Fly Fishing For Bluegill

Visions of bluegill fly fishing danced in my head as the cold front proved to put the bluegills down with just a rare take in deep water with a cricket. Just the day before, big bluegills were pouncing our red worms and crickets in all depths providing ample fun for the kids and adults alike, fun that was much missed on this day after the front. That is until the wind began to kick up. I knew that I could get a few bluegills with a fly rod now.

By now the kids had lost interest in bluegill fishing and begged to go back to the cabin. I was also ready for some lunch. We stayed a little longer and it’s a good thing. We witnessed a great spectacle unfold before us. A grasshopper hatch and a big one! Bluegills began to surface all around us as we attempted, unsuccessfully, to entice one to our bait.
The sight of rising bluegill did little for the kids moral but for dad the rise was wonderful and the fly rod was just a few minutes away by electric motor and rigged with a popper fly to boot. Ok are we ready to go in now. Yes sir was the enthusiastic response throughout the small jon boat and the trolling motor began to push us slowly yet quietly back to our cabin by the lake.

Strong gusts of wind began to move through the trees and as I made my way back out, fly rod ready, I noticed grasshoppers everywhere. I attempted a few cast in the open water. I had no takers even though there were several bluegills feeding around my popper. Maybe the hoppers were too plentiful and the area too great for them to single out my presentation. I’m sure with some patience I could have come up with some fish but decided to move to the shore line where the boulders and stumps could help me pinpoint the location of the bluegills as they waited patiently at their respective ambush points to pounce on an unfortunate grasshopper carried reluctantly from the grass and trees to the water’s surface.

I began my search for the big bluegills, which I knew prowled the small lake, with untargeted casts along the shoreline with no takers. The activity here was much less than the open water as the many swirls and splashes behind me indicated. I was thinking about moving back out in the open water as I spotted a huge stump just under the surface next to the bank. I made a point this time to place the popper tight to the shoreline and work it over the stump.

The fly landed with a plop next to shore. I waited a good twenty seconds then twitched the popper ever so slightly and waited again. On the third twitch, before the ripples could fully dissipate, I saw a large bluegill come from somewhere in the stump and engulf the small popper before turning towards the darkness of his domain. I set the hook and turned the big bluegill before he reached the tangled roots below. A pattern was born and I worked the bank this way for a couple hours of topwater action including a couple good bass.

Some people, including myself, take bluegill for granted. We tend to believe we can just simply throw a bait or fly anywhere and pick up a few bluegill and oftentimes this is true. However, when searching for big bluegills it can sometimes be a challenge. You might find a school of a hundred while other times they are scattered and holding tight to cover as I found out on my bluegill trip to Tennessee.

On this particular day I did better with my fly rod than with conventional tackle and crickets. Then a cold front blew in and slowed down the bite. The front had turned the bluegills off. When the grasshoppers began to hit the water they just couldn’t resist them kicking around on the surface of the small Tennessee lake.

Big bluegills on a fly rod is as exciting as it gets, especially on a two or three weight fly rod. Sometimes a four weight fly rod for bluegills is needed if you are unable to get out of the wind. Small rubber leggy poppers are fine. I tried cutting the rubber legs off my popper because it seemed too bulky. Didn’t get any strikes until I tied a new popper on and left the legs attached. Of course you will need floating fly line with a leader of 2 to 4 pounds. You could tie your own tapered leader or purchase a machine tapered leader. The easiest and least expensive leader is a 3 to 6 foot length of monofilament. Adjust your the length of the leader to match your presentation.

There are many flies for bluegill fly fishing to choose from out there and even more if you tie your own. On most occasions color on a popper won’t matter but I have seen on some occasions when a certain color outperformed another so it’s a good idea to carry an assortment. Sometimes bluegill prefer a less bulky fly and removing the rubber legs will trigger more strikes. A good way to stay prepared is to have a couple flies in the box with the legs already removed.

The presentation of your popper can be simple or complex. It depends on what the bluegills want that day or even that hour. There are times when a half-hearted cast will produce. Other times when only a well placed presentation will bring the bluegills to the surface. You must experiment. On this trip the bluegills were recklessly slamming the surface, gobbling up anything that moved. I soon found out, however; that they were being picky on what they hit. I adjusted my presentation placement and finally hit on what worked. The bluegills were tight to cover. The fly had to be placed inches from shore. A very light twitch of the fly rod with a long pause was all that seemed to work. Nearly every cast triggered a strike from a big bluegill, once this pattern was discovered.

Bluegills on a fly rod are fun so the next time you’re on the water and begin to see grasshoppers floating on the surface grab the fly rod and popper and find the presentation they want and have some fun. Just another hint about those grasshoppers. At night when the bluegill go to sleep the channel cats wake up and love those grasshoppers the bluegills missed. They will cruise the bank gobbling them up. You talk about some fun for the whole family but that is for another article. Have some fun out there and I hope this article has you thinking of where some big bluegills might be. I think I’ll go tie some poppers for my next chance at bluegills on a fly rod.

Bluegill Fly Fishing Gear

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