1. Fly fishing for panfish is fun.

2. Fly fishing for panfish is a great way to prepare for fly fishing for trout.

These statements are both true, and they are not mutually exclusive. You can fish for bluegill simply for the joy that accompanies fishing for bluegill. And there’s no question about it: it’s joyful. But, you can also parlay some of that time on the water into a proving ground for some intermediate to advanced angling skills. Some hands-on skills require another party – a sparring partner. The best partners always make themselves available.

Panfish are great sparring partners.

Today, I want to talk about one specific exercise where they can help the angler out:

Picture a long cast with a dry fly. Say, 60 feet or so. What happens when the the trout takes  the fly after only a brief amount of time? The hook set has to be quick and strong to compensate for the length of line. Then, there is the matter of managing the slack line created by the hook set. Especially with modestly-sized fish, you’re going to need to be quick  in reeling or stripping. And stripping becomes problematic when you’ve got a lot of line out.

See? There is a lot to it.

Thankfully you don’t need to get out on the big river with the finicky trout to figure it all out. You can make that 60-foot dry fly cast in your local pond. Some pumpkinseed is going to swim by, slurp your parachute ant, and game on.

Here’s what you should focus on:

• Casting dry flies at different distances. Notice your presentation. Does the fly slap at 60′ but not 40′? Or, 40′ but not 60′? Are you getting a tailing loop, inaccurate fly placement, etc? There is a lot to diagnosing those issues,  but the first step is isolating what ails your cast in different circumstances.
• Set the hook at different distances. Not only is there a lot of line out at 50′ or 60′, but fly line stretches. A short, sharp trout set isn’t going to get the job done. You need to add some upward or rearward motion to make up the distance.
• Pay attention to the rise and to your response time. Splashes, sips, and slurps all mean different things. Panfish and trout will do all three. A splash usually means a pause before a hook set… unless the fish is really far away. A sip requires quick action… which means you’ve really got to be on the ball if the fish is far away. Play around with the fish and figure out your own observational skills and natural cadences.
• Where is the line, where are your hands, and what should you do? You should be able to quickly manage slack with your line hand. You should be able to discern if you can play the fish with strips, or if you need to get it on the reel. Sometimes, you have to fight the fish with strips while you are in the process of getting it on the reel.  It is a dance, and a lot of it comes down to preference. It will matter with bigger fish, and a lot of it comes down to muscle memory. So again, play around with panfish.

Just in case it seems like I’m taking advantage of a beloved quarry, I want to be clear: fly fishing for panfish is fun and a perfectly acceptable end unto itself. I’ve written about it a lot. It is a fact that the ceiling on trout fishing is a little higher than most types of angling. Still, keep in mind that panfish and other species can assist in refining your trout fishing.