This is a fly created by me, Paul Beel, and it has been one of my most popular flies. I created it for bluegill, but it has caught all kinds of species, including trout, carp, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, crappie, and salmon, to name a few. Below are a few questions I answered regarding the fly in an interview one time and also a fly tying video by the talented Tim Flagler of Tightline Productions.
What made you design or decided to create this fly?
Well, I wasn’t real excited about the other flies I’ve seen that are used for bluegill under the surface of the water. I’ve seen people use Pheasant Tails or Soft Hackles. That’s all fine, but I wanted a fly that was definitely targeting bluegill.
What was your inspirations on this fly?
I really didn’t have any direct inspirations for this fly. I just sat down at the vise and started putting it together. The one thing I knew I wanted to include, was rubber legs. The first iteration was not weighted correctly and spun around like crazy when I fished it, haha.
So I made some adjustments and tried again and again, until I ended up with the final version.
When did you come up with this pattern?
It was back in April of 2017.
Do you have any techniques for fishing this fly?
You can fish this fly in a couple of different ways and you can also vary your retrieve to be fast or slow. You can drop this fly down and then lift it back up, in other words, jigging the fly. You can also just cast it out and start stripping it back in. Sometimes you might strip slow or you may have to strip a little faster, depending on what the bluegill are wanting.
What has worked the best for me is a gradual retrieve, making 6 or 8 inch strips and keeping it steady.
Bluegill Belly Bean recipe:
Hook: Daiichi 4640 Heavy Wire Jig Hook size 6
Tail: One micro rubber leg
Four strands of Krystal Flash
Back body: Petite Estaz
Between back and front body: Two micro rubber legs on each side
Front body: FrankenDUB Nymph Dubbing
Eyes: x-small Double Pupil Dumbbell Lead Eyes
