question 1. bluegill flies

[DrLogik 0]

I don't tie or use anything out of the ordinary. A simple hopper, cricket, beetle, ant or any other terrestrial pattern usually knocks 'em out for me and my sons. A big Chernobyl Ant really gets their attention and is more fun trying to watch them eat it but they generally can't if it's a really big one (2"+ long). If you have a dinner plate sized bluegill nearby though it will devastate them. The fun factor ranks right up there as the big boy on the block always tries his hand and can't get it down either unless he's that dinner plate alpha male.

[Li'lDave 0]

Woolly bugger catches everything.

agree!!

[bryan_w 0]

I fish for a lot of bluegill in Northern Alabama. My favorite is a "Plan B" for big bream. A "plan B" is pretty much a wooly bugger with Iegs and bead chain eyes. I also have a lot of luck with the "Panfish Polecat" Both flies can be found on warmwater fly tyer. Let me know how they work if you try them.

 

http://warmwaterflytyer.com/pond.asp?page=5

[thinkingredneck 0]

Cajun coachman, McGinty with white calftail wing, black nymph with black bead head amd pearl crystal flash rib. Suspend under generic popper. I use a yellow popper for visibility.

[DrLogik 0]

.

[JSzymczyk 0]

don't make the mistake of using too small a hook for crappie. They have big mouths, and aren't called "papermouth" for nothing. Lots of fragile membrane and not a whole lot of meat for a hook to bite into.

 

I've had great results on shallow crappie with a very simple fly, size 6 standard light wire hook, like a standard dry fly hook, marabou tail as long as the hook shank, Ice Dub body, and a bead head.

 

In off colored waters down south I had good results with crappie on a size 6 chartreuse woolly bugger with a cone head. Also bucktails such as a Clouser Deep Minnow in black/purple has always been good for crappie, for some reason.

[FlaFly 0]

You're right Joel. Down here in Fla, folks tend to use size 6 for crappies, even with live bait. I seem to remember using even larger (thin wire) when I was a kid... my Dad used cane poles and minnows, but somehow 6 seems small to me... at least smaller than we used back then. But at my age, maybe that was much earlier in the evolution of crappies :-)

[skeet3t 0]

I agree with poopdeck- bluegill will eat anything. Just tie some red yarn with a short tail around a hook . You can let it float or weight it to sink. My mother used to play around with bluegill in a shallow place with a short piece of bamboo pole, four feet of line and a hook with a piece of red cloth on it.

[mikechell 0]

... bluegill will eat anything.

And again, I will refute this with the fact that ... small trout will eat anything ... small bass will eat anything.

If all you want to catch are small fish, Bluegill or any other kind, then a piece of yarn on a hook will do it.

 

If you want to catch trophy sized fish, Bluegill or any other kind, then you'll need to be a bit more precise in fly selection, a bit more stealthy in approach and a bit more accurate on delivery.

[skeet3t 0]

Plus finding out where they hang out. I caught two bluegill over 8 inches in two feet of water, hanging out by a stump. Usually the bigger ones are in the deeper water, requiring a weighted fly.

mike, my biggest trout was caught on a sulphur in September when sulphurs weren't hatching. I guess the fish didn't look at the hatch chart. I do agree with your last sentence- there is more that just flinging flies out there. That is why fly fishing can be frustrating at times.