# Fly-yakin' some gills



## BassAddict83 (Sep 21, 2010)

I still haven't got a rod holder for my fly rod on my kayak yet but I found with a some organization inside the milk crate and a bungee cord I could make it work. It might not be stable enough to float thru riffles on a river but for a nice calm lake it was fine. 

I paddled out to a spot where there is a ton of standing timber and a few laydowns. Lots of room for the gills to hide and ambush bugs. I tied on a little popper and whipped it out next to anything I could see sticking out of the water. The gills couldn't get enough of it. A few of them almost darn near swallowed my bug! Not really sure how many I had altogether but it was non stop for just about the entire 2 hours I was on the water. 






































It's funny because before fly fishing I never really cared for bluegill. Yeah they were fun for the kids to catch and I enjoyed watching the kids pulling in one after another with their worms and bobbers but that was about it. Once I started fly fishing it became a whole new ballgame. All of the sudden these guys were a ton of fun to catch. And NOW that I've done it in a kayak it has taken it to even higher level. Now I just need them to hit a fly I tied myself....


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## MIKE*A (Apr 12, 2009)

They are a lot of fun! I took my new 3 wt out to a local pond last night for about an hour targeting gills...used some small poppers I made out of flip flops.....caught a couple of small ones....they weren't near as cooperative as the ones you encountered! Sometimes when targeting gills, I will tie on a 12-18" dropper off the bend of the popper and put on a small nymph or wet fly.....

Mike


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## BassAddict83 (Sep 21, 2010)

MIKE*A said:


> They are a lot of fun! I took my new 3 wt out to a local pond last night for about an hour targeting gills...used some small poppers I made out of flip flops.....caught a couple of small ones....they weren't near as cooperative as the ones you encountered! Sometimes when targeting gills, I will tie on a 12-18" dropper off the bend of the popper and put on a small nymph or wet fly.....
> 
> Mike


I'd like to see those flip flop poppers. I have an old pair I could put to good use.

I thought about doing the dropper and decided I would if the fish wouldnt hit the popper but that area is snag city with all the trees sticking out of the water so I was pretty glad the popper bite was on.


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## Flymaker (Jan 24, 2013)

MIKE*A said:


> They are a lot of fun! I took my new 3 wt out to a local pond last night for about an hour targeting gills...used some small poppers I made out of flip flops.....caught a couple of small ones....they weren't near as cooperative as the ones you encountered! Sometimes when targeting gills, I will tie on a 12-18" dropper off the bend of the popper and put on a small nymph or wet fly.....
> 
> Mike


Blue Gills on top water is a nice way to speed a few hrs of free time.....But if you really want to get into the bigger gills....you need to go down....My go-to fly fo blue gills is a size 10 black/grizzly wooly bugger with a 1/8'' bead head... I will also fish a size 8 ...I use a nymph hook ......I dont fish this as a dropper....about a 8ft leader.....let it sink abit....then use about 2-6'' strips a few seconds apart....the smaller gills tend to be higher in the water column ....the bigger gills often hang out deeper......a 9'' blue gill on a 2wt is a ball......


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## MIKE*A (Apr 12, 2009)

BassAddict83 said:


> I'd like to see those flip flop poppers. I have an old pair I could put to good use.on.


BA,
I used a punch and cut out cylinders out of some white flip flops I bought for a buck at "Michaels".....a little superglue, extra popper hooks I had, rubber legs, glue on eyes, and colored markers.....not pretty, but effective....PM an address if you like and I will drop a couple in the mail to you when I get a chance....

Mike


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## TimTaylor75 (Apr 7, 2009)

#2 is a great photo!


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## Jmsteele187 (Dec 22, 2011)

TimTaylor75 said:


> #2 is a great photo!


Yeah, that fly is gone!

I was out with another OGF'er tonight catching gills. He gave me some good pointers. And I had quite a bit of fun catching gills.


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## kingofamberley (Jul 11, 2012)

Thats a big stick for little fish!  Looks like a fun time though!


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## bonacci01 (Apr 27, 2012)

I just started on on the fly targeting panfish on my 4 weight. I'm feeling like I don't know what I'm doing but haven't come home skunked yet from the big Darby ! It sure is fun ! Nice pics too btw


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## rkierner (Jun 17, 2013)

I just started fly fishing and just started kayaking but I haven't tried to put the two together yet. I've been afraid that the tossing motion would tip me. I'll give it a try tomorrow though.


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## bonacci01 (Apr 27, 2012)

rkierner said:


> I just started fly fishing and just started kayaking but I haven't tried to put the two together yet. I've been afraid that the tossing motion would tip me. I'll give it a try tomorrow though.


I like it , when I do it I only take my fly rod and kind of leave everything else behind . I don't want and rod holders or other rods in the way of casting . Seems to work well , I like having the space and not having to worry about trees and such . Also , a longer rod will help getting the line up , since you are in the sitting position at water level. 


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## rkierner (Jun 17, 2013)

Good point, Also with more mobility, you probably can let out less line. As a beginner, I have really been struggling with more than 10-20 ft of line (+8ft leader) The timing is tough for some reason. practice practice practice right?


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## CarpRule (Jun 18, 2013)

If you like gills. Try for carp or sheephead amazing

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