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I hope to seek out this weekend or next to chase a few pan fish. I was going to tie a few versions of minnow patterns. and that got me wondering what everyone's favorite fall patterns are?
Its not quite cool enough here to have the fish back in the very shallow water. I expect to find the gills in 3-8 feet and not looking to take much on the surface. I have seen the bigger gills come in shallow to pig out one last run in the fall but I don't think its quite time for that yet.
Gather up all the scrap cuttings on your fly tying bench, bunch them together,
and tie a few flies with them. You'll catch as many as the next guy.
Seriously, bluegill are not that discriminating. Aggresive little fish that eat opportunistically.
Don't get me wrong, I love the feisty little buggers and love spending a evening catching the hearty little fighters.
I'm prone to use foam bodies for top, or very simple nymph-like or very small streamers for the sub-surface. The pattern doesn't seem to really matter.
Just my opinion.
bobbyg
The Crappie Candy is a great pattern in yellow for late Summer or early Fall.
I love the mixed bag sorts of flies but sometimes these fish are just too picky about it (honest) I don't think they see that many lures but there certainly is some pressure on them as a whole. It may also be a product of how clear the water is. Last month there was an algae bloom and the water was pretty murky. However, as the evening continue to cool and the light angle and hours shrinks the water will be clearing up nicely
I usually tie versions of patterns based on what I have or can get quick and easy. I want to have a few bigger patterns thinking that the big males will be looking for easy big meals rather than gathering small nymphs. I still will tie up some hare's ear and prince types too and maybe a red worm pattern too
Its always fun and educational though to hear other's thoughts on what to tie in a given situation. Thanks for sharing
have had really good luck on a bead head red squirrel nymph with rubber legs. a lot of bluegills brought to hand on this fly.
I ilke leeches at this time of year.
Kevin Slater and I went out last night. Caught gills on the Furled tail Mohair leech.
Rick
any trout fly will work for bluegills
My "go to" fly is a bead head leech. Second choice would be a Crappie Candy. Another pattern to try would be cap spiders.
These work ok when the bigger gills get to be a bit pizzy...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...bster/m-80.jpg
(It's the coffee today...):wink:
Hey BD,
I don't change fly patterns for brim. As the water cools, I just start fishing a little slower and a little deeper. I will still use a Gurgle Pop with a nymph dropper until quite late in the season. Since I fish a large, deep lake, the brim season is finally over for me when the fish permanently move to their 40-60 foot winter positions. Yes, they can still be caught even then but its not much fun. 8T :)
While nearly any buggy looking fly will work for them, my personal favorite is a short fat little nymph I tied with 'leftovers'.
3-6 strands of krystal flash in a short tail
Body of woven micro-chenille, black on top, bright green on bottom
A few turns of black hackle up front.
On slow days, its usually a top performer, and on good days, it can (and has, on many occasions) produced a fish on every cast for 15-20 minute stretches.
When pond fishing, I usually just toss it out, pick up any slack, and watch the line. As soon as it does anything, lift the tip and enjoy the catch. :-)
I had forgotten about the leach pattern (thanks)
Sometimes for me its more about tying fun patterns then if I get many gills or not. I have mostly stopped taking fish; once in a great while I will take dinner's worth but that is a pretty rare day.
Don't get me wrong, I love catching fish, I love being outside and on the water, but I really love tying up something off the beaten path and manage to fool a few fish with it. Of course nothing is as great as being able to fish with my son, but that is a given :D
Lessening sunlight, shorter hours, etc means less bugs. Also, at times, means less weeds for all the bugs that are left and especially the small fry and minnows. Small bead or eyed streamers, buggers, and leechs are good flies this time of the year along with any BG fly you have confidence in and fish a lot. (BG = Bluegills) ( BS = Gills and Sunfish) my goto fly is a beadhead streamer tied small in about a size twelve. It has a large copper bead, a dark peacock estaz body and a dk olive maribou wing and tail. The throat is a bit of orange to yellow, maribou fluff. I fish this a variety of ways but two that are deadly is on a leader to match the holding depth of the fish and fished slow. The other is in a typical jigging fashion but slowed down due to the smaller size. Oh yea, the BG/BS above? My fly is called the BS Fly and has caught everything from Shad to Tilapia (IGFA World Record), panfish of all sorts, some absolute slab crappies, a half a dozen species and sub species of trout and several kinds of bass. Good luck Gill fishing!
I don't know if its because of the insane amount of rain we got here in New Hampshire during July, or what, but I'm still seeing gypsy moth larva in the trees and caterpillars and inchworms on the ground. I figure if it's on the ground, it's probably in the water, so I tied a few woolly worms and similar patterns for my next big outing.
Terrestrials still seem valid right now, but give it a couple of frosts and I'm sure the game will change.
As always, thanks to everyone for sharing. Lots of good ideas and sound advice. I love hearing everyone's input and hope to tie a little of everyone's suggested patterns
and bring a few fish to hand this weekend
Using a boa yarn leech pattern after dark, I landed 8 bluegills last night, along with a catfish and 20 crappies.
Last Fall, when it got much closer to ice-up, I was doing good with large buggy-looking nymphs and woolly buggers. Brown seemed to be a good color at the time, or olive. Something like a dragonfly nymph.
And then just before ice-up, the fish seemed deeper, so chenille-bodied flies with marabou tails...tied on a 1/80th or 1/100th oz jighead worked really well.
What res are you fishing? I may head over to Clyde or Bellevue tomorrow night looking for some crappie after dark. :D
I don't change patterns much either. Pretty much use nymphs or ants when they are deeper, or nymphs with a thick hackle collar when they are up top. :lol: I do use some homemade deer hair poppers at times, but I use those more when sight fishing.
Let me know what they hit on, I've had a tough time finding ANY gills for awhile. - AF
I did not realize anyone on the board lives so close to me. The rain , 3rd grade flag football and having to run to Toledo to meet a couple guys selling corals and fish food for my classroom aquariums kept me on the run Friday and Saturday.
Today, I have to run to Detroit to watch my Lions take yet more lumps;)
Attica, drop me a personal note, lets try to meet up and do a little pan fish chasing together if you would like. I have had some pretty good days fishing res 1& 2 in Bellevue but not made it out there this year. I would not mind at all meeting a fellow fly guy; even better being so close
Hey, hey.... You picked a good game to go to.... THE LIONS WON!!
Of all the local reservoirs, Attica's old Res. (we're movin' up, got 2 now, hehe) has the biggest gills that are fairly easy to hook up with. Bellevue 1&2.... are those the ones hooked together by where Armstrong used to be?
Anyway, here's a pict. of my favorite panfish fly for both gills and crappie, pretty much for most of the year. I do switch up to clousers and streamers for crappie at times, but this one still outfishes those. :confused:
http://www.rogerslake.org/images/101_0145_e.jpg
Also sent you a PM. Take Care - AF
I'll start sliding back towards the soft hackles I start with in the early spring. My favorites being a peacock herl body and a sparse partridge or chukar hackle. Don't write off the surface bugs yet, though, as I've caughtnice gills on caddises along the edge of the ice late in the fall.
that is true about the surface flies and about picking the right Lions game to go to
I don't see fish hitting the surface but that does not mean that a gill could not be talked into it.
I think I will tie up some soft hackle guys and that leach pattern then some wooly buggers too.