Fly Tying Friday -The Micro Gurgler

April 23, 2021 Panfish On The Fly

The Micro Gurgler, is a buggy looking, easy to tie Gurgler style fly that is a panfish killer.

Topwater fishing has been on my mind of late. We have had a smattering of warm spring days here in the northeast but not a long enough string of them to significantly warm the water. We are in the midst of another cold front which tends to shut down fishing for a few days. The warmer weather is right around the corner, and it will bring the return of consistent, quality topwater fishing. Nothing beats a bluegill or any other fish, for that matter, taking flies off the surface.

Old School Wet Flies For Panfish

April 20, 2021 Panfish On The Fly

A big Royal Coachman wet fly is a perfect choice for early season panfish!

I continued to wade out until the water threatened to come over the top of my waders. Once in position, I stripped off some fly line to make my first cast. Tied to the end of my tippet was a size 8 Royal Coachman Wet Fly. Winged wet flies were once popular amongst trout fishers but have seemed to fall from grace, replaced by more modern offerings.

Fly Tying Friday - The Easter Basket Damselfly Nymph

April 16, 2021 Panfish On The Fly

The Easter Basket Damselfly Nymph is a damselfly with a little bling!

Damselfly nymphs are probably my favorite warm water nymph patterns. Damselflies are found everywhere (at least in my neck of the woods), and many fish species relish them. I typically use damselfly nymph patterns in natural hues of olive, green, tan, and brown. However, during certain times of the year, my local panfish and bass seem to key in on brightly colored flies. For those occasions, I thought a bright damsel nymph would be just the ticket.

Fly Tying Friday - Triangle Bugs For Bass

April 9, 2021 Panfish On The Fly

A fully dressed, weedless bass-sized Triangle Bug. This pattern makes a good disturbance on the surface of the water and is a solid bass producer.

For a long time, I have touted the Triangle Bugs' effectiveness as a topwater panfish fly. Over the years, I have caught a variety of fish species on this little bug while fishing for panfish. This list included many largemouth bass, including one six-pound fish that sipped that tiny size eight fly from the surface like a trout taking a mayfly. So it was a logical decision to tie these bugs a little larger and target bass with them.

The Panfish Devil Bug

April 2, 2021 Panfish On The Fly

The Devil Bug is an old school pattern that works as good today as it did back then.

I was first introduced to this pattern through a musty old pamphlet entitled How to Catch a Fish with O. C. Tuttle's Devil Bugs. I found the molding 22-page booklet in a box of donated fly tying materials that I was sorting for my local Trout Unlimited chapter. I took the yellowing pages home with me and read them cover to cover. Inside were drawings and descriptions of scores of devil bugs tied to catch everything from bluegills to tarpon.