I love setting the hook on a 9"+ bluegill, the kind where you grunt just after you set the hook and it feels like a stump. And then that bulldogging circling fight with the rod doubled over and the 6x stretched like piano wire.

Got one lake around here, and I've known for a long time there's huge gills, up to 11" in it, and plenty of them, but they're tough to find, they bed in 8' of water, and tough to entice when you do find them.

I was out last evening and spent two hours finding them. I knew there was a spawn on, I'd caught too many 6-8" fish shallow that were full of eggs for there not be. So I was dinkin' along the shore, had a 14 Adams on, I'd cast out away from shore, and then work my casts progressively closer toward shore. I'd screwed up a cast and was stripping the fly back to the boat and hooked a fish I mistook for a bass, I could feel the head shake, and it went deep and slugged it out for a bit before starting that familiar circling. A huge bluegill.

So I spent a good half hour giving them the traditional presentation that's worked in the past; lay it down gently, let it lay, small twitch, let it lay.... They weren't having it. So I figured since I'd caught that one while stripping, I'd try a soft hackle. Nothing. A bitch creek...nothing. A sparrow... nothing.

Put the Adams back on and scratched my head. Greased it up good and laid it out about 20' from shore. Stripped it back in about 4-6" pulls, just enough to keep it on top. I killed them. Big old cautious bluegills wanted it moving, and they wanted it moving on top. If you stopped, nothing. If it went under, nothing. As long as the fly was on top or at least bulging the film, it was guaranteed you'd have a hit or two. Some casts you'd see that wake coming from a long ways and get repeated hits until they were hook. It was great.

Bluegill are under-rated. Fight like crazy, get to respectable sizes, will take a multitude of offerings, but the bigger they get the more cautious they get. And once in a while they throw ya for a complete loop. Nice being taken to school last evening.

Very informative post! A friend of mine told me about catching some "good" gills in a pond near my house. I contacted the landowner and asked for permission. He said "have at it, the pond needs fishin". I tired several flies and even some UL spinning gear that always catches gills (microspoons with crappie nibble). Only caught 2 nice gills and 4 small bass. I was ready to give up on this pond. I think I will go back with flyrod and try some different retrieves. Thanks for the post.

I have the same problem with large gills in the 75 acre lake that I fish. This is my first year to fly fish and have a lot to learn. Yesterday the finder showed fish at 20 feet offshore and 5/6' deep. Wife and I were fishing worms for large redear and got skunked. I enjoyed your post and will try the flyrod on them next time out. Surface temperature was 85 degrees. Ouch, hot out there. Oh yea, forgot to memtion wife fishing under cork and I was drop shotting, I really wanted her to catch a few. Robbed again!!

INGrandad. Great post!!!
This post gives me the impression that you are a fine fisherman. Changing methods to match what they want is what fishing is all about ,and not just for fly fishing.
Thanks for the enjoyable, informative read, ole giller

You're too kind, I just do what I can to control populations in the lakes. Though job, but I've dedicated myself to it. Flyroddin's my first love, and the first means by which I go lookin' for fish.

All very true. Dave Whitlock said big gills were the toughest fish in freshwater to fool with a fly.

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Thanks for the post Grandad