Santee Lakes Bluegill Blossoming

[blackcloud9]

Lately I have been visiting Santee Lakes and catching bass, but also watching the newly hatched bluegill grow from one inch to more than three inches. They always seem to be feeding on heavy concentrations of freshwater plankton and also on hatching bugs in the heat of the day. They are usually staying tight to cover like tullies unless there is a heavy hatch happening where clouds of them can be found schooling out in the open.

There are bigger bluegill along with them and can be sight-fished.

I can fly-line a small beadhead nymph on UL trout tackle, and catch these on almost every cast.

If you have kids that want to catch some bluegill, go mid-day and target them with wax worms and small bobber. Also the small bass are in on the hatch action.

[Fisheromen]

Thought it was too early for Bluegill. Wrong... again!

[R5miller]

Great post! I'm working on an UL creek / pondfishing setup. I've got a secondhand 2 pc UL 6' rod and a pflueger president reel size 20 as well as a 5wt fly rod. Looking for easy pondfishing for panfish like this just to relax from school. Can you explain a bit more how you fly line on an UL setup? Not quite sure what the means.

[bendopolo 44+]

Look up 1wt fly rods on EBay. Makes those Gills fight hard, bend your rod clear down to the handle, adds a bit of Crazy to the equation for $60 for a complete package. Turns Creek Trout into Giants!

[blackcloud9]

Great post! I'm working on an UL creek / pondfishing setup. I've got a secondhand 2 pc UL 6' rod and a pflueger president reel size 20 as well as a 5wt fly rod. Looking for easy pondfishing for panfish like this just to relax from school. Can you explain a bit more how you fly line on an UL setup? Not quite sure what the means.

Flyline means generally just a hook with either bait or a soft lure (Gulp) on the hook. So, I fish 2 lb mono or 6 lb braid with a fluorocarbon leader on my very UL setup (also used for casting 1/32 oz minijigs to trout, in winter).

I tie a beadhead nymph to the end of the leader. It weighs maybe 1/100 oz, and I cast that out in front of the bluegill. On good days, when they are feeding on insects, they'll literally race for it. I can cast that maybe 20 feet with no indicator attached - super fun.

Nymphs: For example a size 14 hares ear, prince nymph, rubber legs, or wooly bugger from here https://flyshack.com/DisplayCategory.aspx?CatID=28

They will hit all types of dry flies as well - use on a flyrod or cast with an indicator for weight.