Female bluegill don’t have the coloration that the males do.
Bluegill are everywhere in Korea. They can be a pest or they can save a fishing trip. It is a definite love hate relationship, or perhaps more of an under appreciated relationship. Just like the end of a good rom com-when the protagonist has a moment of clarity and realizes the love of their life was there the entire time. When I am chasing bass and things don’t go as planned- I can always rely on the gills. The end of June marks the beginning of summer and signals that the two week long monsoon season has arrived. At this point, all of the reservoirs are nearly empty and the oppressive heat of July and August is right around the corner. This does not bode well for fishing. Then enters our snub nosed friend.
a size 16 parachute dry will have you catching gills all day.
Bluegill on a three weight will get me out on a scorching afternoon and provides constant action until the evening bass bite ensues. As the story goes, bluegill were first introduce to Japan in the 1960’s and soon made their way to Korea - Japanese fly fishing culture has embraced them- not so much in Korea. With the aforementioned annual monsoons season in Korea; the rivers swell and the Lepomis Macrochirus get pushed throughout the peninsula. All fresh water, save for the mountain streams of Gangwando, have the occasional bluegill. Its a biologist’s nightmare.
When you chase them on the fly, they will hit any pattern indiscriminately as long as it fits in their mouth. Size 14 and 16 dry flies and nymphs is where I would start. If you want to get fancy you could do a double dry rig or a some nymphs under and indicator. Be warned, if you’re lackadaisical on the hook set, bluegill tend to take a fly deep. a good pair of forceps is needed if you don’t want your body count to grow.
One of my favorite places to catch gills is Uiamho Lake near Chuncheon. It is accessible by metro and the ITX line, and is hour or so outside of Seoul. But again, bluegill can be caught most places, including the Han River. If there are bass in the water in Korea, chances are you will find bluegill too. The locals like to get in on the action and fish gills with worms and cane poles, but no matter have many go in the creel or the bank, these pesky little fighters are impossible to eradicate.
Bluegill on the fly