Big Bluegill Tips from Terry Wilson

Deadfalls and Bluegill Terry Wilson

Look for large bluegills in and near fallen wood.

Weed beds, stump patches, docks, rip-rap, points, humps and depressions, all are common bluegill habitat and can serve as temporary home base for bluegill throughout a season, depending on certain conditions.

All of these areas deserve the angler’s attention, for many reasons.

But, there is one structure form that is consistently above all others for big bluegill; it is the one all lovers of big bluegill should focus on first. That structure is DEADFALL WOOD.

WHY DEADFALL'S?

By definition, a “deadfall” is any bank-side tree or woody brush that has toppled into the water. But a prime deadfall is one where the branches also extend from the shallows into relatively deep water. Such deadfalls as these are worth seeking out. They provide everything the bluegill wants, and will become the year around home for big bluegill..

Food

No, they don't eat the wood. But small and micro invertebrates, nymphs, tadpoles, fish fry, minnows and even terrestrial insects will call the wood home. This bio-load represents a diverse source of food. If it could be measured as a factor of “living weight,” it is hard to imagine just how much food this might be. 

Bluegill are even known to nibble the green algae and other flora that grows upon the wood itself.

Safety

All fish are potential food to something else. So, when not feeding or breeding, their main instinct is survival. And survival means staying away from those fish that would eat them. There is no better way to do this than to hide in solid, tangled cover. A downed tree, with all its branches in the water makes an excellent place to safely hide.

Concealment and climate control

Here we are referring to safe hiding places that span a range of depths. Fish might find the first two needs, food and safety, in more open water. But concealment among deadfalls with deeper water at hand is preferable to shallow options for a few simple reasons:

1. It makes it easier to blend in, thanks to the potential for diffused light
2. The vertical column surrounding the wood can offer a wider range of more comfortable temperatures, light levels and oxygen.

Without this deep water element, the deadfall may host big bluegills that visit early or late in the day to feed. But. Since bluegill, as a species, congregate according to size/age, it will probably only be home to young specimens the rest of the time.

NOTE: The importance of deep water adjacent to the deadfall cannot be overstated

FINDING THE BEST DEADFALLS

If you specialized in just fishing deadfalls, its no stretch to say you could consistently target large bluegills throughout the year, under all weather conditions.
However, to do that, you must first locate the best ones – the Prime Deadfalls.
Here are the main factors to look for, in order of priority.

Factor One – lots of branches

The first factor that makes deadfalls attractive to bluegills is many, many branches to form a canopy of protection from overhead predation and sunlight penetration. In time, the branches become covered with moss and other plant life, which attract microorganisms that in turn attract insect larvae, nymphs, and minnows. Large bluegill can therefore avail themselves of this virtual smorgasbord...

Some flies to use, in no particular order....

1. Sawyer-style Pheasant Tail and Hare’s Ear Nymphs - these are good all- around choices.
2. Small streamer patterns - the largest bluegill are fish-eaters and want to feed on minnows.
3. Simple marabou patterns tied with bead heads of various sizes and weight would take the third place seat.

Factor Two – Depth

As temperatures change and light penetration varies, big bluegill adjust their positions up or down in the water column. This may be along the main trunk of the tree, so a pronounced vertical element is important. 

It may also be among the extended branches of the deadfall, where they span widely across the water column, top to bottom. 

In other words, the deadfall should have its head in, and adjacent to, deep water.

In general, bluegill will move progressively shallower when sunlight penetration is reduced, and the water is warm. In other words, extended overcast periods coupled with warm water temperatures will cause the bluegills to move into the shallows of the deadfall and fan out laterally along the branches.

Conversely, once the sunlight returns and brightens the shallows, the fish will move deeper, into shaded areas nearer the trunk and large limbs of the tree.

Factor Three – Temperature

Temperature is arguably the most important of the factors, because it puts comfort and oxygen into play. But you can't do much about water temperatures, as a feature - they are a factor of the seasons.

However, a big spread of branches up and down the water column depth on the best deadfalls means the fish can move to the temperature they like best. So focus on the first two elements – depth of water and plenty of branches. Then you can find where in the column the fish are holding.

Falling water temperatures at the surface, as in the Fall or very late winter, will move bluegills progressively deeper within the deadfall’s branches in search of warmer water.

As the pond or lake water begins to warm with the advance of Spring, sexually active males move to shallower water along the stem of the deadfall and eventually to shallow flats immediately adjacent to the deadfall in search of suitable spawning sites.

When water temperatures and the length of daylight hours coincide to formulate spawning conditions, the females join them along the shoreline to either side of the deadfall.

THE SEASONS OF THE DEADFALL

Pre-spawn through Spawn

From pre-spawning movement through the males’ ritual of guarding the newly-hatched fry, the fishing is easy. Anything retrieved in close proximity to the spawning beds is smashed with reckless abandon. 

This is the time for floating lines, 7 ½ – 9 foot leaders tapered to 5X tippets and flies in sizes 8 and 10. 

Bluegills are aggressive and territorial at this time, and poppers can provide exciting surface action. 

Wet patterns are equally effective.

Tandem fly rigs, are a real boon. Consider the inventive, “popper - dropper” (a popper and a wet pattern fished 12 to 18 inches below) or a dual cast of wet flies; both can increase your chances of success and help you select the most productive flies.

Double hookups are common during the spawn and offer some of the season’s most exiting action. Two 8”+ bluegills, each twisting and diving to escape, are guaranteed to produce a memorable fight.

Post Spawn - Summer

Summer is a time of abundance for the residents of the deadfall, and their lives assume a more leisurely pace. 

The spawn is passed, the water warms and food is plentiful, and weather patterns tend to stabilize. These prolonged, consistent conditions more predictably determine the bluegills’ location in the deadfall.

As water temperatures rise into summer levels, several things are happening:

a. The metabolism of the bluegill increases, so they need to feed often among the branches.

b. Sunlight penetration increases, and the fish move deeper for the comfort of shaded areas.

c. Generally, they will migrate shallow in low light to feed, like morning and evening.

In short: they are in a positive feeding mode.

They hang around deeper most of the time, but they can be found shallow morning and evening. This is the universal summer pattern for bluegill.

• A falling barometer also prompts the residents of the deadfall to feast in advance of a storm...so, follow the weather, and get out there 12-16 hours before the front arrives.

• Long periods of low light, such as several days of overcast skies, enable bluegills to take up the shallow feeding stations already mentioned. They are a bit more bold, at these times, and will forage along the outer branches of the submerged tree.

These shallow water fishing opportunities can be matched with floating lines and surface flies, or with unweighted wet patterns that are allowed to fall slowly among branches located near the surface.

The Bad News of Summer

The summer isn't all rosy among the deadfall, however. Because there is much more available forage during the warm summer, bluegill become rather selective. Both fly size and color becomes important. 

Sizes 8 and 10 will get most of the action until the “dog days” of late summer, when dropping down a hook size improves the fly’s effectiveness.

Our rule of thumb for color selection depends on the visibility under different lighting conditions.

• Clear water and bright sun: use lighter, more reflective colors
• Murky water and/or overcast: dark or fluorescent colors

Despite such general guidelines for color selection, it’s best to change flies frequently if the action doesn't kick on, or slows. When you aren't getting strikes, its a sign that you've chosen a fly that isn't appealing to them. It doesn't mean they aren't there.

If all other factors are equal, and you have followed the rest of the guidelines here, let the bluegill tell you what they want by trying different flies.

Eventually, summer’s long days of intense sunlight penetration, and very warm water drives bluegill into deeper water, often close to or beneath the main trunk of the tree. They may be very close to the bottom, as well.

This is fishing that separates the men from the boys,

The fish are not caught as readily as in Spring and early Summer; it's harder to get a fly in front of them. 

But, that doesn’t mean fly anglers will be unrewarded. Moderately weighted flies capable of dropping deeper into the deadfall will attract the most hits. Rubber hackle legs that wiggle seductively on the vertical drop get first-string status in our fly boxes.

Here, an Honorable Mention must go to our own, “Bully's Bluegill Spider.” It fits the bill perfectly, with its moderate sink rate and tempting rubber legs waving around its head.

Count down the offering as it sinks to the desired depth, before you give it any action.

It will also avoid constant hang-ups, as long as the shape and configuration of the deadfall is understood.

NOTE: Instead of cussing like a sailor at every hang up, take a deep breath, and pay close attention to the snags you get into. After a while, these gaffes allow you to create a mental “mind map” of the below-surface deadfall. Concentrate on size, depth and density of the layout and you will soon understand the configuration.

If you're the kind of person who takes notes of the productive places you fish, this is a good time for that.

Such records will steer you to fish, year after year.

If you're not that type of person – it's time to start!

Precise casts and careful manipulation are important to pinpoint tightly holding fish. Bluegills won’t move far for their food in deeper lies, especially in summer when food is plentiful. Anglers must watch their lines intently to detect subtle takes.

If the fish locate below 5 feet deep, sinking lines, or sinking tips on floating are helpful to get the flies to the fish. On large lakes, full-sinking line solves the problem of presenting flies deeper than 8 feet. While deep-water fishing is not as fast as the frenzied activity of the spawn, it is tremendously satisfying to catch a number of platter-size bluegill under these difficult conditions.

Autumn

At last, the blistering Summer gives way to Autumn’s inexorable march. 

Cooler water temperatures and shorter periods of daylight cause bluegill to go on feeding binges as they build reserves for winter. They spend increasingly longer periods in shallow positions, aggressively feeding. 

Less interested in low light positions, now, they feed longer both early and late in the day. Fishing is actually productive again closer to midday during these periods.

Unweighted wet flies and streamers are effective once again, when they are fished among the shallow branches of the deadfall and along the nearby bank where spawning took place several months earlier. 

Cooler water becomes clear, and lighter colored flies again become consistent fish foolers.

Winter

In many places, ice cover eliminates fishing the deadfalls for the winter season, but bluegills can be caught where open water is available. 

Spring-fed ponds and larger lakes can continue to provide consistent action, although the frigid waters must be plied with slowly worked flies.

When accessible, you'll find winter bluegills mostly in the extreme depths where the deadfall’s branch tips reach the bottom. Dark patterns serve best here in the inky depths.

One exception in winter occurs on those stretches of unseasonably warm days that always show up at some point. It is then that bluegill, seeking a bit of warmth from the sun, suspend near the surface over their normal deep water haunts. 

Weightless, light-colored flies, in white or silver, produce best on these more active fish,

To achieve success in cold water, it’s imperative that flies be retrieved very slowly.

Well-positioned deadfalls provide for the needs of large bluegills in every season of the year. But as the pond or lake’s most appealing cover, they are magnets for the water’s oldest and largest bluegill specimens. By locating deadfalls with branches that extend into deep water in those ponds and lakes you fish most often, you can target big bluegills in all seasons of the year.

Published in The Flyfisher. Sand Point, Idaho: Keokee Co. Publishing, Inc., Winter 2004.
Adapted and edited for weblog. All rights reserved © 

For in-depth reading on this topic, get you a copy of "Bluegill Fly Fishing and Flies," by Terry and Roxanne Wilson. I consider it the premier work on the subject.

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