I need your thoughts,
I am trying to simplify my blugill addiction. I have been playing with the jumbo copper johns and I am certain that dead drifted will produce strikes but what about slowly strippping the fly along the bottom.
it may not even get to the bottom with bluegills. these are bluegills, they attack anything that moves.
i tie large zebra midges and strip them in slowly.
Adding a bit of hackle to your pattern might add to your success.
http://www.flyfishohio.com/Heavy_Metal_Hairy_Spyder.htm
Try it! It can’t hurt. Sometimes they like them on a dead drift, sometimes stripping a fly in slowly works better.
Thats the way I do them! Works like a charm!
Steve,
Just a quick thought on your question. I believe that Copper Johns are a great pattern though somewhat complex to tie for brim if you go the epoxy-on-the-back route. My only concern with this fly is the hard, dead metal body on the Copper John. This is not a problem if the brim are feeding heavily and hitting hard but I find that many times brim and their sunfish cousins nip at the fly for a taste and the take is very gentle and hard to feel. If the first bite hits solid metal you will lose fish because the fly will be reject and ejected quickly. It seems like it would be a worse problem as you fish deeper and deeper and the time needed to feel the fish gets longer. I’m a firm believer in soft, dubbed bodies and hackle for those times that brim are taking flies lightly or just nipping. I don’t know if that means a Copper John without the copper or a weighted mini-bugger but either choice would give you a bit more time to react to a strike. Just my 2% of a dollar. I’m sure others will disagree. 8T 
8T… Funny you should mention how picky Bluegills can be at times. I’ve been having this issue frequently lately…I get LOTS of hits on nearly every fly I toss, but they seem to be hitting to kill or taste, but not eat? I’ve been having a very tough time getting them to take a fly good enough so that I can actually hook them. I’ve tried small, I’ve tried big. I’ve tried short-tailed flies, hoping to hook the “nippers”. I’ve even tried flies tied with tough-but-soft rubber bodies. Almost everything gets HIT, but few fish get hooked. These are fish up to 8.5"+, so they aren’t all tiny bluegills. Its a bit frustrating, but its fun to keep trying new flies too.
The thing that seems most odd is that these fish SHOULD be feeding ravenously right now, and shouldn’t be picky?
The little experiment I had Saturday got me thinking. It was the worse day bream fishing I have had in a Loooooooong time. But after I got out of the wind, I tied on a white popper, no legs, white hackle and feathers and a mini-bugger as a dropper. Quick strips did produce some strikes and one nice gill. I am going to make a couple of sliders, solid white and I have several black mini-buggers, lightly weighted with wraps of copper wire. I am going to try a trick from some bass plugs and try a “hole in the head” slider head. I have a pieces of a biospy needle that will cut a hole about 1/16" along the axis of the head. I hope that will produce some enticing bubbles upon retrieval. I will let you know how this works, it is supposed to be warm Saturday.
I got the idea from someone on here, but I tie a “copper john” type fly for gills that goes like this…
Standard nymph hook, sz 8
1/8" bead, gold or copper
Body: copper diamond braid
Thorax: a turn or two of peacock chenille
Collar: partridge
It doesn’t sink like a rock, and the partridge gives it a little movement and maybe that “something soft” you guys are talking about.
Dave, I feel your pain. I’ve had many days like that myself, often in front of an audience who is enjoying my lack of fishing success in spite of many apparent hits. I don’t have the answer but I generally find that smaller flies works better in this situation. I also try to avoid flies with long tails, legs and other body appendages that might be easily grabbed. These measures don’t solve the problem of light bites but it seems to help a bit. Good luck with those reluctant fish! 8T
I’ve been having the same problem lately, even my smallest flies were iffy. I resorted to what some purists would consider cheating and used very small plastics on a #14 dry hook. That was somewhat better, but not much. These were small fish and are likely to stay that way if they don’t learn to hunt better.
For those finicky gills, have you tried a floss and tinsel type wet fly? I’ve had good luck on a size 10 or 12 Professer (check the "Old Flies n Stuff archive) that has black, yellow, or chartreuse body. Red hackle tail, floss and tinsel body of your choice, rolled mallard flank wing, and collar hackle. They’re somewhat fragile, but easy enough to tie up.
Another one that’s pretty good is an Orange and Teal from “Warmwater Fly Tyer” website.
Unweighted simple winged wet flies have been very effective for me the past few years. Put them a foot or two under an indicator, cast next to some weeds, and just let 'em sit for a little while.
Another favorite to try that’s even easier is a size 10 scud hook, a short chartreuse floss tail, brown chenille body, and partridge hackle. It’s a chunky look vs the floss-and-tinsel wets and is bad news for gills sometimes.
These are ideas that have worked for me in the past! Your mileage may differ…
The best fly I have ever used for bream was a Renosky’s 1 inch plastic crawfish superglued on a No. 8 Aberdeen hook. Unfortunately, they apparently quit making them. It was the next best thing to a live cricket.
Those small fish will become live bait if they don’t get bigger, the rule in the fish world is grow or die small.
For finicky gills I have been using unweighted small flies and not try to set the hook on the first tap.
Also been having succes with orange color flies.
Rick