# First topwater smallies:)



## LearningtoFly (Apr 2, 2011)

I fished the Chagrin today and decided to try something new to me.
Thus far my fly fishing has involved throwing buggers, clousers and egg patterns. Today I decided that I was going to stick with nothing but surface flies and boy am I glad I did. I didn't catch any big fish but that style of fishing really showed me a strength of the fly rod that I had been missing. 
I started off chucking a small black popper with a bunch of rubber legs and couldn't keep the little bluegill off of it (I never noticed that many gills in the Chagrin until throwing that fly today). After the popper, I found a fly that honestly I'm not sure what the heck it is. Frankly, I don't even know where that fly came nor remember buying it but it produced a good number of undersized but fiesty smallies for me today when skated across the surface. None of today's fish warranted a photo but I took a photo of topwater smallie #1 anyway:


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## toobnoob (Jun 1, 2010)

Nice job on the smallie action! I love that aspect of fly fishing also, being able to switch presentations as needed. Streamers not working? Go topwater! that's not working? Drift some bugs! It's like a puzzle some days and sometimes you can throw anything and wreck em.


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## fishinnick (Feb 19, 2011)

Congrats. Topwater smallmouths are awesome. It may not be the most effective way most of the time, but you can't beat the explosive strikes.

Bluegills? What stretch were you fishing? I fished Rocky River for about a half an hour yesterday and caught a bluegill and believe it or not a largemouth, never caught either species in there before, but I don't fish it much either.


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## LearningtoFly (Apr 2, 2011)

fishinnick said:


> Bluegills? What stretch were you fishing? I fished Rocky River for about a half an hour yesterday and caught a bluegill and believe it or not a largemouth, never caught either species in there before, but I don't fish it much either.


Yep, bluegills:










This little fella was my first ever fish on a surface fly aside from some steelhead I've managed to skate up. You can see the rubber leg of the fly sticking out of its mouth. This fish totally engulfed the fly which was about the same size and shape as its mouth.

I've fished this stretch of river plenty of times and caught many species from rockbass and smallmouth to crappie to redhorse but never a bluegill before. The bluegill were all concentrated at the end of large pools just before the the tailout begins, probably preparing to spawn.

Opps, forgot mention I was in the Gates Mills area of the Chagrin.


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## fishinnick (Feb 19, 2011)

That's interesting. On one of my favorite trout streams in Pa I also caught gills, one crappie, and a few perch out of. Did not expect to catch any of those. 

I fished the Clear Fork last year and caught a handful of gills in some slower water. That's a tailwater though so a decent amount probably come from the lake(s), but I'm sure some spawn in the river too. 

Btw, bluegills are very good at engulfing flies!


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## TheJGRDispatch (Jun 15, 2012)

I believe what you were using is a Dahlberg diver, or some derivation of it.

I have the same experience with hard body poppers too, usually I get nothing but panfish with them.


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## BassAddict83 (Sep 21, 2010)

Yeah, yesterday morning I couldn't get away from the sunfish either! Aggressive little monsters!


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## zachxbass (Jun 23, 2011)

Agreed, bluegills/sunfish love poppers. I've yet to catch a bass on one, but I've caught hundreds of bluegill. 

Congrats on the topwater action. I love catching fish top water, even little fish.

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## LearningtoFly (Apr 2, 2011)

TheJGRDispatch said:


> I believe what you were using is a Dahlberg diver, or some derivation of it.
> 
> I have the same experience with hard body poppers too, usually I get nothing but panfish with them.


Thanks. I'll have to order some more Dahlberg divers. I used it on the Grand today and again it produced fish. No big ones but several 12-14" smallies.


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## Patricio (Feb 2, 2007)

I love topwater for smallies, I throw hard body poppers, and slam the fly down near a boulder or other cover, them smallies smash it up.


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