Dry Fly Bluegills in November (And Some Trout Stuff)

 My dad and I chased a bite today. If you are a fisherman you know it is a bad idea to do it because you're bound to hear things like "It was so much better last week". This one was even riskier because the big trout bite was in Chatfield Hollow, a place that hasn't treated me well. Today I managed one very wild looking rainbow and a few takes from big browns. After a valiant effort we went to fish or bluegills. We did not know the awesomeness we were about to encounter,

We got to the panfish pond expecting to fish nymphs and streamers and to catch a few bluegills and maybe some crappie or bass. 

It was my dad that tied on a dry first. I watched him cast it out onto the flat dark water, then it happened. In 7 feet of water, about 50 degrees near the surface, in early November, a bluegill poked up his head and ate the dry fly. I kept trying with nymphs. They just didn't work, so I tied on a dry fly too. It was quite awesome, really. The bite was only a little slower than it is in the summer. numerous bluegills and pumpkinseeds came to hand. The best flies for me were klinkhammers and ants.

The craziest thing happened. I cast my little black ant towards a drop off. A little dimple signified the take. I set the hook and one of the last things I expected to take a size 18 ant began somersaulting across the smooth surface. A crappie on a small dry! Crazy.

I think I quit fishing ponds too early most years! This has been awesome.