Cathey and I spent Thursday morning on Smith Lake searching for some late-season bluegill still in the spawning mode. This may be the last spawn of the season. The lake is on the pull-down, getting ready for next Spring's rains, so we will be fishing falling water, which means the fish will be moving out of the nooks into deeper water. I hope I am wrong.
We started the morning in Rayon Creek, which, of course, is my favorite place to fish Smith Lake. This quality bull gill inhaled a size 6 Boggle Bug Popper near one of many floating docks on the lake. I am amazed at how these big bluegill have enough suction power to get this size popper wedged in their mouths so quickly. I thought I had hooked a spotted bass, because of the fight of this fish. My 5 wt. was tested during the fight. Sorry to say, this would be the only bluegill I would take on the fly rod this morning. The rest of the morning was consumed with Cathey and me landing bluegill in four spawning areas where there was one or two fish still on their beds. Towards the end of the spawning season, one is lucky to find more than a couple still guarding their beds. All the beds were still in water 5 to 6 ft. deep. As the lake is drawn down even more over the next couple of months, these beds will be exposed on the dry bottom. Once the spawn is over, they move to cover, which is the rock walls, where there is the insect larvae to keep them well fed until next year's spawning cycle starts all over again.
The cricket is the perfect insect to mimic the insect larvae found in the crevices of the rock walls on Smith Lake. The boat traffic is churning the water, keeping the larvae moving for the bluegill to feast on.
This size bluegill will produce two nice fillets. When you add french fries, coleslaw, and hush puppies, along with some tartar sauce and ketchup, you have a great meal. To me, the bluegill tops the crappie when you compare both of these fish for a meal.
The way I like to fish for this size bluegill is with a fly rod and small surface poppers in April through June. Then, from July through October, I use my micro light 7 1/2-ft rod, rigged with a slip sinker and 4-lb test vanish mono line. This time of year, they go 15 to 20 feet deep, and using a cricket with a nibblet in red or white color attached to the tip of the hook gets the hits. Letting the cricket sink to the desired depth, showing on the depth finder, and working it with a slow retrieve gets their attention. There is no mistaking when they hit. In fact, my Micro light is duplicating my 7 1/2-ft fly rod. A ton of fun for sure when you connect with one of these beauties down deep!
I can’t end this post without showing you this average male spotted bass I landed a few minutes after landing the big bluegill. Nothing really special about this fish but the FIGHT! I was using my 4 wt. fly rod trying to get another big gill to take my size 8 Bullet Boggle Bug popper when this bass exploded on the popper. The fight this fish put up on the 4 wt. was amazing, making me think I'd hooked a 2-lb spotted bass. He got me hung a couple of times before I finally released the fish. I was thinking I wish I had my 5wt. It was lying at my feet, but the 4wt. got the job done. This fight was amazing coupled with the numerous runs it made trying to free itself! This one fish today reminded me why I love this sport so much, especially pursuing them with the fly rod.
