May 14—We sure went from a cold spring into the heat of summer in a matter of just days. There is nothing more difficult for wildlife then the cold, followed by the heat, and then back to cool again. Put in the wind that blows bird nests out of trees and heavy rains that drown out mammal nests and you can just bet there has been a toll on our area’s wildlife.
Fish will be ready to nest very soon and this is a great time of the year to learn to fly fish and how to master the art of fishing with a fly.
Right now; just before the bluegill go on the nest, I would use a wet fly (fly that sinks once it hits the water). Fly makers make hundreds of wet flies to sell to anglers needing to get down in the deeper water for their fish. Wet flies are also great for crappie on their nest.
Bluegill stay in deeper water, just off the spawning beds. The eggs are maturing as they wait for the optimum water temperature that tells th3m when to come up and lay their eggs.
These fish will lay in 4-6 feet of water so a wet fly fished just off the spawning beds will usually produce fish.
Once the fish are up on the beds I go to a dry fly (fly that does not sink and stays on the top of the water). Many of these flies are called poppers and have their mouth cupped out so they will pop when the fly is moved properly. Some of these are made to resemble insects and other creatures and many refer to them as “creature flies”
There is nothing much better than to see a big bluegill rise up from the beds and suck down a top water fly and the explosion that ensues is why people love to fish the dry flies.
As summer comes around, I like the dry fly in the morning and evening and the wet flies during the day but I don’t do a lot of fly fishing in the summer.
I love to fly fish in the fall! Once again both types of flies will work. If the bluegill are popping the top of the water, dry flies are great but as fall deepens and waters cool, a sinking fly will bring in some nice blue and redear.
Fly fishing for crappie in the late fall can get exciting dropping a wet fly down along the edge of trees and other structure. Some big crappie can be taken on a fly rod during the fall!
Fly fishing really gets interesting if a big bass takes your fly. A big bass can make a fly rod bend to its breaking point and, if you land a bass over five pounds on a fly rod you will have accomplished the ultimate reason you decided to try the fly rod.
Sam Van Camp writes about the outdoors on Saturdays. Fax: 446-6648. E-mail: pamnsam70@aol.com
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