Home Forums Fishing Flyfishing Panfish thread

I've borrowed my brothers fly rod to learn on while I'm looking for the right set-up to pounce on. Been hitting the local creek to practice casting in a place that isn't crowded. Been pulling in a lot of small bluegill, not eating size. In my reading old threads here, there was a bluegill thread pretty regular.

So how bout it? Are you guys still fishing for them, or just to busy talking politics in the hunters campfire?

Let's see some pics from this summer, Bluegill, Perch, Crappie, Bass, Trout.....

a five wt and a small popping bug with rubber "legs" on a lake or pond is as much fun as you can have with your clothes on...

My dad live on a lake with a lot of grass that came up high enough to lay on the surface. Every so often there were opennings in the grass about the size of a hula hoop or larger. we would drop a popping bug in the and just work it across the opening. Plenty of nice sized crappies and bluegills with an occasional bass and northern. Fun evenings with my dad.

Long time ago we lived on the Milwaukee River and would float the river working the deeper holes below riffles and where the river was deeper under the over hanging willows, plenty of smallmouth bass and an occasional northern. Some of the most fun was hitting some of the faster waters catching large shiners for bait, we'd stock up our bait tank for northern pike trips. Drifting dough balls on a flyrod through the deeper holes in the river would put some big carp on the line, boy do they fight in the current, some could make a big steelhead look like a slug.

When I moved to northern MN, in the fall we'd hit the drainage ditches with rubber ants and stock up on chubs for trapline bait.

Yep fishing with small poppers is the ultimate fun but seem to catch more with bright colored soft hackles.

My farm pond had a lot of panfish in it. Bluegills, Perch, Crappie, and Bass. Fly fishing for larger than average bluegills with a fly rod and small poppers or wet flies is a lot of fun.

My farm pond had a lot of panfish in it. Bluegills, Perch, Crappie, and Bass. Fly fishing for larger than average bluegills with a fly rod and small poppers or wet flies is a lot of fun.

Bringing this thread back up.
All these were caught on a 2wt 8’ TFO.
My wife and I love fishing for panfish and bass with our flyrods.

Yep, and FWIW make the popping bug chartreuse...

Yep, I have about decided that chartreuse is about the only color I’m gonna stock for bluegill etc anymore.

If it ain't chartreuse, it ain't no use, so "they" say. Occasionally a white or yellow will out-fish chartreuse, but not often.

nice!! they' re a blast to catch on a 2 wt. yellow aways was a good color for me

I have a pond behind my place I might give a popping bug a try. Crazy but I have lived here 8 years and never tossed a line in this pond that is 15 yards from my back door. I suppose it like hunters that don't shoot their yard deer. Always someone fishing across the pond off the church property. I'm alway loading up the kayak and heading to the saltwater.

A year or two ago I asked for information about fly fishing sunnies.
I think Ingwe responded and maybe a few others.

I already had a 7 weight rod, but wanted something lighter. I bought a 5 weight rod and a few little poppers.

I have access to a nice little lake with lots of panfish and have to say I havnt had this much fun fishing in quite awhile. I love to see the fish come up and literally gulp in the fly. Some in the evenings I can hear them feeding from quite a ways away.

I leave my fly rod on my pontoon boat and I can go out and fish for a half hour or so almost whenever I want. What a hoot when a big bluegill comes up and hits the fly with a gulp and a bid swirl!

I have been using a yellow and black popper that looks like a yellow jacket. Actually, not much paint left on it.

My casting technique leaves a lot to be desired and I have more knots in my leader than I care to count, but it’s coming along. And I love it!

I have some photos but not sure how to post them anymore.
Gary

I use a fiberglass 3 wt and yellow Boogle Bug. It's great fun.

The pond at the gun club has some monster gills. I grow I tiny popper on a Tenkara rod the big bluegill hit it like it insulted their mother

For those using fly rods or tenkaras, try a "popper" dropper rig - only you don't need more than between 6-to-10 inches between the popper and the dropper. You have no idea how many big bluegills (we call 'em bream in SC), fliers, redbreast, and other just sit there and never hit the topwater but will inhale your drop fly.

This right here is the secret!
Sometimes you can catch 2 at a time.

My intended rod for this summer is 3wt, for small trout and panfish. Hitting a lake in June that is loaded with bluegill, perch, tiger Muskie, and general baitfish. Since this is my first season of fly fishing, hopefully there will be some success. Only have a couple poppers, but just acquired a bunch of fly typing stuff, and included were about 25 flies, some look appropriate for pan fish.

I have a 2wt Cabelas CGR that I love for bluegills and panfish.

I seem to catch bigger 'gills on subsurface flies. One of my favorite set ups is a 2-3 wt rod a small popper and a Bully Spyder on the dropper. If I aint catching them on a bully spyder I go back home because they aren't biting.

Most of my fly fishing is for panfish and bass. A creek near my house has some dam problems so the water has gotten very low. I just put on my waders and walk about a mile and fish the "holes" where the water is a little deeper until I get to where the creek feeds the main part of the river. As others said "as much fun as you can have with your clothes on." The ideal rod I use is an eagle claw glass featherweight 6'6" 3 wt with an amazon reel (maximumcatch) 3wt. The ol chartreuse popper with legs is a consistent killer as many of you have said.

-not to mention that rod set up cost like $75 total shipped. Catches fish like you wouldnt believe

Fished the old rock quarry last week. It is way overpopulated with sunfish and small bass, but they're still fun to catch on my new 3 wt.





Ole_270 with a fish on-


Had a couple pound bass on, but got cocky and tried forcing him in and busted my line. He demolished my topwater hopper, and I was watching as I pulled him in another bigger bass was right on his shoulder the whole way in. Kind of neat to watch from above as I was standing up on some protruding rocks in the middle.

My dad always told me you only need 3 bass & panfish flies. A pecks popper, a bumble bee and a rubber cricket/spider.
I make my bees from hobby foam glued together and cut with a plug cutter, shape as needed.
These are deadly on panfish & bass

I like to fish for panfish a lot. They are fun and willing. Not as pretty maybe as trout but easier to catch sometimes. Fly box with some flys, rod and reel and your in business. Just for fun they can’t be beat.
I just posted a couple of pictures in a fiberglass rod thread on here.

This is the Fire Shimmy Size 10 "popping bug" as we Southern boys call them but we'll let you call them poppers if it makes you happy. Sorry for the rushed photo quality and poor lighting but these are chartreuse and as some have already attested, it really is the primary thing you need for fly fishing for panfish and you'll get a few bass while you're at it. The two companies that I know are making them are Betts Tackle, Ltd. and Falls Bait Co. There may be more but those are the brands that I commonly see and use. I shop online and sometimes direct will actually get you the best price, especially if you buy a full card (dozen). As you can see they come with a much fuller 'head of hair' and I trim my down for three reasons. (1) They are much easier to cast and much less wind resistant after trimming (2) They're a smaller bait and less intimidating yet still plenty visible to fish underneath. (3) I see many folks who cast a popping bug and then strip it like a streamer to make a disturbance in the water, hoping to attract a hit. That's all well and good but it make too much disturbance and spooks fish sometimes and also just a few strips and you've taken the Shimmy out of zone so to speak. By trimming the bug like in the photo you shorten the rubber legs - and make them much stiffer - which if you will lightly wiggle your rod tip side to side, will recreate the action of something like a cricket swimming on the water . . . plus because it's not being pulled forward, maximizes the time in that little pocket you went to so much trouble to cast to.

A few more suggestions:
a. get size 8 or size 6 - both work well
b. carry with you both skinny needle-nose pliers & long forceps - it will surprise you how 'bream' as we call Bluegills can suck down a popping bug that seems bigger than their little jaws can open.
c. when you first cast let the bug land and do not disturb it - sometimes this seems to draw strikes better than making any movement at all.
d. a straight strand of 6-lb or 8-lb mono is all you need for a leader - a tapered leader is unnecessary - a long (normal) leader causes more trouble than you would think. Some guys I know go as short as 4-ft. I think your rod length minus 1-ft is a good place to start; for instance if you use an 8-ft rod, tie on a 7-ft leader. As you change bugs, you won't have to change leaders for at least two re-ties - I change if it gets shorter than 6-ft..

I hope this is a little help for those of you who haven't fished with popping bugs, poppers, or whatever the hell you wanta call 'em. As always YMMV

I never fished for bass or panfish. Surprising as I have a large pond 15 yards behind my villa where I have lived for 8 years. Im alway heading to the saltwater. I will have to give it a go.