"Must-have" fly fishing patterns in descending order of importance:

The bluegill bite is still going strong with topwater flies still working early. Blue Sprogs and white spiders are good. Small streamers like the Myakka Minnow and the Sloppy Jose have done a great job of picking up fish during the warmer parts of the day. These flies should be fished parallel to the shoreline with a steady retrieve near the weedlines. Just outside of Lily pads is a favorite spot for tilatipia right now, and they will readily take a small streamer this time of year. Adding a small split shot will help these streamers sink more quickly and stay deep during the retrieve. Topwater poppers fished near docks and cattails have produced some explosive bites. With electric blue and olive being the top color choices. Have you seen all of the dragonflies? It is a good indicator to throw blue poppers. Hexagenia mayflies are hatching in our lakes. This is a great time of year to throw some big bushy dry flies like a stimulator pattern to match the hatch. This is a great opportunity to fish with a dropper, as stimulators are the ticket to fish a weighted nymph, underneath. Try using grass shrimp and scuds for the dropper. One customer have had a 50 fish limit using olive scuds. Keep your flies a little deeper than usual and focus on submerged grass lines when throwing streamers. Also try to cast the streamers parallel to the shoreline. Bluegill coloration flies have still been the ticket for the bass. Try using a faster retrieve rate this allows you to cover more water. They have started schooling up pretty regularly on the windblown side of the lake.

Expect bluegill to continue staying shallow and feed aggressively on their beds. The topwater bite will continue. Take advantage of the calmer days and throw more topwater flies. Moon phase is first quarter waxing after the New Moon on May 4th. Lake Levels have risen from recent hard rain. The Peace River is at average yearly levels. The Econ is suddenly far above average after being at a trickle. Myakka River is slightly below average. The Hillsborough and Withlacoochee Rivers are significantly above average levels. Kissimmee River gauge below the Hwy 60 dam is currently not reporting. Summer pattern afternoon rain becomes likely in Central Florida, and winds will pick up in the afternoon for the next week. Take cover when storms pop up as they can be very intense.