I’ll play too…
1st choice: 2 piece, 6’6’’ diamond glass 3 wt. “Betty Hiner special” with a Vosseler RC2 reel with floating line, 4 1/2 ft. furled leader and 5x tippet
2nd choice: 3 piece 9’0" Sage SP+ 5 wt. with an Orvis CFO reel with floating line, 5 ft. furled leader and 4x tippet
I use the 5 wt. if I’m bream fishing in heavy bass water and i might encounter one!
Usually, it’s whatever fly rod I have in my hand. bluegill, crappie, and LMB all frequent the same waters around here and I’ve caught each while fishing for the other.
If I’m going after gills, I ususally bring along a 3wt or a 4wt. My favorite 3wt is an 8’ 4" Scott G2, My 4wt is a 9’ Winston BIIt. A big gill is a handfull with a 3wt and light tippet. They are still fun to catch on a 4wt.
If I’m going to be somewhere and going mainly after bass, I’ll take a 5wt and a 7wt. (both of my favorite 5 and 7 wt rods are 9’). I’ll use the 7wt when I’m throwing big crease flies or large buggers and deer hair topwater bugs. I’ll use the 5wt when throwing smaller stuff.
For leaders, 7’ 6" 3 or 4X with a couple feet of 3X or 4X tippet on the end. If I’m tossing heavier stuff with the 7wt, I may shorten to just a 7’ 6" leader in 2X or 3X.
As for flies, I’ve found bluegill can range from “not very picky eaters” to “as finiky as a cat”. Poppers work and are fun, woolie worms / woolie buggers, nymphs hanging below poppers double the chances. I think the answer on flies really depends on where I’m fishing, and what’s working on that day. I’ll throw a bunch of stuff until I start hooking up and then pretty much stick with that until the action slows and switch to something else.
Jeff
I might, someday. So far the Island Nation has refused all of my requests for a Visa (although I got the Mastercard). I even promised not to bring SPAM. (He typed, sure to draw Joe V. into the thread.)
Ed
Custom 7’10" Sage TXL 4 weight (built by Medinger here on the boards) with a Sage 3200 and WFF Cortland 444SL. I can reach out as far as I need to, has enough backbone for the occasional bass yet gills are still a blast. This has been my go to gill rod since I got it, come to think of it, it also has been my go to for trout, smallies and really everything else. I just love that rod!
Ed,
You know you’re always welcome to share water with me. If you’ve never caught a 9" bluegill, I will just about GUARANTEE one in my neck o’ the woods.
Mikey
Favorite bluegill combo…Custom made 7’3" 2 piece, 2wt East Branch with a Ryobi 255mg reel loaded with Airflow ridge presentation 3wt line…Easy to cast, plenty of backbone and a absolute joy to fish with…Rob
If I’m fishing the neighbors lake it’s one of the very few times I won’t fish bamboo and silk. I use a W. W. Griggs, 7’6" 4 wt. with a Jim Teeny WFF line. If I’m on the creeks I’ll use a 7’, 4 wt. Pocket Water Rods 2/1 bamboo with a Terenzio #4 DT line. Flys are almost always something olive.
I don’t know what my favorite would be, because I only have a few fly rods. My favorite set-up for panfish that I own is my 6-1/2 foot Eagle Claw fiberglass 5 wt, Scientific Anglers Dry Cell WF-5 line, and a 6’ tapered leader (size doesn’t really matter for panfish. They are not particularly line-shy, and are actually on the brazen side…)
Someday, I would like to have a 3 wt. Even used would be OK…