By Aaron Motley
Fly fishing for bass and bluegill can be some of the best fly fishing. These species are found in so many areas such as ponds, lakes, and rivers all over the USA. They are known for eating top water lures too. This aggressive take can help any angler with setting the hook. Playing these fish is a ton of fun, and a helpful skill for a fly angler to master, as the fish get bigger. Casting is also another skill these fish can help a fly angler with. You may need to cast under trees along a lakeshore, around a tree or shrub, or as close to a dock as possible without ending up stuck on the dock.
Casting just one fly on the top of the water can be very successful for catching bass and bluegill, but as most fish do, they primarily feed under the surface of the water on hellgrimites, dragonflies, damselflies, salamanders, or smaller fish. To imitate theses types of food, two very productive flies come to mind, Girdle bugs and woolly buggers. Both patterns are frequently tied with lead wire on the hook shank to aid in quickly sinking the fly.
To fly fish, casting theses two flies, we use a dropper system. This is where you tie your top water fly to your leader, then using fluorocarbon tippet, tie to the eye of the fly or to the bend of the hook. Your tippet can now be adjusted to your desired length and then attached to your dropper fly. If this system is new to you, come into Hunter Banks Fly Shop in Asheville or Waynesville, and we can set you up with a 7.5ft 3x leader and 4x tippet. The short leader will help roll the fly over and start with a dropper length of 24 inches.
With warm temperatures in full swing, get out and try bass and bluegill fly fishing with a popper and dropper. Also, stop by Hunter Banks and let us help get you any gear needed for your next fun adventure.
Aaron is Operations Manager at the Waynesville Hunter Banks. His waterfowl hunting addiction supports his fly tying addiction. He learned his fly-fishing craft from “fishy” people and pursues large trout, bass and musky on a daily basis. He teaches others to do the same.