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I have fly fished before, and i am looking at getting into it a little more, especially for blue gills,

Any tips on rod - reel combo's ?

Flies?

tactics?

3-4 wt is plenty good unless you want to have a setup for bass also and i would go with a 5-6 wt. For bream fishing i like to use floating fly line.. always have done real good with white popping bug or round denny's.. sometimes i will attach a black knat about 18" behind a popping bug (either leave the tag end long or you can tie the line to the bend of the popping bug's hook) and catch the fire out of them when they are not hitting top of the water to well.. any cricket imitation does good to..

I could fill your email box with information on this very topic. I have fly fished for bluegills for years and trout is one thing on a fly rod, but bluegill is where the action is. Especially when they are on the beds.

7'6" 4wt rod. You wont have to cast very far so a nice supple medium action is perfect. Splurge on the rod because you won't need an expensive reel. The reel for bluegill just holds the line, that's all. Get a weight forward floating line and use light tippet material.

I use sponge spiders and will sometimes use a bead head dropper about 12-18" behind it. Watch the spider like a cork. If it goes under, set the hook. A popping bug works the same way. That is when they are shallow or on the bed. When it gets later in the summer and hot, search for overhanging trees with about 4-5' of water or a little more under the canopy. Throw a slow sinking wooly worm or bead head and watch your line closely. When it ticks, set the hook. Same with Lilly pads, cast to the edge and let it sink slowly.

Go to a website called fly anglers online and there is an entire forum section dedicated to warm water fly fishing. They also have a weekly warm water article. You can fill a weekend reading the archived articles.

Good luck!

TFO (Temple Fork Outfitters) makes a tremendous rod for the money. Probably the best for under $250. Look at a 3 or 4wt. Reel as mentioned is not that important for still water fly fishing since you will primarily be stripping the fish in. Bream (or bass for that matter) don't take long runs, they will just bull dog you. Looking on eBay for a decent used reel would be good, just incase you use the rod for trout (I almost exclusively use my 3wt for trout so I have a better reel for that reason.) Almost as important to the rod is the line. Don't cheap out here. A good WF Floating line. Rio or Scientific anglers make great lines. It will make a huge difference in casting to spend about $50+ on fly line versus some cheap $20 line. You don't need a very long leader. 7.5' 4x will be just fine. Flies like small foam popping bugs, spiders, or similar. Subsurface flies like bream killers or small wooly buggers work great too.

I have a little different philosophy on fly fishing... you dont have to go high dollar to have fun catching bream.

You dont need an expensive rod for bream. just match the weight of your line up with the weight of your rod.
For a leader, I use good ole Stren, 4lb clear, the length of my rod. use this tool to help you tie the leader to
your fly line

Here is a video on how to do it:
http://youtu.be/XJUXmde-Uz4

It takes a little getting use to, but after a while it is a snap.

your floating fly line will last for years, so its ok to get some good line. But dont go crazy. bream should be cheap.
and your reel should be cheap too. $20 max. its only there as a fancy line holder. nothing more.

and dont buy $10 flies for bream. this one is one of the best:



You might catch more on a sinking fly, but the fun of fly fishing is watching them hit on the top of the water...

If your fly line doesn't have a loop end to it, get these.



A pack is about $6 and you then only have to connect your leader with a perfection loop knot. Plus you don't damage the end of your fly line by tying knots over and over.

It's also mighty tough to turn a fly over, even a tiny one, with a straight 4 lb mono leader. At least adding a 3ft long 30lb butt section and then connecting your tippet (light mono) to it would do wonders to turn the fly over.

Those slip on leader loops are the cats ass. I used to use those barbed eyelets. That was a pain to insert em up in the floating line.

I've always used an old antique springloaded reel. Probably frowned upon by flyfishing purists but that's what I grew up using, and theyre damn handy for gathering up line quickly after a bite. Note my flyrod hasn't fished for anything other than bream.

The sky's the limit on ammo...buy'em or make'em...

Don't forget old bucket mouth hangs around bream beds...After a few violent smacks from them you'll skip the bream eventually.

The problem is holding bass on de lil bugs...I like a medium bug with a big bite in da hook so I might miss a few breamzses but can manage the inevitable bass...If your just hammerin a bed just go w/the lil bug/fly...might wanta leave a few for next year...

If you stay at it long you'll learn to tie your leader to the fly line w/nailknot, sections of leaders w/ blood knots, tippets of degrees of dia. differences w/ surgeons knots and flies w/ improved clinches in low light conditons booty deep in running water...You sound young so you got time to learn.

As metioned a good deal is a popper/bug with a section of leader tied around the hook bend w/clinch knot and a wet fly trailer. You might even catch 2 at'a time....

A lil thoughts on casting...pic the line off da water and try to throw it strait up behind you...when you feel it tug slightly or loading up the rod, drive the rod downward and stop allowing the line and fly to gentle settle to the water. if your cracking it like a whip and slappin de water go get you a spin rig and a can of worms...

After the bug hits the water lower your rod and point it at the bug and pop/twitch with your loose hand. On the strike pause a short time then set the hook by raising the rod and jerking with the off hand...After working the bug way in or taking a fish off, false cast couple of times and shoot the line back to the target/bank...Later DL

PS If the grass carp are foraging the bream bed strip a small streamer in front of'em and beat'em against a tree for me if/when you catch them... Might elect to release'm so you'll at least have sumthin to fish for in a couple of years...

duramax wrote:If your fly line doesn't have a loop end to it, get these.



A pack is about $6 and you then only have to connect your leader with a perfection loop knot. Plus you don't damage the end of your fly line by tying knots over and over.

It's also mighty tough to turn a fly over, even a tiny one, with a straight 4 lb mono leader. At least adding a 3ft long 30lb butt section and then connecting your tippet (light mono) to it would do wonders to turn the fly over.

+1 on the slide on loops. Start with 30lb leader and go down in weight from there. I do each in 3 foot sections and tie them together using the perfection loop. Also I go ahead and tie leaders onto my flies then I can quickly change flys using the perfection loop.

I just upgraded equipment with a Cabelas 9ft 5wt graphite rod and Ross reel. I had the Wal Mart Fiberglass special before and really like the upgrade. I use the floating Cortland loops on Cortland 444 WF 5WT line with 5 pound leader. I use a combination of sinking sponge spiders and crickets with a strike indicator to floating Betts poppers. You can fill the cooler when they are bedding.

If you decide to use the Cortland loops there is a trick to getting them on. I slide the long shaft of a pair of needle nose tweasers down the end to open it up. You will be cussing trying to get the line into the braided tag end of the line. Be very careful heating up the shrink tubing or you will damage the fly line.

Incidently, I recently bought a St. Croix 8 1/2 ft. 5 wt. Rio Santo and they sent two. Called the company and they said keep it. I don't need two so if anybody is interested let me know. Cost $100 and will let it go for $75 shipping included. This may need to be in the classified and if the mods need to move this part fine. Just thought I'd add this as a way for anybody getting a start to get a good rod at a good price.

Caught ten of these, seem to be off the bed now.

i gotta hurry up and get my rig set up

[quote="duramax"]TFO (Temple Fork Outfitters) makes a tremendous rod for the money. Probably the best for under $250. Look at a 3 or 4wt. Reel as mentioned is not that important for still water fly fishing since you will primarily be stripping the fish in. Bream (or bass for that matter) don't take long runs, they will just bull dog you. Looking on eBay for a decent used reel would be good, just incase you use the rod for trout (I almost exclusively use my 3wt for trout so I have a better reel for that reason.) Almost as important to the rod is the line. Don't cheap out here. A good WF Floating line. Rio or Scientific anglers make great lines. It will make a huge difference in casting to spend about $50+ on fly line versus some cheap $20 line. You don't need a very long leader. 7.5' 4x will be just fine. Flies like small foam popping bugs, spiders, or similar. Subsurface flies like bream killers or small wooly buggers work great too.[/quot

+1

TFO uses the same exact blanks as G loomis.

Best bang for the buck.

champcaller wrote:

duramax wrote:TFO (Temple Fork Outfitters) makes a tremendous rod for the money. Probably the best for under $250. Look at a 3 or 4wt. Reel as mentioned is not that important for still water fly fishing since you will primarily be stripping the fish in. Bream (or bass for that matter) don't take long runs, they will just bull dog you. Looking on eBay for a decent used reel would be good, just incase you use the rod for trout (I almost exclusively use my 3wt for trout so I have a better reel for that reason.) Almost as important to the rod is the line. Don't cheap out here. A good WF Floating line. Rio or Scientific anglers make great lines. It will make a huge difference in casting to spend about $50+ on fly line versus some cheap $20 line. You don't need a very long leader. 7.5' 4x will be just fine. Flies like small foam popping bugs, spiders, or similar. Subsurface flies like bream killers or small wooly buggers work great too.[/quot

+1

TFO uses the same exact blanks as G loomis.

Best bang for the buck.

Saw a nice little 3 and 4 wt TFO at Bass Pro for $110. Lifetime warranty. Don't get a fly rod that doesn't.

JD that bream is a hog! I am with the fellow above- a 7 1/2 foot 3 wt is what I use for bream and it makes catching those 10 inchers a hoot. I bought a St. Croix and a Ross reel- quite the expensive setup. For 100 dollars total. Sportsman's Warehouse in Southhaven day before closing everything was 80 percent off. I got a handful of every fly they had, and when I got to the register the lady looked at them and said, "ah, just give me 20 bucks". TFO rods are hands down the best rod for the money.

Just for perks and to add to the library, I bought the book "Bluegill...Fly Fishing and Flies" http://www.amazon.com/Bluegill-Fishing- ... 157188176X

One thing I remember from the book is a boy they took fly fishing for the first time to a spot they had been getting on some big blues. After some casting lessons they started wailing on the fish. He commented "Ol the beauuuutiful vibrations!" That is one thing I love about catching trophy blues on a lightweight fly rod, those vibrations.

I seem to have good luck with trophy blues on the farthest outside edge of pad and weed flats, towards deeper water. In ponds letting a bead head nymph fall slowly and hopping it on the bottom seems to work well. It seems to me that big trophy blues act more like bass than they do bream, in regards to where they live. Obviously this doesn't apply during the spawn.

Denduke, epic...