I usually use small poppers, foam spiders and small buggers for gills. On a recent board somewhere mention was made of the use of dries. Orvis has a clearance sale on a variety of dries. I wold be interested to hear of your htoughts.
Thanks
Dave
I’ve caught quite a few gills on Elk Hair Caddis.
My dos pesos,
bd
Hey Dave,
Just go into your normal trout fishing
mode in warm waters. The gills will feed on
the same flies as your trout. Dries, wets,
nymphs, the whole ball of wax.G Warm
regards,Jim
Gill fishermen have bigger smiles! 
[This message has been edited by Jim Hatch (edited 11 June 2005).]
I like Eric the Reds, chartreuse caddis, and greased up orange SHWAPFs. Foam dragon and damsels are fun to fish as well. Also small ants and midges are deadly at times sizes 20-24.
The Too Simple Elk Hair Caddis (no hackle) size 14 has become my favortie Bluegill fly. A size 10 hopper (I like a bullet head) will get a lot of strikes but the hook ups are more often bigger fish in my experience. A generic looking mayfly imitation took a lot of fish last year. At first I would fish it dry then if a fish hit it and did not get hooked I would strip it back as it sank and usually get some more action.
Chuck Hitt
You guys are missing one of the best and simplest. #10 or #12 Adams. Especially in the evenings when the various little flying critters are out.
Michael (Wooly) Woolum
State Certified Hunter Education Instructor
Hickory, MS
I use several patterns that float for gills.
Try a midege pattern about a foot below this on a dropper. I think you will be surprised at the number of fish you get.
Rick
I know you asked for dry’s but I stand by the marabou/muddler minnow. The best fly I’ve ever had the pleasure to use and tie. EVERYTHING likes to eat it. Even crawdad’s go after it if you leave it set still.
My 2 cents.
Best to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.
Something I seldom remember to do.
[This message has been edited by countrygent36 (edited 11 June 2005).]
Dry flies will catch a lot of bluegills but they [bluegills] are awfully hard on a dry. Between the fish munching and your removing them with forceps you’ll destroy a lot. I use more foam spiders and VERY small poppers - down to a #14 - than drys. However, if you really want to use a dry a Royal Wluff in 14 is hard to beat - it’s also quite durable and easy to cast. A foam Humpy is hard to beat, also.
Donald
I have had good luck with a size #14 Yellow body humpy.
-Andy
I have had some wonderful fun lately using some size 10 adams, humpys (yellow and royal,) and royal wulffs. I have been tying them with just hackle and no wings, and the gills never seem to mind it at all. I have also been using a small foam ant tied with brown or black foam and a small amount of matching hackle in the mid section.
As has been said above though, you do tend to go through a lot of dries on bluegill. With the small mouths, you use forceps a LOT! On the that I find that helps though is to not go with flies smaller than size 10 or 12. With that big a fly, only the largest gills will get the fly deep in the mouth, and are easily detached from the with forceps (thank god for barbless hooks!!!) They are also easier for myself and my little one to tye, being the larger size.
There is also a fly I found on here called “Crappie Candy” This is one GREAT gill and crappie fly!!! I generally will double up and use a size 8 - 10 foam popper (thanks to all here for the dremel lathe idea!!!) and below it I use a size 10 Crappie Candy tied in chatreuse yarn, and white deer hair. I have caught so many gills this season on that combo you wouldn’t believe it!!! When the fish stop with that on, I switch to the #10 foam ant’s or a #10 Chernobyl Ant, with a # 10 - 12 Gold Ribbed Hairs Ear dropper. When they get tired of that, I finally result to using the dries I mentioned before.
I haven’t had much sucess with gills on small wolly buggers, the bass seem to attach themselves to it faster than the gills can!!!
As I have said, I tie my own and save the nice looking flies for trout, and other fisherman! I like to use the ugly ones for gills! They beat them up so bad, that I don’t want to waste my good ones on them! Also, it is fun to have a “race” with the 11 year old! We see who can tie an adams or wulff the fastest, and then who can catch a fish on it first!!! She likes the little challenge, and it keeps her interested. Needless to say, she wins a lot (even when I am not letting her!!!)
Reg
I was out last week and a slight breeze kept blowing these black flying ants onto the water. They were about a size 14. I just sat in my tube and waited for the fish to find the food. For the next 3 hours I had some of the best dry fly fishing I have ever experienced. I used a black foam ant in a size 14 and caught numerous bluegill from 8-10 inches, great fun on a 3 wt.
[This message has been edited by Apachetrout (edited 13 June 2005).]
doing one’s best to match the hatch will produce good results with bluegills and dries. Also, using an old car antenna or some similarly sized tool to cut tiny popper bodies from foam can turn up some fun.
Jack Ellis doesn’t seem to think much of popper fishing (calls it an “intellectually empty exercise”) but if one disregards the disdain for poppers there is some worthwhile reading on dry flies for bluegills here [url=http://user.txcyber.com/~wildmo/PanfishPoppers.PDF:ad76f]http://user.txcyber.com/~wildmo/PanfishPoppers.PDF[/url:ad76f] (or not disregard the popper disdain, its up to the reader)
RRhyne56
[url=http://www.robinscustomleadersandflies.com:ad76f]http://www.robinscustomleadersandflies.com[/url:ad76f]
IM = robinrhyne@hotmail.com
Madam X’s! Fish 'em dry, in the film or sub-surface… it doesn’t much matter, bluegill munch 'em!
IMO there are days when small [14-10] poppers produce better than dries and also vesa versa [sp??]. Seems to be whether the fish want something that makes ripples or not. Also, I’ve been doing very well with foam spiders this year. Mine float so low on the surface that these old eyes can’t see 'em regardless of the colour. I just fish them like a wet fly - short 2-4" strips with pauses thrown in. Usually the gills hit on the strip so all that is necessary to set the hook is raising your rod tip. [Been using a 2 wgt for this fishing.] I’ve caught gills up to 10 1/2" with this fly this year. A LOT of 8-9"ers.
Donald
My son likes the Renegade in size 12 to 14. And if the standard color doesn’t work try tying some up in weird colors can’t hurt.
Just Fishing! All life is that to some extent. If we are not fishing for one thing it is another. But angling! That’s just a bit different. In it we find peace and contentment and much with which to occupy our minds. May the balance of our fishing days be blessed with congenial comrades and “tight lines.” Ray Bergman
I have fallen in love with Bill Skilton’s “high vis beetle” & it’s the fly I will submit for the AC Memorial. Simple (HAS to be, for me to tie it), & deadly! Sponge is sponge to a degree, but the legs on this one are the appeal to me…they are very fine yet stiff, especially when compared to rubber.
Mike
Mike -
Why not post the pattern for us? What is the leg material? I’m sure that this would be helpful to new flyfishers and would be appreciated by all.
Tite lines!
Donald
try this:
[url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/fotw2/080601fotw.html:e58c3]http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/fotw2/080601fotw.html[/url:e58c3]
Tks, bluegill.
All this talk of dries has got me itching to use 'em for the bluegills again! <G>
I just treated up a bunch with Watershed yesterday. I’ll be trying them tommorrow. Anyone familiar with the product? Does it work? I guess I’ll find out.
Donald