Bluegill Nest Bomb

     One of the joys of spring fly fishing is nest-busting bluegills, paying them back for all the bait they stole off your hook (and consequently made you reapply) when you were a novice to the arts of fishing. One of the best ways I know to do this is to bomb their nests from above.

Hook: # 12 wet fly hook, 2XH
Tail: short tufts of black marabou, sparse
Head:melted monofilament
Black marker pen

     This is an easy fly to tie. Simply tie off the tail and then melt the head in place, the same techniques used to make a monofilament ant. For those of you unfamiliar with this classic, it's quite simple. Tie off the tail in standard fashion, allow the cement to dry thoroughly, then set a piece of heavy monofilament (20-50 lb test is ideal) in a pair of forcepts to keep from burning your fingers, and set the end on fire. As the monofilament melts under the heat, you apply the flow from it to the hook shaft, covering the knot that ties off the tail, but not setting the marabou afire in the process. Give it a hydrodynamic nosecone for speed This is best done by holding the hook eye upward and letting the flow settle downward. When it's cooled and the rough spots sanded down with emory paper, finish it off with the black marker (eyes optional) and a coat of head cement to hold the color and gloss. Make these by the dozen. Expect to snag some of these in the process of busting nests. These can be made weedless, ironically and conveniently, simply by sticking the burning mono into the body and holding it in place over the hook point until it cools enough to harden into place, then trim. But they do tend to retard hookup without a firm hook set, and they make the fly wobble rather than dive. They need to hit the nest aggressively, not leisurely

     Fishing the fly is a little taste of revenge. If you don't have it in you to bedevil the bluegill for all the bedeviling they've done to you in the past, forget this fly. You have to take an almost perverse joy to use it properly. The closest thing is back when you were playing with toy soldiers and dive bombing a target or getting into one of the hotter combat video games. "Take that, sucker!" Why else would a grown human stoop to such perverse joy? "This is for the minnow your great great great grandmother stole off of my hook!" If you can manage to find that sort of fiendish attitude, then fishing this fly is no problem. You're ninety percent there.
     Cast past the nest, bringing the retrieve in like a streamer, smooth and steady up near the surface, then stop when the fly is centered on the nest. Let off and let fall. Be ready for the response. The weighting and smooth shape of the nose makes a perfect dive into the nest, the marabou supplying just the right movement when it comes to rest, to make it look like a dark fry of another species eating the eggs. It's too much for the guardian bluegill to resist, even when every other fish in the neighboring nests have been hooked and released. This a sight fishing technique, so this technique doesn't work well in muddy water. You want to be able to see the nests, well enough to hit the centers dead on. At the same time, as with any clear water sight fishing, stealth is important. It's more a matter of motion than presence. Limiting casting motions and moving deliberately without any jerks in general is more important than hiding behind a tree. Keep the line about twenty to thirty feet long and glide to within range of the nest. Take your time, let them return to the nest if they spook. This is not too much to ask of yourself when seeking revenge among bait theives.

     The fly also works mimicking tadpole hatches, but it's a more veteran move to make the retrieve work properly. For tadpole work, I recommend the ultra-mini diver plug with a long marabou tail. That is for another month and another story. (Have you ever honestly seen a bass stop dead in its tracks and look cross-eyed?)