Fly Rod and Bluegills

[Nighthawk]

In Colorado, we have mostly pike, trout and bass. I hate bluegills! Nasty, viscious little fishies they are! They're as nasty as pikes, only they swim in schools like pirana. I got bitten by a couple on my way to Ohio once. They do taste good, though!

[McNulty]

Sorry Mr. Shoe, I won't mention you know where anymore. I learned to fly fish on the Snake in Wyo. but cut my teeth on the P.M. in Michigan Now I hate to say that my only places to fish are the Green, Colorado, Roaring Fork, and unfortunately the Frying Pan. Bummer to have so little water to work with(tongue in cheek).
Nulty

[BanjoFerg]

I knew there was a reason I liked lurking here. When I can't get to the browns, bluegills and largemouth are fun on the 4wt. I caught a huge bullfrog on a bugger last night. First time for everything.

[mull]

I knew there was a reason I liked lurking here. When I can't get to the browns, bluegills and largemouth are fun on the 4wt. I caught a huge bullfrog on a bugger last night. First time for everything.

Last year I hooked up what I thought was good fish in the dupage river, a local smallish stream. As I worked the fish in, I realized it was a snake instead! As soon as I got to the leader, I cut it, as snakes and I are not a mix I care to encourage! We do not have much in the way of poisonous snakes here, but I wouldn't wait to find out. It was surprizing how much drag a snake could put on the line.

[tyger]

Jeff, my annual pilgrimage is for smallmouth; however, a few days or parts thereof are always spent hunting trophy pike, and when you get into a bay of walleys that are eating small diving cranks it is hard to give that up just to find more bass.

Smallmouth are abundant, 17-20 inches, some bigger, a few smaller. Most are real pigs. It can be hard to catch a smallmouth small enough to keep (legal keep is 13.75 inches). We have just about gone 100% catch/release on the bass since we found out that when one keeps the smaller pike, fillet and fry them fish and chips style, you can't tell them from bass or walleye, they are that good.

First 2 weeks of June, back in time for father's day. The place is accessible by boat and plane, 15 miles from the end of the road. Great accomodations. PM me if you want details. Would love to show you around.

[Jerry]

I don't do it anymore, but growing up, I spent many days on cypress lakes fly fishing for bluegills, or bream as we called them, with my dad. I particularly remember one stringer of 30 or so fish that averaged over 1 pound, the smallest around 14 oz and the largest at around 18 oz.

[KiltedSurveyor]

A good farm pond and a poppin' bug on a 4-5 weight is one of the best ways I've found to introduce someone to fly fishing. The farm ponds are usually clear for good, non-challenging back casts and the bluegills and bass provide the reward for effort. Nothing like success to spark an interest! That being said, I prefer fishing the smaller streams around here (middle Tennessee) for punkin' seeds (a brightly colored bluegill with lots of orange and blue), smallies, rock bass and the occasional large mouth. In fact, one of my favorite activities is fly fishing a small stream at night (you need to know the stretch of water VERY well). When you get a strike, you never are sure what you've got till you bring it in!

[ForresterModern]

Jeff, my annual pilgrimage is for smallmouth; however, a few days or parts thereof are always spent hunting trophy pike, and when you get into a bay of walleys that are eating small diving cranks it is hard to give that up just to find more bass.

Smallmouth are abundant, 17-20 inches, some bigger, a few smaller. Most are real pigs. It can be hard to catch a smallmouth small enough to keep (legal keep is 13.75 inches). We have just about gone 100% catch/release on the bass since we found out that when one keeps the smaller pike, fillet and fry them fish and chips style, you can't tell them from bass or walleye, they are that good.

First 2 weeks of June, back in time for father's day. The place is accessible by boat and plane, 15 miles from the end of the road. Great accomodations. PM me if you want details. Would love to show you around.

Tyger

I would love to join you, perhaps next year. I will be spending the first two weeks in June in Europe (Bordeaux, France this year) as that is where my profession's european branch society meeting is each year, and that is a convenient excuse for a nearly all expenses paid trip to Europe. Next year, however, the meeting is moved up to the last week of May.

Sandy

Perhaps if the timing is bad with tyger we could find another opportunity to go later in the year.



What gear to take on a boundary waters trip will be a real challenge as I would want heavyweight fly gear for pike and bass, and spinning and jigging gear for pike, bass, and walleye. Add a tent, food and cooking gear, toothbrush and paste, and I am probably going to have to wear the same pair of swim trunks, socks, boots, and a long sleeve shirt and broad brimmed hat for the duration, otherwise I might overload a nd capsize the boat (I like to have a lot of options for fishing gear----far more important than clothes, and maybe food, as you can always cook what you catch). Have canoe and paddles, will travel.

Just hope we don't run into a bear again---had one ransack our camp on our last night out---trashed the tent, food pack (not sure how he got it out of that tree hang), drank the last of our rum (greedy bastard), and laid waste our cooking gear (pots with bite holes in them). Left us to clean up the mess then make the 6 hour paddle to basecamp with only lake water and a pocketfull of hard candy for sustenance. Outfitter was none too pleased, but that is why you pay the extra $2 a day for gear rental insurance. Probably no need to rent anything these days as I am pretty well geared up.

j