I got a few pond bluegill last Sunday evening over at a nearby residential community fishing from the bank with the 5wt. and a floating line. Most were only average size. I was just getting ready to take a photo of the first bluegill I caught on a #8 Aberdeen yellow Nymphomie Pusher foam fly Dremel bug but the gill got off the hook before I could take the photo. I did get a photo of the last gill I caught toward dark. An average size of about 7 or 8 inches I caught on a #10 Improved Black Gnat wet fly. The little rascal took the fly deep enough I had to use the foreceps (hemostat).
No, I didn’t catch enough that day to put them on ice. I have a hard time taking a photo one-handed while I’m holding lively fish in one hand and the camera in the other even while in the water so whether right or wrong, I had to lay it down. If I can hold the fish one-handed lipped by the mouth, I can take the photo. That one didn’t take the fly so deep that I had to keep it anyway and so its still swimming in the pond.
Well done Dixie glad you could make it out before the cold front hit your area. If it makes it into the mid 60’s before the holiday I may get out myself.
Hobo
Good one, David . We have some of those gold colored ones also. The one above that I caught is one of the striped copperheaded variety. They can get pretty large. I’v caught some of those copperheaded up to about 11 or 12 inch on some waters. Lot of different kinds of Bluegill in that pond.
One of my goals was to post pictures here this year, and I have a nice batch of gills I caught after Thanksgiving just sitting here. My son is home tomorrow so I’ll have him help. JGW
I was thinking about you this evening while I was at the pond, hobo :D. Be glad you weren’t there. The wind was really bad. Line tangles galore and I said some things I shouldn’t have when I got frustrated. I was going to go over to the little lake to hook into some small LMB but there was a wedding going on as it is a popular place for weddings with the gazebo on the little island with the footbridge.
The pond
The pond
#10 Improved McGinty Copperheaded 8 inch Bluegill (only fish I caught this evening)
Dixieangler! Shame on you teasing us northern tier flyfishers like this! Right now I’d take the wind, the sun and plow my cedarstrip right out into those weeds. Just too heaveningly! JGW
Sorry about that, JG, didn’t mean to rile you up :D. Those aren’t weeds you see out there by the way, those are lily pad patches (I get hung on them too). But there are plenty of weeds along the banks (really frustrating) and under the water on the bottom that you can’t see. Makes the wet flies work almost ideal there as they tend to stay out of the bottom weeds more because they ride more above the bottom weeds than a weighted fly would.
I don’t mean to make you pine but I will probably post some shots of the little lake later on sometime whenever I get to fish it, maybe in another post.
Dixie right interesting water you have there to fish on. Hmm, wet flies huh, they keep you off the bottom, very good advice. I use a lot of dropper flies off of floaters but by golly I’m going to tie me up a batch of wets and try them out (because like your water we have lots of fly eating weeds). We have some good ponds on Ft. Hood the largest army post in the US, which is located in Central TX.(400 square miles of land with about a dozen ponds or more that they stock some) and after the first of the year I plan on buying a fishing permit for $25.00 and fishing it.
Hobo
I think I’m gonna move. Need a place close to open water fishing. Not crowded. No urban sprawl. No traffic. Close proximity to a variety of non-chain type restaurants. Any ideas?
My dad had US Army basic training (1944) at “Camp Hood” before it was Ft. Hood. Then he went on that big boat (Queen Mary) ride to England and then another boat ride on an Indian freighter to Sword Beach at Normandy.
Looks can be deceiving. That pond is right in the middle of a residential community but if you look at the mobile trailer in the photo, the pond is under development for housing unfortunately. Construction all around that area so it won’t last.
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. We have some of those gold colored ones also. The one above that I caught is one of the striped copperheaded variety. They can get pretty large. I’v caught some of those copperheaded up to about 11 or 12 inch on some waters. Lot of different kinds of Bluegill in that pond..JPG)
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