I just discovered a creek not too far away from the office that has Bluegill and Smallmouth Bass in it. I read the regs, and it's perfectly legal to fish it.

I think it would be fun with light tackle. The Bluegill are normal panfish size. The smallies don't bigger than 12". So I'm thinking of using my 8'3" 3 weight. What do you guys think?

In regards to food, the fish are eating the same bugs that trout eat, so I'm going to bring trout flies.

AbelBoy

3 or 4 wt should do fine . Poppers and hoppers tend to do the trick on the ponds that I fish.
Have a blast
Steve

Your 3wt is fine. Small size woolly buggers (10-12) in black and olive will be killers. If they are hitting on top, anything that imitates a hopper or cricket will also work. Lastly, try a size 6-10 black zonker. Sometimes it will give you the best chance at a big fish.

Woolly buggers resemble leaches and hellgrammites, and smallmouth dearly love hellgrammites. Good Luck!!

Thanks for the advice, guys. You guys confirmed my thoughts on what to use. All I don't have are the poppers. I have the other flies that were listed in my "general purpose" trout fly box.

With the daily grind going on, it's great to get an hour on the water without having to drive too far.

AbelBoy

I'll agree with my old friend Steve on this one. 3 or 4 wt. That 8' 3' rod is about perfect for what you're wanting it to do. If you have trouble casting bigger poppers/bugs with the 3 wt, try a WF4F on it. You won't ahve to sail out long casts anyway.

Hard to beat small foam gurglers /lefties bugs for smallies on the top. Both are easy to make, esy to cast on light gear.