otters, although they aren't to discriminating as to leaving the trout or bass alone. If you can get them under control, then the trick is to stop removing bass. Many smaller Florida lakes are catch and release for bass.

 

I live in Florida, and introduction of new alien species that are not part of the existing ecosystem causes havoc here, so I sympathize with the South Africaans.

[add147 0]

Great read....Very funny but true indeed!

[wvflyfishing 0]

I like it! Any water any time! Gotta get one of those stickers.

[ditz2 0]

Guess I am not a BG fisher.....I got special nice rods (plural) to fish gills and I carry a lot of different flies in a bag with anywhere from 2 to 5 fly boxes. They do contain an assortment of rubber spiders and cork and foam poppers in varying sizes. There is also many other patterns of various sizes. I do make sure there is no grease on my waders when I wear them. The warm months demand wet wading.

[dayhut 0]

I find I get as many bluegill on subsurface nymph flies. The best ones are those that mimic damsels/dragons.

My two faves are the SB Nymph and the Briminator. These are tied small, 12-14 size.

Last season, my two best surface flies were small foam spiders, and bottle brush hackle flies.

 

I don't wade around the mucky bottoms locally, and I haven't had a drink in weeks. Fishing is about fish and catching them.

Whatever and wherever, in my book.

 

I do drive a pickup, though... This is South Carolina, after all.

[ditz2 0]

Did your still break down?

[dayhut 0]

The still? No.

I'm waiting on the next load of corn.

 

It takes it a while to get up here by mule train....