Flies for Summertime Panfish

Now that summertime temps are here, I look for opportunities for quick early morning or late evening trips and there no better way to find great action than by chasing some gills with a fly rod.  It's not difficult to find effective patterns that will provide a panfish angler with plenty of action and most of the popular trout nymphs will give you plenty of chances to tighten a line.

If you ask anyone what you will need to get started, probably the first thing that you will hear is that you need to set up a hopper dropper rig, which consist of floating panfish fly with a smaller weighted nymph secured to the hook bend of the larger fly with a short piece of tippett.  The beauty of this rig is that provides the angler the excitement of an aggressive topwater bite, while also enticing the less aggressive subsurface feeders with an aquatic insect imitation. 

Popping bugs are a popular choice for floating fly, which also serves as a strike indicator for the dropper. My dropper fly usually consist of one of popular trout nymphes such as; Hare's ear, Prince, or pheasant tail nymph.  However, I have been looking around the net for ideas for other patterns to try as a dropper, and I happened across a pattern called the Carrot nymph. This fly is a variation of the traditional orange and partridge soft hackle fly, which has become one of the most overlooked patterns and tying techniques of fly-fishing.  For this reason, the pattern got my attention and I decided to ty a number in size 12 to see what the local bluegills would think of my fly.

After a couple of evenings of feverish catching, I prepared to declare this one a winner  and recommend that you give them a try.  Try this link for instructions on tying the http://www.flyfishohio.com/Carrot_Nymph.htm.