Urban Lake Pattern Questions

[v.travis]

Hi Folks-

First Post...

I'm a total novice from a fly fishing perspective, but have been doing a lot of reading on this site and books over the past several weeks and am trying to get into the 'scene' a little more and more.

However, I've been hitting a little spot near my house that is private but, I have permission to be in, so it's not poaching in the strictest sense of the word...

However, I'm having some serious problems getting anything to look twice at what I'm offering.

I think it's a lot of bluegills and maybe a few bass that are hitting the surface pretty hard.

I've gotten a handful of strikes over several nights and landed a little blue gill...

I think my problem is wrong fly pattern, I've tried everything in my collection. What they are hitting is a small little black bug that hovers in small swarms just above the surface of the water. I know there are bluegills in this pond

The strikes I have been getting have been on dry flies that I've presented softly on the surface and stripped slowly towards the shore, but again, with the rate these guys are hitting the surface I feel like what I'm offering is not what they are looking for, and the strikes I have received are probably more of a fluke then keying on what these characters are actually feeding off of.


Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated on what Pattern I should try tossing them, and how I should be stripping that line back...

thanks in advance,

-Travis

[Bighand]

You may have small fish at the surface and the bass are after them. Try a little black ant or tiny parachute adams. Most of the urban bluegills I have located are in groups. My search pattern is a Green Weenie, with a size 12 bead head pheasant tail nymph. I fish some tight spots so I only use one fly then. That way I only loose them to tree limbs one fly at a time. It is easier casting since you can narrow you loop, not needing a wider loop to cast a tandem setup. But, if the area is open then this tandem setup has been the most productive. Right now I fish 99.9% below surface and close to the bottom. My retrieve is slow with a tight line, rod tip down touching the water. I don't know your ponds history, but one thing to consider is that it is full of stunted fish.

[jtbenton]

How big are the bugs that are hovering over the surface? If they are ultra small, try a parachute adams in a similar size/color to those insects. Also, there is no real hard and fast rule that says you need to present an identical match to what these fish are eating. If you notice a bunch of bluegill keying on surface insects, you may be as well or better poised to catch them with a slightly different pattern. It's antithetical, but I have found that a different pattern is sometimes viewed by the fish LESS discerningly, as it is not competing with hundreds of the real thing.

Others should weigh in, but here's what I'd do: tie on a black/red or olive simi seal leech pattern and follow that with a mid-sized pheasant tail nymph (stop by AZ flyfishing for flies - Mill and Baseline in Tempe). When casting, target the fringes of these pockets of fish. Lay the line on either side of the fish by a few feet and if you can, try to cast about 5-10 feet past the fish. Strip in four inch 'bursts' and if that doesn't work, adjust until you find the right tempo. Fish with at least 8 feet of leader to the simi seal.

Good luck!

[v.travis]

Yeah the bugs are ultra small, like less than the size of a pin head, but they are hitting the surface very hard, I think there must be some bass and some bluegill hitting the surface, I even imagine there are some carp in there too, as I see a lot of fins and tails along the shore at sunset.

But there is a distinct difference in the types of fish hitting the surface.

There seem to be some that breach and then slurp, and other that hit quickly and are gone.

I've tried to throw everything in my collection at all three types of actions on the water but again only a few bites, one broke my leader off right away (I'm assuming that was a bass or carp) the other one was a little blue gill (that I landed), the other I missed all together ( I assume this was a blue gill as the strike was very mild). But this is a combined 8 hours of fishing there over 3-4 evenings. I've been arriving just prior to sundown and fishing for about an hour to two hours until the bugs stop swarming and action on the surface slows down.

I even brought a spinning reel *GASP* and threw out a wounded minnow crank bait to see if I could least find out what was in the pond but nothing.

Thanks for your suggestions, I need to swing out to the store and pick up some different patterns.

-Travis

[zachaz]

Invite me over I'll bring my fly boxes!:;;

[Jojackc]

If your sure that there on keying in on clusters of these flying bugs you could try a griff. nat or a cluster pattern of some kind.

[v.travis]

Invite me over I'll bring my fly boxes!:;;

How does Wednesday of next week sound?

Maybe 5:30. Biltmore Area...32nd St and Camelback...PM Me.

-Travis

[troutramp]

you might be thinking that the fish are hiting the small mystery midge and if they are sipping them off the surface that could be the case, if the fish are comming out of the water they could be chasing nymphs or bait fish. even bluegill will attempt to eat a minnow that is small enough so try a simiseal leach and vary your retrieve, if they are sipping I ditto jojack on the selection of flies he sugests do not forget the adams and or bwo, if they are chasing nymphs stripping a copper john can be effective also try a birds nest

[Jojackc]

Look for bubbles after the splash. If you see bubbles there taking something off the top of the water. No bubbles equals it's something sub surface.

[david vaughn]

And don't forget size. Size does matter, so consider trying a different size, usually smaller, when all you are getting are bumps and lookie-loo's.

[nelly]

Hey man sounds like a fun pond
Dont give away the local though!!!
What ive found on bluegills and bass
if you know the color of the bug just tie on a small popper in that color
dont strip it alot
if there is bass just try a wolly bugger and fish it around cover
for those carp try wieghted nymphs or hoppers for the surface
have fun man

[bigjohn]

You might also want to try a small popper or foam spider. Bluegill and bass love them. Sometimes they work for me when nothing else will.