Thanks for sharing your knowledge guys. I have really learned a lot from this thread.
David K. Spencer
If you are fishing a pond that has grass shrimp in it, scuds are simply deadly on every fish that swims in that pond. To have the grass shrimp, the pond must have some shallow weeds, like pondweed, to provide a home for the shrimp. I’ve not only caught BG, but LMB and even hybrid striped bass (HSB) on #12 scuds where grass shrimp are present. HSB prefer deep open water, but I think they may like grass shrimp better.
Last Tuesday I was fishing the channels of one of our lakes and doing very well on a #10 chart popper w/rubber legs - as long as there was a slight breeze on the water. About 6PM the wind died down completely and the water was like glass. Now instead of 2 or 3 “torpedo wakes” heading for the popper after touchdown there were 2-3 wakes heading AWAY from the popper! This thread was in the back of my mind still [wife says a lot of things are in the back part!] so I tied on about 12" of 6X to the popper hook and a #16 epoxy red/black ant to the 6X. Folks - I caught another dozen redears b4 dark; all on the dropper. They were all the larger fish for the day too.
Donald
This is a fascinating and productive thread Jim, thanks for starting it!
I have observed on many occasions that bream will all gather under and closely follow/observe a topwater fly but it takes them a long time, sometimes never, for one of them to “work up the nerve” to actually attack it. Then I’d drag a subsurface fly through the same crowd and the same fish would unreservedly and furiously swarm-attack that fly.
My thoughts on this (rightly or wrongly) are that going up top is far more dangerous for a bream so they are going to deliberate on the matter whereas an underwater bug is much safer to feed on.
This is not to say that topwater fishing is not productive but rather some observations that I have made regarind bream behaviour.
RRhyne56
[url=http://www.robinscustomleadersandflies.com:10ca5]http://www.robinscustomleadersandflies.com[/url:10ca5]
IM = robinrhyne@hotmail.com
Hello Donald,
I’ve had numerous experiences similar
to the one you recounted, as well as many
that were just the opposite.G It’s not
at all unusual for fish to get bolder near
dark and chase the poppers with gay abandon
ignoring the midges and scuds. The
important thing is to know that they may do
a change up on you at this time and be
prepared. Here on our lake, the last half
hour of twilight, I call the magic half
hour. It’s when the fish often throw the
rule book out the window. Some evenings I’m
there until it’s black dark trying to get hooksets by snatching to the sounds of the
strikes.G I’ve found that more red ears
will take top water during this period than
during the daylight hours, but generally it
is fairly short lived. Warm regards, Jim
Hey Robin,
I very much agree with you on the
wariness of the large sunfish. When your
catching fish that are perhaps 6 and 8
years old in a fishery that sees very little
C & R, you gotta know your doing something
right. I get as much satisfaction out of
catching a big sunfish as some do with a
citation trout.G By sharing what we learn
we increase our odds of success. Warm
regards, Jim
Jim - I’ve caught more redears on top this year than than in the previous 15 or 20 years combined! In fact, I don’t remember ever catching many that way. But this year, for some reason, I’ve hit a topwater bite many times. I am fishing a coupla different lakes this year so that may be it. The one I’ve been fishing during October has a lot of redears - I think they are just about equal to the number of BG’s. Usually there seems to be far fewer of them about. Don’t get me wrong! <G> I’m defiently not complaining. I think the redear pulls much harder than the BG and they seem to run larger also. I keep very few fish so I hope this fishery lasts a while. I’ve been fishing these channels for a month now with a 2 wgt rod 3 or 4 times a week. [It’s really, really rough being retired!!] This just may be the closest to heaven I’ve been!
Donald
Hey Donald,
First thing I did when I read your post
was check your profile. Not sure I can
convince the wife that Indiana is on the way
for our upcoming trip to Orlando.G While
I usually get a few red ears on top water,
it is rarely with any great numbers other
than that magic half hour at twilight and
the fall hopper craze. Alberto’s souhegan
hopper is my go to fly then. I agree
with your estimation of the red eared sunfish. In my view, I’ll take them over any other warmwater fish including the LMB. Gotta ask, what is your most productive top water on the redears?
Warm regards, Jim
Thanks Jim, for a great thread. I’ve only been at this a short time. Every time I run across a fly that makes me go “ahh” (bluegills are my passion) I put it in my ‘favorites’ for future reference.
I have had remarkable luck on flies I’ve learned from this site. Some, you just look at and say, “Now that thing would catch fish.”
I know it’s really basic stuff but haven’t stepped off into “dubbing” yet so this ‘scuds and sowbugs’ thing is someplace I’m headed this winter.
Keep 'em coming everyone…
thnx…g
[This message has been edited by HideHunter (edited 20 October 2005).]
Thanks Jim, It’s already in the ‘favorites’ pile. Going to be a busy winter…
Gotta laugh… When I was guiding turkey hunters my favorite saying was, “Shoot, Ray Charles could kill a turkey in Iowa.”
Life doesn’t begin at 40 if you went 80 at 20.
Hey Hide Hunter,
Not to worry buddy. Our dear friend Al
Campbell provided us a pattern that does
not require dubbing. It’s one of the “Too
Simple” series of flies he favored for the
klutz’s among us.G I’m certainly one![url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/alcampbell/ac022304.html:aaeb2]http://www.flyanglersonline.com/alcampbell/ac022304.html[/url:aaeb2]
Warm regards, Jim
[This message has been edited by Jim Hatch (edited 20 October 2005).]
Ahh, you fixed it. I knew it would be good so I had already Googled and stuck it in my favorites. Thanks again, Jim. You (and many others) are blessing to those of us who ‘Know Nothing’ bt are willing to learn. 
Sorry Hide Hunter,
I had the last posting up and down like
a yoyo. My danged pewter kept acting up.
I’ll leave it alone now.G I’ve fished the
Ray Charles and had a chance to discuss the
pattern with Al before he left us. It’s a
very effective fly on many waters. Good
luck buddy. Be sure to check out all of the
“Too Simple” series Al left us. They are a
great confidence booster for folks just
getting into tying. Warm regards, Jim
Jim - Redears have been taking a coupla different flies; a few on foam spiders, a few on a little foam grasshopper I worked up [size 12 on both] and by far mainly on a #10 CORK popper with rubber legs. I tried foam poppers that I’d made up but they want that “plop” when it lands. Colours - white, yellow, and chart. I just keep shifting them around - when one colour slows just change it. When I started using the epoxy ant dropper I up-sized the popper to a #8 to better support the dropper and I did land a couple of fish on that size; most, however, just pushed the larger popper around.
I just watched the “late weather gal’s” forecast and she called for “possible snow Monday”! Yuk! Last Tuesday it was 74d.
Donald
Hey Donald,
If it will make you feel better, I can
give you a site where you can check “My”
daily weather.G Get those shorts and T’s
back out buddy. We got another month before
fall here.G Warm regards, Jim