Alabama Outdoors
Bug-busting bream give Bama anglers great sport By John N. Felsher
W
hen most people think of fly fishing, they naturally envision wader-clad anglers wearing vests bulging with hand-tied imitations of nature’s bounty and tossing these feathery creations to wily trout in swiftly flowing crystalline mountain streams. Although saltwater fly fishing increases in popularity every year, many Alabama fly anglers dream of cork poppers dropping next to lily pads along wooded shorelines to tempt big bluegills and other members of the sunfish family. Among the most widespread and common fish species, bluegills and several other miscellaneous sunfish types generally lumped under t h e n a m e of “bream,” “perch” o r “p a n f i s h” populate nearly every water body in Alabama. Bream rarely weigh more than a pound, a lt hou g h an glers occasionOne of the most popular game fish, bluegills may look small, ally catch some but can put up a good fight on brutes topping light tackle. two pounds. The Photo by John N. Felsher Alabama state record bluegill weighed 4.75 pounds! The largest of the bream species, redear sunfish commonly weigh more than a pound and occasionally tip the scales at more than five pounds. Also called shellcrackers because of their propensity for eating snails, redear sunfish look like paler versions of bluegills, but with orange to red highlights on their “ear flaps” behind their gills. Each spring, bream spawn in hollowed out beds on lake and river bottoms. In a good bedding area, these one- to two-foot square shallow depressions could look like a submerged field pockmarked by miniature bomb craters. Highly prolific, these 32 April 2013
diminutive fish may remain on their beds through October and could breed several times a year. Like clustered road signs, these underwater depressions point the way to fabulous fly-fishing opportunities. While guarding their nests, pugnacious perch attack anything. When snatching surface temptations, tiny bluegill mouths make distinctive snapping noises. Quite audible for considerable distances, they pinpoint feeding locations and beds. Bluegills eat almost anything including small fish, worms, grubs, bread, crustaceans, table scraps or just about anything else they can fit into their tiny mouths. Most of all, though, panfish relish insects. Bluegills readily hit trout flies, but can’t resist small cork popping bugs that resemble insects blown into the water. Many anglers also cast plastic, foam or rubber “natural” baits resembling crickets, spiders, dragonflies or other critters. Over a good bluegill bed, toss a popping bug as close to the shore or cover as possible. Throw past the bed and pull the bait over the bed. Let it rest a few moments to let the ripples fade. Then give it a small twitch or pop. Let it rest again for several seconds and repeat. Sometimes, just a slow, steady pull across the surface attracts attention. Retrieve the bug until it passes the shoreline drop-off. Often, the biggest bluegills stay in slightly deeper water and may hover over the drop-off edge. What they lack in size, bream more than make up in fighting ability, aggressiveness and pugnacious attitude. Anglers might experience several strikes on a single cast. When feeding, bluegills sometimes may race each other for bugs like miniature sharks homing in for the kill. Sometimes, a hungry bluegill may attempt to obliterate a popper. At other times, bream act almost timid, gently tasting an apparent morsel before committing itself to strike. Frequently, they simply suck down a bug. All of a sudden, the popper vanishes without the slightest ripple breaking the surface. After feeling the hook, though, these tiny fish fight like Olympic champions,
Bantam Division. Pound for pound, or more appropriately ounce for ounce, few species can outfight bluegills. Hooking one on ultralight fly tackle enormously magnifies this experience. When fishing spawning beds, keep casting in the same area as long as fish keep striking. Gregarious little creatures, hundreds of bream may crowd a bedding flat. One angler might catch a dozen or more fish from one small area without moving the boat. If fish stop biting, keep changing bug colors to show them something different. After exhausting all available color combinations, move to another bedding area. Give the first area a rest for a few hours and return later to catch more tasty fish. Anyone fortunate enough to stumble upon a mayfly hatch could experience intense action. After spending most of their lives underwater as nymphs, adult mayflies emerge from the water in late spring with only one purpose: to mate. After they mate, they die and fall back into the water. Sometimes, they cling to low overhanging bushes to dry their wings. When flies fall back into the water, ravenous bluegills gorge themselves. A good mayfly hatch could attract every fish around. Beneath an insect-laden branch, water boils like a piranha feeding frenzy with striking fish. Waiting for succulent mayflies to hit the water, fish demolish anything touching the surface. Although bream anglers won’t land any monsters, they can fill an ice chest with great tasting fish. In most public waters, unless otherwise specified, the state of Alabama allows anglers to catch up to 50 highly prolific bream each day. A John N. Felsher is a professional freelance writer and photographer who lives in Semmes, Ala. He’s written more than 1,700 articles for more than 117 magazines. He co-hosts a weekly outdoors radio show. Contact him through his website at www. JohnNFelsher.com.
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