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Thread: The biggest blue gill I have ever seen.

  1. #1
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    frkelly74's Avatar
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    The biggest blue gill I have ever seen.

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    .This is the biggest blue gill I have ever seen. We managed to get another one just like it when I took the G-kids fishing on a managed pond in an undisclosed location. WE were fishing for bass which were biting on big purple worms with white spots and /or purple worms with a flourescent green tails. I think the fish are so offended by these garish un-natural abominations that they attack them out of sheer anger. So these two gills were equally offended and attacked. We had to put them back, management regulations, but it was fun to watch them fight the big gills. Later I hooked something that just stopped letting itself be reeled. Just dead stopped coming in and was gone. The worm had a hook on it that was bent almost straight when i got it retrieved, but the line didn't break. Here are the bass that we kept.

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    Quis Quis Quis, Quis Liberat Canes

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    very awesome catch!!!!!
    Any technology not understood, can seem like Magic!!!

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  3. #3
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    I am new to lake/fish management, why did you have to throw the blue gill back but could keep the bass. just stocked my lake but it will be 2 or 3 years before a keep-able fish can be cought.
    if you are ever being chased by a taxidermist, don't play dead

  4. #4
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    As I understand it, The decision was made by the board of directors of the camp to manage for trophy gills and the bass have overpopulated the pond. You can keep a gill less than 9" long and you are not supposed to throw any bass back. I know this is unusual but it is the way they want to run the camp/ pond, so they do.
    Turns out to be a lot of fun to fish that way.
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  5. #5
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    I loved catching blue gill in a pond in Nebraska years ago. We caught several master anglers from a private pond. They were 12" from end to end and 12" around the tallest area and man could they fight. Get a little ultra light and when want to stop and turn sideways, it's a tussle.

    The people that lived on the lake told the story they were bobber fishing and we're catching some blue gill. As they were reeling them in the large mouth bass would swallow them and as the kids pulled the fish, now two, out of the water, the bass would spit the blue gill out. That must have been amazing to watch and before cell phone video!

    I am guessing the kids had a blast as well which is what it's all about.

  6. #6
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    looks like you had a good day congrats
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  7. #7
    Boolit Grand Master bedbugbilly's Avatar
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    Aw heck . . . you're supposed to tell everyone that those are typical "Michigan minnows"!

    I'll bet you all had a great time and catching those will certainly give the grandkids some awesome memories. I don't think I've ever seen one that size. I think they certainly qualify for "bragging rights"!

  8. #8
    Boolit Grand Master popper's Avatar
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    Blue gills eat bugs and worms, bass will eat the eggs and fry. Was fishing Ol Hickory years ago near the dam. Caught a big one I thought, bent over the med wight spinning rod pretty good. Pulled a blue gill from ~90 ft. And it wasn't very big!
    Whatever!

  9. #9
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    And I'll bet you hooked a rather large snapper as well.
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  10. #10
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    That was an awesome catch!! And bass in the pan are hard to beat!! Those kids are blessed to have you. Great memories.
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  11. #11
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    Nice bluegill!!! Did you have the opportunity to measure how long it was or how much it weighed? To bad you had to toss it back, they are delicious eating.
    Here is an average size from our little 1 acre pond:
    East Tennessee

  12. #12
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    Good eatin' too!

  13. #13
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    snowwolf, do you have to feed them or do anything special. does the moss stuff that floats hurt the fish any.
    if you are ever being chased by a taxidermist, don't play dead

  14. #14
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    Ounce for ounce, nothing is as feisty on a line as a Bluegill. Fun little fish for sure, that is a very large one, don't think I've ever seen one that big.

  15. #15
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    Those look like coppernose bream. I have them in my pond. One day a friend of mine came by with 2 cane polls and some crickets. In 30 minutes we caught 20 bream, all over 2 pounds each and one just an ounce short of being in the top 10 state record. We still catch one every now and then, but the little species have gotten in and taken over. Nothing like fresh fish for a meal.
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  16. #16
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    When I first got to TN, I went fishing in the river by Paris Tn, went looking for Bass or preferably a crappie or two. In GA, where I was stationed at, a 10" crappie was a rarity, so it bummed me out when I seen that here it was a 10" minimum to keep and 15" for bass. But when I started fishing, I caught 4 crappie above that size, then hit a place where the brim were at least 10". I ended up going home with a bunch of brim and 4 crappie, forgot all about the bass.
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  17. #17
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    If you take a pristine pond with no fish in it and stock it with bluegill early in the year, you will be able to have keepers by the fall. If they eat, they grow.

    Great bluegill. When I was in Scouts, Lake Roberts at the Ingersoll Scout Camp had enormous bluegill in it. Amazing how big they were.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by rancher1913 View Post
    snowwolf, do you have to feed them or do anything special. does the moss stuff that floats hurt the fish any.
    I don't know if we have to feed them but we do. Usually every night I toss out food for 5 minutes. The feeding usually starts in May and continues till mid October. Bluegills have a short digestive system and are supposed to be fed twice a day but we have never done that.
    I do remove (via a flyrod and small popper) fish anytime I need bait for catfish. Maybe 15 or so a year. Pond is healthy and they seem to breed and spawn on a regular basis. Pond also contains largemouth bass.
    East Tennessee

  19. #19
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    I snagged a bluegill about the size of my hand one time, on a swim bait of some sort. The treble hook got it just back of the dorsal fin. I thought I had caught a six or seven pound bass from the way the rod was bent and the way the Zebco 33 was protesting.

    Its been close to forty years and I still remember the fight that little guy put up.

    Robert

  20. #20
    Boolit Master gnostic's Avatar
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    Seeing your Bluegill takes me back to the days when we ate fish on friday. do people still do that?

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