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Author Topic: I just love fishing for big bluegills with a fly rod don't you?  (Read 2274 times)

taxid

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I'm culling out females from one of the ponds today. A couple of males. Nothing over a pound yet but several close to it.





I caught several on a couple of Icejohn's flies! Unfortunately there is a bass swimming around with one of them as I wasn't quick enough on one of the runs.
“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are genuine.” —Abraham Lincoln

taxid

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Hopefully add another inch by the end of the summer to around 10 inches.

I know you couldn't tell by ice fishing, but there are a lot of 8 to 9 inch male bluegills this year. What's weird is it's like only some of them are there in the winter.

As you know, I added bass last year this time of year at 6 to 8 inches that are now running over 14 inches. Real pellet pigs. They also produced another generation of bass that are now running 8 to 9 inches. I can tell they are keeping the bluegills in check as I am not catching as many of the smaller bluegills this year.
“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are genuine.” —Abraham Lincoln

Doubles Shooter

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That's something I haven't done in way too many years. I've got a little 6 weight outfit that was a blast with gills like yours. Going to have to get some new line. Top water poppers were fun early spring in the shallows.
Nice fish you caught.

icejohn

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Yea hopefully I'll get ot this week for some....wanna try out my new 3wt....I'll be trying out couple new flies and bugs I tied....might even try for some trout as well as I'm going to pa for a few days this week.
take a kid hunting and fishing, it's a lot better than leaving them on the streets!!

bigal409

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I have some sulphur flies tied for trout. Went after gills the other day with my fly rod. Put a sulphur fly on and game on. They hammered it.  ;D

rivereddy

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sponge ants + 5 wt = too much fun...  A pinched barb makes for an easy release and a good time.

fish on,

rivereddy

seamonkey84

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I love sunfish on a fly rod. I have a few rods that I picked up for sunfish and small streams, but I prefer the longer 4 or 5wt since they throw poppers and the length makes the fish feel bigger lol.
"You know when they have a fishing show on TV? They catch the fish and then let it go. They don't want to eat the fish, they just want to make it late for something." - Mitch Hedberg

taxid

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Cecil, you ever try bring some hogs inside to power feed them all winter?

Other than their first winter when I bring in YOY fish until next spring, the larger fish that have adapted to the pond don't do well in tanks. It's like putting wild fish in tanks. It stresses them.

That said if they lived in a tank all their lives they would be fine.

OTOH I haven't brought any YOY bluegill in for the winter for the past two years as there is ample reproduction in the pond and the fish quickly take to the pellets. I presently even have naturally reproduced bass that are taking to the pellets vs. having to feed train them.
“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are genuine.” —Abraham Lincoln

seamonkey84

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Bass and sunfish take to pellets prett quick, especially when they see other fish eating it. When I was a kid, I had some that I caught and put into my 125 gallon tank with my oscars. After a few days of seeing the other fish fighting for the pellets, they joined right in.
"You know when they have a fishing show on TV? They catch the fish and then let it go. They don't want to eat the fish, they just want to make it late for something." - Mitch Hedberg

taxid

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Bass and sunfish take to pellets prett quick, especially when they see other fish eating it. When I was a kid, I had some that I caught and put into my 125 gallon tank with my oscars. After a few days of seeing the other fish fighting for the pellets, they joined right in.

The interesting thing about that is each successive generation gets easier to feed train at hatcheries. I actually have a 20 year old text that says bass and yellow perch are impossible to feed train. That's definitely not the case anymore.

I was able to feed train 50 percent of the hybrid crappies a friend brought me from a hatchery in Arkansas. The hatchery claimed they tried and were not successful. That said I believe once planted into the pond they reverted back to wild feed which they are noted for. I haven't seen any sign of them at feeding time.

I'm hoping in the next few years I can produce my own hybrids with local stock and have better success. If I can feed train them at a small enough size I believe I can have close to 100 percent success. The ones from Arkansas were a little big for feed training.

Speaking of hybrids just got this close to 4 lb. 19 inch hybrid crappie in from a lake in Kosciusko County, Indiana. It was a really thick fish. Probably due to the gizzard shad in the lake. I mounted it for another taxidermist for a flat rate and he will finish it. As you can see it needs to be painted to match the original coloration.

Here is the original picture and then the fish after it dried. Note you can see a faint bar pattern in the fish after it dried.

It had 7 dorsal spines and 6 anal spines.



“The trouble with quotes on the Internet is you never know if they are genuine.” —Abraham Lincoln

charlys1954

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Haven't fly fish since my 30's, back in the 80s when I didn't have a boat. Loved to catch any gill with it so much fun. Seen a guy fly fishing Thurs, haven't seen anyone doing it in yrs.

Anyone wanting to catch gills on a fly and don't have a flyrod, use a casting bobber add 5-6ft of line and a fly behind it and cast with regular spinning reel.
I'm a "Born in Ind" Redneck and proud of it

icejohn

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Caught some decent ones on one of my for a...several gills and a 12" bass today.



take a kid hunting and fishing, it's a lot better than leaving them on the streets!!

 



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