Bluegill, The Gateway Drug
Which one of us doesn’t have fond memories of grabbing a spinning rod, bobber, hooks and some worms and hitting the ‘ole fishing hole? For many of us, that’s how we all got started. That little tug was the drug!
Fly Fishing With Kids - Start With Bluegill
A great way to get your kids started in the sport of fly fishing is to fly fish for bluegill. Bluegill are willing participants, more than eager to hit, and they aren’t particularly picky about the flies they hit.
It is still thrilling seeing the popping hit of a large bluegill on the surface hitting your dry offering!
Tips for Fishing Bluegill
If fishing dries, give your fly a slight twitch. That little bit of movement can fool Mr. Bluegill that your fly is alive.
Bring out the bobber. Don’t be afraid to go sub surface nymph with an indicator.
Hit the docks. A fly rod can be a great tool on a boat, kayak, or pontoon in and around docks and structure on ponds. You can basically adjust to jig and go completely subsurface. This is a great technique for crappie too.
Flies for Bluegill
Poppers
A popper, one of the best fly fishing flies for bluegill. They are extra fun because they make the popping sound and you have the visual of the fly making the disturbance on the water. There are many days that the bluegills simply cannot resist the popper! Bass poppers....yup, they work too!
Chubby Chernobyls
Chubby Chernobyls for bluegill can be crazy effective. These are just as good as the popper but are a bit stealthier than a popper. There are days when any fish likes a more natural presentation, and this is it. If there are a lot of grasshopper or water skitters on the pond, then using the old foam fly might be the ticket.
When the fish are lethargic or the water temperature is cold you might have to resort to going down to where the bluegill are. This calls for small nymphs. There is nothing more natural the larval stage of an insect you could present to the bluegill.
Streamers
A streamer imitates a small baitfish. Since all fish can be cannibalistic this is a great way to take advantage of the bluegills voracious attitude. The streamer bite is one of predatory instinct. They will hit it hard. Just make sure you are using an appropriate size for the size of the fish’s mouth…..as in small.
Don’t have a fly rod? That’s OK.
A simple clear bobber above a barrel swivel, some tippet and some dries flies will do the trick. The brown haze is simply deadly with this technique. There are a lot of days that the bluegill just aren’t concentrating on eating worms, or anything else under the surface of the water. They are eating flies on the surface. This technique can give you the best of both worlds.
Panfish Flies
Panfish Flies work well for bluegill. Below are some of my favorite panfish flies.
Tight Lines and Screaming Drags!