How To Consistently Catch Big Bluegills And Other Panfish

June 19, 2019 Panfish On The Fly

Though small panfish are often easy to catch, larger specimens like this fine bluegill are a different story once the spawning season is over!

Large bluegills are not the pushovers their younger siblings are. While it is true that larger fish may be easy to catch while on their spawning beds, once the spawn is over truly, large panfish can be some of the most elusive freshwater fish to catch. In this article, I will discuss some of the things I have learned over the years to catch larger bluegills and other panfish consistently.

Pickerel On The Fly

June 2, 2019 Panfish On The Fly

Chain pickerel are one of my favorite freshwater gamefish. While many anglers despise them, I am rather fond of them. Why do so many anglers dislike them? Chain pickerel are members of the pike family, and like their larger cousins, they have mouths filled with razor-sharp teeth. These teeth, as well as sharp gill plates, give them the ability to rob fisherman of their expensive flies and lures if precautionary measures are not taken.

Fly Fishing For Shad

April 23, 2019 Panfish On The Fly

Shad are one of my favorite fish to chase with a fly rod. They readily take small, bright flies and are great fighters.

Ward Bean's Cockaroo

April 16, 2019 Panfish On The Fly

A slightly modified Cockaroo that earned a regular place in my wet fly box.

I have been a long time reader of Ward Bean’s website, Warmwater Fly Tyer . I have tied and fished many of the patterns found on the pages of his site. For the warm water fly fisher/tier this is an incredible resource. I highly recommend a visit.

Tandem Rigs for Pre-Spawn Bluegills

April 5, 2019 Panfish On The Fly

When the fish are holding deeper, you need to get the flies down to them. I do occasionally use sinking and intermediate lines, but as we move closer to warmer weather, I am usually equipped with a floating line in anticipation of the season's first topwater bite. To get flies down under these conditions I will fish a tandem rig with two flies. One fly will be large and heavy to bring the small unweighted wet fly down to the fish.