Mantua Munchfest

[CoyoteSpinner]

Got down about mid afternoon - on the water about 3. Didn't go far at first. Got into some Gill beds, and they were quite entertaining after I dialed things in. Many were pretty stubborn and resistant to biting, or maybe slight slight nibbles. Watched the jig get sucked in and spit out with nary a quiver...
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I love sight fishing! The pictures don't do em justice, but you can play "find the pope in the pizza" but with bluegills. Their antics are quite entertaining. Reminds me of having cyclids. Posturing, darting, challenging, puffing out their gills, wagging their backsides in their nests - looks like a strut.

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Flyfishing bud from work came and joined, so - yup - we flung some flies at em. He a small nymph - me a red-popper. Took a little time to work out the hookset, not to mention the cast, the tangles, the untangling...
My friend got a few hooksets, and a couple dropped off, then he brought one in.

Next I got a slam on the popper after several follows. Ping! Fish on! Fish on the Fly-rod! Worked it in and landed - yes my fist flyfishing fish. After a couple more on the popper the old thing broke (it was my dads).
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Switched up to a Wooly Bugger - kinda pale olive, and they liked it. Bunch of follows, then a bunch of swallows.

We moved off toward the inlet, and my bud had switched to a bugger after he saw how mine was working, he dragged it while we trolled along. Slam! Something hit it hard - big long fight - round the boat several times - NOT under the boat! Netted up a nice 17" rainbow - chunky monkey (sorry - no pic).

Saw more fish as we moved - tried heading to deeper water - where it drops to 20. Blips on radar, but no bites on offers. So we moved shallower - got back into gills around 8ft, and swirls all around. Saw some decent bass down amongst the school. Caught one bass - no trophy! Also ran into one perch.
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But the bluegill were non-stop. It was a riot. I was pitching a small ice jig tipped with crawler, and it was hit every cast for long stretches. Gotta love that.[inline Bruiser.jpg]

[JLG78]

Dam dude... I leave Mantua alone for 2 weeks and there you are catching all my fish[frown]... I'll be there on sunday save a couple for me bro.. I have an out of towner Im trying to impress with some epic bluegill action..your gonna make me look bad...HAHA!!
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[JLG78]

BTW..nice going on busting out the fly rod. next time try the popper with a nymph about 12-18" below. They can't resist.
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[CoyoteSpinner]

So wadda ya call that - a Topper and a Dropper?
Wouldn't thought of that. How do you tie on the nymph?
Thanks - I was doing a double drop with ice jigs, and that combo seemed to work.

In the one shot - if you look - you can see my bobber, and below it two orange jigs, and a bluegill staring down the upper...

Was also neat to see them follow up the fly, and then it's gone. Need to pull out some of the flies I tied and see how long it takes to lose them! Plus fling something the bass might wanna chase.

So - next I'll start having to look into sinking line, and other options.

And trust me - I think there's a couple more Gills in there. We sure threw enough back. I just don't get how folks count 100+ fish. I just can't keep track beyond "lots".

[JLG78]

You can just tie a length of line from the bend in the hook I like the nymph to trail just under the surface. Use your judgment on the length.but just like 15" or so...then tie on just a standard nymph.. Prince, hares ear, damsel..etc... the only drawback is using the small nymph you catch a lot of smaller fish. I have heard of people using a wooly bugger as a dropper. I might try the bugger dropper tomorrow.
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