Favorite flys

[bear claw]

Alright guys im very new to fly fishing. I had a buddy take me out to his lake last weekend an we got on some bream. I had a blast im hooked. My question is what are some of your favorite flys for panfish. I will mostly be fishing the creeks here in northwest ga.

 

[northgeorgiasportsman]

Get you some Betts poppers and get going.

https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/Betts-Bee-Pop-Popper-Assortment

 

[NCHillbilly]

Sneaky Pete poppers work well, too. For creek redbreast, about any popper or small foam fly with rubber legs like a stealth bomber or rubber-legged dragon works well, as do small streamers like woolly buggers, small zonkers, and such. You'd be surprised how big of a fly they will eat-I catch a lot of big redbreast on big streamers while fishing for smallmouth.

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[bear claw]

Thanks for the info guys. With these warm temps im ready to get back to wading in the creek. Looking forward to the weekend.

 

[615groundpounder]

Add a nymph dropper about 10 inches under that popper. Something like a pheasant tail.

 

[Paymaster]

Little Yellow Spiders

 

[Para Bellum]

Those are awesome Pay!

 

[Paymaster]

Those are awesome Pay!

Thanks

 

[Killer Kyle]

All the flies stated above are staple flies for panfish. *Small stealth bombers, sneaky Pete's, boogle bugs, rubber leg dragons,. Any panfish popper really. I like some of Betts poppers a lot...the ones you can get at Walmart. But I don't like the bigger bodied ones with small hooks. I catch far fewer fish on those because the hook gap isn't right. Fish have a hard time getting stuck.
To add some fun and variety in the mix, small foam hoppers are awesome. Just buy the smallest ones to can because see of the larger ones are too big for panfish.
Look into a fly called the "neversink caddis". It is a trout fly with a foam body. I tied a bunch of them for trout, but they didn't float well in fast freestone creeks. I ended up repurposing them as panfish flies for slower creeks and ponds, and they have slayed the panfish. Probably better than any popper I have ever fished. They are way cheaper than poppers too. For a dropper off the popper, I like a micro leech with a small bead head like a #14 or #16 bead head mohair leech, or a small semi seal leech. Other good dropper flies for panfish are small girdle bugs, B**ch Creek nymphs, Pat's rubber legs, tellico nymphs, zug bugs.
Trout dry flies like stimulators, Madame-x, royal wulffs and Royal Coachman's make great panfish flies, but may require a little more work to keep them floating (I use use false casts and floatant to keep them sitting high).
Another tip: I trim the legs on all the poppers I buy to about 1/2 their original length. This reduces weight to make the popper float higher, ad reduces surface area and drag which can take a popper under. It also minimizes the size of the target, and reduces missed hook sets. I trim the legs on every single popper I buy. They're always just too long for no good reason.
I'd prioritize buying good poppers like boogle bugs and sneaky Pete's , and small stealth bombers. Small foam hoppers as well. Behind them I'd tie on a tag piece of line to the hook shank with 12+-" of line, and your dropper nymph like the tellico, B**ch Creek, small mohair leech, girdle bug, rubber legged dragon, or whatever.
Whatever set up you choose, you will catch fish. Panfish are hungry and opportunistic feeders. And catching them on the fly is s heck of a lot of fun!!!

 

[NCHillbilly]

The Tequeely fly is another one that I catch a lot of redbreasts on while smallmouth fishing.

 

[Hooked On Quack]

Little Yellow Spiders

Those look familiar brother, thanks !!!

 

[Paymaster]

Those look familiar brother, thanks !!!

You are welcome!

 

[yaknfish]

Paymaster,
It looks like the body of that yellow spider is a loop of foam. Is the head two layers? Or is the bottom layer trimmed off close to the thread?

 

[fishndoc]

All the flies mentioned work well - bream will attack just about anything. After a while, you will end up with a tackle box full of bream flies, cause they are so pretty that fishermen find them even more irresistible than do bream.

But.... all you really need are a few Booglebug solar flare poppers in size 8 and 10, and some black and olive Rubber Legged Dragons.

 

[Paymaster]

Paymaster,
It looks like the body of that yellow spider is a loop of foam. Is the head two layers? Or is the bottom layer trimmed off close to the thread?

It is a pretty simple tie. I cut a rectangle from a foam sheet. then trim a point in one end. I tie that point at the bend of the hook. I then tie in a length of chartreuse Estaz at the same point. I wrap the Estaz forward to 3/4 of the hook shank. Then fold the foam over the top and tie of at the point I want the head. I then tie in legs at the same point. I trim the head a bit for looks.

 

[FARMS100]

I use a popper I find at sportsman warehouse they are .99 when you buy 12, 10 is $1.19. the head is a little smaller but look the same with lg legs too.They have a store in CHATTOOCHEE TENN.
AL

 

[yaknfish]

It is a pretty simple tie. I cut a rectangle from a foam sheet. then trim a point in one end. I tie that point at the bend of the hook. I then tie in a length of chartreuse Estaz at the same point. I wrap the Estaz forward to 3/4 of the hook shank. Then fold the foam over the top and tie of at the point I want the head. I then tie in legs at the same point. I trim the head a bit for looks.

Got it. Gonna try it. Thanks!
(results to follow.)