Meal Time!!

 Spring is my favorite time of year to fly fish. The fish are far more active, the early spawn is getting closer, and they’re in a protective frenzy around their beds. During this time of year, they’ll strike almost anything that comes near their beds. You can expect a vigorous fight from both bluegill and bass. After feeding heavily through late fall and winter, these fish are in top shape and ready to put a serious bend in any fly rod.

Today my 2/3‑weight fly rods got quite a workout as I fished Walker County Lake. I landed numerous small bluegill along with some quality bull gills. None of these fish were spawning yet, but they were holding about ten feet off the banks. It was the same script as last year — steady action with hits spaced about ten to 15 minutes apart. In other words, patience was the key to putting together a good catch today.

Tiny poppers and small buggers were the bluegills’ choice of fake food this morning. My season always starts at Walker County Lake and finishes up on Smith Lake in the fall.  Today was the start of my twenty first season fishing this great lake. I never tire fishing its waters

Spawning Cycles of the Bluegill

 

As I was fishing one of the bluegill spawning beds the other day on Walker County Lake, I wondered if these beds would be used during the next spawning phase of the full moon in June. After doing a little research, I discovered that the bluegill will sometimes use the same beds from one full moon to the next during the spring and summer. I know this is true in some Smith Lake and Walker County Lake areas. I have fished Smith Lake and Walker Lake for years now and found that the fish are often not in the same area bedding each year. Several factors affect their location from year to year, such as changes in water level, vegetation growth, temperature range, and fishing pressure, which can influence their choice of spawning sites. 

As for the depth, I have found bluegill spawning in water as shallow as a couple of feet or less. If they are pressured from spawning cycling to spawning cycle, then they will move to deeper water to avoid spawning beds from being seen. This is especially true in small lakes where there is heavy fishing pressure. The 15-acre lake my son lives on is a prime example of what I am talking about. The bluegill in this lake always spawns in shallow water and always in the same area of the lake each year. They choose the same bedding areas in this lake each year because of less fishing pressure on the lake. The lake is there mostly for the beautiful scenery around the lake, and the walking trails next to the water's edge. In other words no one is interfering with the spawning process of the bluegill here but me and my son. 

The bluegill was probably the first fish a small child landed while using live bait, such as a cricket or redworm. That is how I got interested in fishing years ago as a youngster fishing our small farm pond. The fish was easy to catch, even with cane poles and live bait. Once my dad taught me how to land the fish using a fly rod, there was no turning back, I was hooked for life, and will be until the day I retire from fly fishing, and I hope that is years from now. For me, landing a large bull bluegill or an average-sized bluegill on a lightweight fly rod is the ultimate in warm-water fly fishing!