I have not had much luck out here in So. Cal. when it comes to locating bluegill. I know it is the colder time of the year here and this is when they move to deeper water. But I have never had any luck in the colder months when fishing for panfish.
Can anyone enlighten me on there tricks they use to locate and hook into some panfish in the off seasons.
Then again I am looking forward to the spring coming soon if Global Warming doesn’t mix it all up.
Jeff,
I grew up in SoCal (San Diego area).
This is the ‘perfect’ time for the bigger bluegills, although you won’t catch large numbers of them.
Fish smaller flies, 12 to 18s. I like damsel nymphs or PTs, but just about any smaller nymph will work. It’s more about where you fish and the presentation that’s important right now. I almost always use a two fly rig, one considerably smaller than the other.
Concentrate on the steeper main lake points. Fish in 12 to 20 feet of water. Fish slow. VERY sharp hooks ae helpful.
There are two good ways to get your fly to the right place. With a floating line, long leader, and an idicator you can set your depth precisely. Can be a bit tedious to cast, but really effective. Often all you need for ‘action’ of the fly is the motion of the water. Just some slow, really slow, drags otherwise.
Another option is a sinking line or fast sinking tip. Count the fly down, and retrieve it really slowly. Slower than that, then slow down some more. Use a ‘hand twist’ type retrieve with lots of long pauses. Motionless is better than moving, in most cases here.
Takes can be light. If you are using the indicator, give a light ‘pull’ anytime you see/sense/intuit the indicator doing anything different. All you need to do is gently draw the thing a couple of inches, if there is a fish there, the idicator will sink, and you can set the hook…with the sinking line, only set gently if you feel pressure. Or anything else.
This type of fishing is easiest from a boat with good electronics. Makes it easier to find the fish. Knowing how to porperly anchor the boat is critical, though, and if you can’t do that well, the shore is a better bet.
Be prepared when doing this. I’ve ‘accidently’ hooked and landed some big bass and catfish while fishing for cold water bluegills.
Good Luck!
Buddy
They like to hit flies that “fall”. Let your fly just naturally fall down thru the water. All of a sudden you will see it start to "swim off’.
I probably fish the same San Diego area lakes that Buddy did. He describes what I do perfectly.
Two other things. First, In lakes that have threadfin shad or other populations of similar sized baitfish, I will ofter fish small clouser minnows, white or gray wooly buggers with dumbell eyes. Larger bluegills will sometimes take these quite readily
Second, when we have stretches of of several days of warm weather, the week of 80 deg. plus days we are in now, I will look in the shallows for bluegill and bass that have moved up to feed in the warmer water. Typically this will be shallow areas on the north side because they will get the most exposure from the winter sun. But any area might warm up some, especially one with a dark bottom.
I’ve found that buggy-lookn flies work better than smooth flies. lots of dubbing and hackles. I hope you catch some. also, in colder days, they seem less active and more willing to take a slower fly then a faster one.
You also might try fishing near the remaining green weeds. I had my best and only luck late last fall fishing near the last green cattails. The fly I had the best luck with was a small size 12 epoxy minnow fished on type II sinking line. I’d cast it out, let it sink a bit if the water was deep enough and then do a slow hand twist retrieve. You might also pay attention to the time of day as most of the time I had my best luck around dusk.
Thanks to all great info for me to put to use, I think my biggest problem is learning patience. I am use to site fishing in spring and summer very easy and very fun. I most slow down and keep working for the one or two fish I may pull out of the water.
Again thanks for the help, and if it works for me I will reply back with some pictures.
Jeff,
Hands down my best cool weather panfish pattern is the Carter’s SEM Sculpin. You can find a photo and tying directions at this link. http://www.warmwaterflytyer.com/patterns6.asp To fish this pattern, use an 8ft leader with about 2 feet of tippet. This will allow it to sink fairly quickly. Cast the fly out and wait for about 10 seconds before you start your retreive. Keep the rod tip pointed right at the water or even in the surface of the water. The retreive that works best for me is a short 5-6 inch strip followed by 2-3 second pause. I think you’ll find this pattern will catch lots of very nice cool weather bluegill for you as well as crappie and the occasional bass.
I tie this pattern on size 10 or 12 hooks usually in the exact color combination you see in the photo. If I want to target crappie, I tie it in bright, contrasting colors of white body and red or purple tail and collar.
Jim Smith
James Smith thanks for your info. being a novice fly tyier I am always looking for new patterns that I could try out that site is great and I like the instructions to tie it.
I will try this out as soon as I find the time, thank you very much again.
Jeff,
Believe me, as I have been a recipient of a few of James Smith’s flies, he is a “tyer” to be listened to, & his advice is on the money too. I always look closely when Jim posts!
Jim…Thanks from me too!
Mike
ohiotuber that is good to know and thanks to both of you for your response.
This time of year I generally put my faith in soft hackles. They fall slowly and have great movement-- for me the two key ingredients for catching big gills in cooler water. I let them fall as far as they can go, then twitch them back as slowwwly as I can.
Or, you will see a very slight and light twitch of the line. Cold water fishing is SLOW, and you have to be a line watcher. You will not feel a thing, just see a twitch or slight movement.
Good luck.
Your best bet for winter bluegills is to find a bay with weedbeds in 6-10’ of water. Bluegills are more active in morning and evening, but can be caught all day if you know where to find them.
The next best place is to find a 6-10’ plateau with drop-offs on all sides. Fish along the sharpest drop-off slope. Submeged timber in 6-10’ of water is also a good bet.
Next, look for natural choke-points, such as an island near shore, or cove, or isthmus.
In winter, panfish hit very, very light, and will not move far, either vertically or horizontally, to take a presentation. Patience and persistence is the key in winter. Also, use smaller patterns, maybe down to midge size. They don’t like big food in winter.
Crappie will usually be suspending near structure in 15-20’ of water, but may move up as shallow as 7’ at times. Look for river beds, channels and lines of structure. Use small minnow patterns and be ready for super-light hits.