Panfish flys?

[craigd]

I was in Basspro yesterday and found Scientific Anglers 9' 5wt rods for $20. Next to it were some reels for about $30. If you are as budget minded as I am and your kids are as hard on stuff as mine that looked like a deal.

[ohiotuber]

about fly fishing for bluegills: if you use a biggish fly, you'll have a much easier time releasing the fish. bluegill mouths are small and it's hard to get small hooks out if they swallow deeply. this assumes you're not keeping them to eat.

about a rod/reel combo: first, try the "wanted" section of this bulletin board. second, check out sponsors on this forum as well as L.L.Bean and Cabela's.

a guide once told me about a client whose own gear had been stolen showing up for a trip armed with a blister-pack put out by a company known for its fly lines. the pack had rod, reel, backing, line, and leader, and the gear in that pack turned out to be first rate! moral of the story: there is a lot of very decent equipment out there for not so much money because the firms that make them want you back when you're ready for the next step.

Great advice. I will tell you that the outfit Casey refers to is marketed by Scientific Anglers & sold at WalMart for $80.00...It includes rod/reel/backing/line/leader(s) & "maybe" some flies. Many of us have stood & watched the late, great "Castwell" (Our dearly departed JC) lay out the entire fly line with that outfit which he bought at WalMart. I highly recommend it as a very serviceable outfit even beyond her beginner days. BTW, Gander Mountain also has them in a couple different weights.
Mike

[Sonny Edmonds]

Some of those offerings will look like these pictures:

Black Ant

Black Beetle fly

Hopper Flys

When you are new to the jargon, pictures are worth a thousand words.
Not that the patterns have to be exactly like the examples, but it is to give you a visual of what to look for when shopping for your fly box. (Or in my case, tying patterns)
My foam beetles don't look just like the picture. But my black ants sure do.
Have fun, and don't eat no golf balls.

[William Fitzgerald]

Gary I teach fly fishing with a local ffishing club--hundreds of youngsters and adults. I have collected the fly rods 19 so far and one of the best outfits for the money is Cabelas "Three Forks" combo. Ours are 8' 6 5 wts but 9 ft would be fine for an older person. Cost $64.99 and the Prestige Plus model $79.99-includes everything but the flies. I also have other combos Pflueger,Scientific Ang and Cortland. Bass Pro Im sure sells combos its nice for your daughter to start with an outfit that has reel,backing, line and leader. Ive fly fished over 70 years and often use the Cabela rods. BILL

[GaryO]

Thanks, Bill. Looks like I will be taking your advice and heading over to Cabelas. They also have some great sales now online...

[fishaholic69]

bluegills will eat almost anything from my experience. for more exciting gills fishing use top waters. simple foam beetles, spiders or grasshoppers work great. also try just a griffins gnat or a small adams or any other dry fly u have. also i learned to pinch the barbs when fishing gills. never killed one on accident since! just about any nymph is a great gill pattern also. smaller size 10 buggers or clousers will catch some bigger gills too. hope these help! gills eat whatever! have had a gill eat a size 2 mouse once and plenty more try.

[Steven]

For gills and crappie:

On the top -

Ants, beetles, hoppers, midges, small poppers

Below -

Small Buggers, wets, pheasant tail nymphs, hare's ear nymphs, damsel fly nymphs.

Bass:

On the top-

Poppers and divers. Adult damselfly.

Below -

Buggers, damselfly nymphs.


I'll be honest, as much fun as it is to catch gills on top, I catch most of mine subsurface. My favorite nymph is a pink squirrel - for both trout and gills - but they'll be hard to find outside of the midwest.

[McManus]

Terry and Roxanne Wilson's "Bully's Bluegill Spider". This fly has saved me many an evening.

[DaveP63]

Simple is good...Foam spiders with rubber legs in black or green or whatever color they have. Then get a blister pack of poppers in assorted colors. Try to get cork or wooden poppers (more expensive) because the foam ones don't hold up well. As long as you have black, yellow, white and chartreuse, you are in business!

[Sonny Edmonds]

Another thing....
If you really want to get hooked, I mean really want to get hooked on fly fishing, use top water fly's so you can both see the fish take the fly.
Man, what an adrenalin rush that is!
These are the times when lifetime memories are made.