Bluegill Bounty

Flies fool plenty of panfish.



They're often underrated as a sportfish; often overlooked by Floridians whose egos tell them they've advanced beyond their panfish beginnings. Nevertheless, bluegill present a ton of rod bending opportunity and catching these precocious panfish on flies is some of the most fun you'll have in fresh water.

Now, for those less confident with their ability to skillfully place a little piece of something artistic in precise locations, relax. If you can hit the water, you can catch a bluegill on the old fly rod.

In fairness to the sport, you will need to put the fly somewhere past your rod tip and habitat targeting does matter, but it's really pretty simple and anyone willing to put in a morning of practice will quickly dial in this deal. Once you figure out a form that lets you fling the fly a good 20 feet,

you'll find that catching bluegill on fly is like eating popcorn—it's hard to stop.

Sound overstated? Well, not really. Consider that this gluttonous fish will eat just about anything it can catch and you'll have an easy time picking productive flies. Tiny minnow patterns work, as do little shrimp flies that resemble the translucent crustaceans inhabiting shoreline vegetation. Throw what you like, but for pure bluegill bliss, go topside and enjoy the show.

If you've ever looked closely at a stand of lily pads, clumps of arrow heads, or any dense emergent vegetation, you've surely noticed the abundance of insects. From aquatic spiders, to dragon flies to those little black water beetles that run around like their steering wheels are broken, bugs equal bluegill. The smacks and pops of feeding bream are unmistakable, so pay attention also to where the visual and audible cues occur.

What to Throw

Small poppers with various painted patterns, tail feathers and rubble legs are the classic bluegill fly offering and Steinhatchee angler Reb Stewart has a creative process that any do-it-yourselfer will appreciate. His craft starts with a makeshift coring device created by affixing an empty rifle shell casing to a drill bit. With this, he punches out little tubes of sturdy foam from a pair of cheap flip flops and adds whatever legs, wings, and accents

he thinks a bluegill might appreciate. (You can also use an office hole punch and solid sheets of industrial foam.)

If you'd rather skip the vise work, fly shops, sporting goods stores and online retailers offer plenty of productive options. With any popper, short, tight strips will effect that water-pushing, gurgling disturbance that sounds like another bluegill feeding and thereby brings all the jealous others looking for their share of the chow. - FS

First Published Florida Sportsman Aug. 2012

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