Fly fishing for Crappies, Bluegill, or whatever else bites... LOL

[hondarider550]

Well this weekend a friend and I thought that it would be kinda fun to learn how to do some fly fishing so we purchased a couple of inexpensive fly fishing combos. The sales person at the BIG C store stated that it would work with crappie and bluegill. He made a recommendation of flys to use but of course there is alot more to learn.

Can anybody give us some information or advice on how and what to do for fly fishing for crappies and bluegil?

Any positive advice would be greatly appreciated...

[andrew chadwick]

woolly buggers, pheasant tails w/ a small strike indicator, small streamers such as micky finns, foam spiders, and poppers all work for pannies.

basicaly anything they can fit in their mouth will catch them.

[dirtking]

What time of year is ideal for catching them on topwater baits? I remember catching sunnies as a kid on poppers but I forget what month it was.

[Nick Kuhn]

What time of year is ideal for catching them on topwater baits? I remember catching sunnies as a kid on poppers but I forget what month it was.

Dawn and dusk on calm days all summer long. And yes pretty much anything that will fit in their mouths. I imagine panfish consume so many insects over the course of a lifetime that they have no hesitation hitting any fly that remotely resembles an insect. Get the casting down, put on a nice length of 4lb mono or flourocarbon leader, and just slay the fish on those rods. Watch out though, bass love to hit em too and with lightweight fly gear you are in for quite a battle.

[Muddog]

Quote:

What time of year is ideal for catching them on topwater baits? I remember catching sunnies as a kid on poppers but I forget what month it was.

Mid-end (around Bass opener) of May the Sunfish will start the spawn. For Sunfish if it is small and yellow it will work. At times small cheep wet/dry flys made with Peacock hurl can't be beat.

Crappies, Black Ghoasts should be added to the list above.

If you are using a popper or foam spider type lure remember to to use a dropper fly or nymph with it.

[metrojoe]

Ton-O-Fun is all I have to say about it. I started fly fishing for sunfish a couple years ago. The poppers are the best, but I've had a lot of luck with nymphs. End of May into June you should be able to float in on them stacked up on their beds.

[PerchJerker]

Last weekend on Tonka the sunfish and crappies and bass were hitting baits right on top of the water ...... even hitting at the small bobbers we were using. I think this would be a great time to fly fish because the fish are in shallow water and are high in the water column.