use2wuz
Active member
Love ‘em all!
Fish Sticks
Well-known member
Wet fly fishing is so enjoyable and when its too hot for trout native red breast sunfish found in rivers and streams taken on caddis and damsel flies swung slow is a lot of fun, they fight extremely hard.
Fish Sticks
Well-known member
rock bass at night on wets are alot of fun too. They just seem to bite more at night for some reason.
JoeE
Active member
- Joined
- Sep 12, 2006
- Messages
- 486
I see in the one photo you have the sunfish pattern by Harry Murry the James Wood Bucktail. I was just thing about tying a few.
use2wuz
Active member
They are really good - in smaller sizes - the one I the picture has light tan eyelash yarn instead of bucktail
JerryC
Active member
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2014
- Messages
- 522
Nice, I'm looking forward to my trip to the Poconos in about 10 days. I'll admit I'm a dry fly snob, and fish mainly top water for panfish. Plus a lot of the lakes we fish are weedy and it's tough to drag a subsurface flies through the weeds. Nice looking flies but they look a little small for my taste. All my panfish flies are tied on size 6 hooks.
They do tend to hit flies in low light. I've never fished for them when it's completely dark, but they will continue to hit flies long after the sunfish have called it a day. Years ago when I was teaching my nephew how to fly fish, he was dabbling a CDC and Elk off a low bridge over the creek we were fishing. It was dark enough for the bats to be out. He hooked a huge rock bass. I measured it at 12 inches. I've haven't seen anything that big around here. The best I've caught up in the Poconos has been 9 inches. Around here they measure 3 to 6 inches.
Fish Sticks
Well-known member
Omg a 12” rock bass is a trophy. In the streams i fish 6” is a good one. I will fish streams all day long and not get any then night fish it and get numbers
R
RLeep2
Well-known member
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- Oct 15, 2009
- Messages
- 1,454
Presque Isle Bay was always good for Rock Bass of size. 10" fish was a good one but not uncommon and occasionally, you'd get them up to 12". The fly fishing time for them was somewhat of a narrow window though. Mostly when they were on the beds in May.
henrydavid
Member
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2007
- Messages
- 621
It should be time for top water poppers with the big bull gills. Best fun there is.
wildtrout2
Well-known member
I read the Georgia state record for red breast sunfish was broken with a 1lb 12oz fish. I believe it was 11.5".
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Peyton
Active member
size 10 and 8 poppers are perfect for big gills. I was out the other day and that was the only fly I caught them on. a few dinky bass and a nice-sized catfish also ate them too. most were big bluegills and pumpkin seeds. they all took it very fast and inhaled the whole thing every time. defiantly better than wets this time of year.
R
RLeep2
Well-known member
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- Oct 15, 2009
- Messages
- 1,454
The crappie/calicoes are in on the beds up here in the NW and can be had basically as quick as you can hook and land them. Almost anything white, yellow or chartreuse works but I've done best on simple #10 1XL beadhead wets in the above colors fished at about the same speed as paint dries or the seasons change.
Time to put 5-6 messes in the freezer for future reference...
Time to put 5-6 messes in the freezer for future reference...
F
Frederick V. C.
Member
My local lake is red hot right now. Cloudy yesterday and fished from 9 to a little after 1, the Crappie bit the whole time but were all medium size; mostly 8-9 in or so. That said, the bass fishermen seem to be catching them (real ones) in deeper waters usually on crankbaits. Also the gills must be staging as I caught about ten in short order; all over 8" and some beasts. Best flies were jig style with a maribou tail and a little Krystal flash. Used the same fly until it was demolished and the hook broke. Replaced it with the same pattern a size larger and continued to crush. Nothing like some no brainer fishing for therapy!
use2wuz
Active member
Fishnmusicn
Member
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2013
- Messages
- 65
Great time of year for the panfish. I tie a little bumblebee colored fly I found in an old fly tying book for bass and panfish. Probably a size 12 with a black and yellow chenille body, red hackle and tail. Also a killer fly I found online, the squirminator is very productive. I'll be taking a trip tomorrow out to my local lake, the bluegills should be starting to bed. There is also a stretch of local creek that I fish that is loaded with redbreasts, green sunfish and the occasional bluegill, The bluegills are usually big. Once June into early July comes along, the sunnies are spawning here and it's great action all day. And sometimes you'll catch some colorful hybrids, they have incredible colors.
F
Frederick V. C.
Member
Another fly that absolutely kills on my lake is a black ant. One of my favorites for trout but tied as a dropper behind a popper or a sinking fly it is money once it warms up. Biggest problem is it will also catch a lot of small fish. Started with trout sizes (16) but now tie them on a 2x or 3x 12 as pan fish will inhale them. Definitely want to go barbless!
Fishnmusicn
Member
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2013
- Messages
- 65
Here are some hybrids I've caught while fishing for redbreasts, green sunfish and bluegills. One section of creek is just loaded with all kinds of sunnies, and it's always special catching a hybrid sunfish.
Attachments
use2wuz
Active member
Love this! Our local creeks (around Harrisburg) have been decimated of panfish due to over harvest/human angling pressure and a plethora of natural predators (cormorants, herons, and eagles … not saying they’re bad, just they are here)
S
springer1
Member
Beautiful, thanks for posting ! People will say "all we caught were little Sunnies". I've found that larger 'Gills and Sunnies can be very wary and while the juveniles are tolerant of wading and visual disturbances, the larger fish are not and a seriously stealthy approach is necessary. I have a lot of fun seeking larger panfish .... barbless hooks of course !
