I just got into fly fishing and have been wanting to get out and try some bluegills fishing. There is an area pond that fishes ok. When is a good time to get out there? When are the gills gonna be shallow again and active?
Some of the old timers locally say that when the dandilions start growing the BG’s will be in the black bottom bays. I usually start waaaaaaaay too early and just practice my casting until I finally start catching fish!! 
Donald
Now is our time in North Texas went out with my son to a pond in the Dallas metroplex and in a 2 1/2 hour period we caught + - 100 BG each, a good majority of them bigger than palm size. Started on nymphs ended on top water (more fun) with black sponge spider with yellow legs. Fantastic.
I agree with Donald on starting early - as soon as the ice leaves a big enough area to cast in, I’ll probably try it. In truth the ice should be all out here in central Minnesota in the next week or two! It has also been said that when water temperatures reach 50? F that things start to heat up - I have found this to be fairly accurate since that’s usually when I start pulling in more fish!
-Erik
Ponds warm up and become ice-free much faster (and earlier) than big lakes. So I’d say if your pond is open now, go fishing now. The 'gills will already be in or near the shallows and they’ll be active, so tread very lightly and carefully when sneaking the shoreline otherwise you’ll spook them away and develop the false impression they’re not there. Give 'em hell, Ripper; you can do it.
Joe
“Better small than not at all.”
Here in MN they start in March. The beginning of March this year I was drilling through 26" of ice and not catching a lot but they were present. Last Sunday (3/26) I was drilling through 14" of ice and they were feeding heavily. It only gets better from here.
I am not a big believer in water temps being a trigger as much as daylight hours. Fish know when the time is coming and start feeding appropriately. They may spawn at a certain temp range but if you wait for that you missed most the fun! If your not catching them find deeper water if you can. Right now in my area they are in 5 - 15’, being shallower in the low light hours and deeper midday.
When is a good time to get out there? When are the gills gonna be shallow again and active?
If you live in Florida, right now! Spring and early Summer. Bedding can’t be far away if it hasn’t already started in some areas. You can catch them here year round except its mighty hard during the heat of Summer.
Robert B. McCorquodale
Sebring, FL
“Flip a fly”
I live in the Atlanta Georgia area and I catch Bluegill year round. That being said, anywhere from March till June should be pretty good for much of the country. When I went out today, I saw 1/2 inch long fry around the edges so either Crappie or Bluegill jumped the gun a bit with the warm weather we had a shile back. The Bluegill in many of the lakes I fish spawn 3 or 4 times per year here in Georgia.
Jim Smith
Welcome, & WHERE are you located? Helps to know what kind of climate in your locale if we are to answer accurately.
Mikey
This site’s about sharing!
Hey Ripper,
Here on Lake Moultrie in SC our water
temps are in the low 50’s. Weather is
breaking and I’m seeing a lot of fish
coming shallow. Some are biting but nothing
to brag about yet. Another couple of weeks
should get us near 60 on the water temps and
the “catching” should catch up with the
“fishing”. Warm regards, Jim
When does the bluegill fishing pick up… If you’re stuck at work and reading this, it’s at its best right now.
I think Jim Hatch nailed it with the water temp reaching 60. I live in Central Iowa and I have been catching some bass in the shallows of the ponds I fish, but no gills. If we can get a string of warm sunny days and the water temp gets to 60, things should pick up.
I think Joe Hyde hit it on the head.In our Golf course pondsthe biger gills are biting I think pre spawn Here in Central Ok. Our bigeer waters however are consideralbly behind
Ripper,
Since we don’t know ‘where’ you are ,it’s hard to predict ‘where’ the fish will be with any accuracy, as it differs a lot with temperature.
That being said, if there are bluegills IN the water, you can catch them now, and EVERY DAY from now until the lake/pond goes dry.
If you want to use cast to them with a fly rod, it does require that the water be in its liquid rather than solid state (unless you want to be doing some VERY odd things with a chain saw and a bucket…).
Where I am down in sunny Arizona, we find that bluegills are pretty deep, say in the 10 to 15 foot range, in the winter, and move shallower in the early spring, stay VERY active all summer, and get downright feisty in the fall until the water temperature drops below 55. We can and do catch them all year, though, and the biggest ones seem to come in the colder weather.
So, regardless of where you are, get a sink tip line and go fishing for them now.
Greatest fly rod fish ever created.
Good Luck!
Buddy
BG fishing never stops in my ponds…techniques change to fit the fish patterns but the fish bite year around. Great fly rod fish!
Well, I went out and Tore Them Up today! Had lots of fun. They were in 6 inches to 2 feet of water. Even caught a few crappie and a couple of bass. The bass were starting to make beds. One bass was only 3 inches long but hit my fly like it was a big boy. All in all, it was a great day.
Brian
Sorry guys, i’m in North East Pa. We’ve had some decent weather the last week or two so the water should be warming up some. I’ve been paying too much attention to some of the wild trout streams. i might try to get out at some point tomorrow for some blue gills. Well maybe not, if it rains like it’s supposed to! well, i guess rain never hurt any one.
Just have to try to shuffle that busy schedual around, thats the hard part!
I’m in VA
I had them hitting at my bass stuff this weekend pretty actively
Ripper,
I’m in Omaha Nebraska, and the answer to your question for Nebraska is - right now. The water temperature was 49 degrees yesterday, and the blue gills are moving shallow already. They are hungry and frisky. Hope they are soon in PA
Ed
Great guys, hopefully i can get out here soon.