Bluegill - Big Bluegill2024-03-28T17:36:31ZSlip Sinkerhttp://bigbluegill.ning.com/profile/SlipSinkerhttp://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3630057995?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1http://bigbluegill.ning.com/forum/topic/listForContributor?groupUrl=fish-tales&user=0ks5tif0pqzgf&feed=yes&xn_auth=noFishing with our Grandsontag:bigbluegill.ning.com,2018-03-15:2036984:Topic:7483152018-03-15T20:53:08.234ZSlip Sinkerhttp://bigbluegill.ning.com/profile/SlipSinker
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><em><strong>This story would be better if you could hear our grandson tell it himself. This was two years ago when he was eight years old. </strong></em></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><em><strong>Our son, daughter-in-law and grandson, Jacob, were with us on vacation in Michigan. One thing Jacob wanted to do while on vacation was to go fishing with me.</strong></em></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><em><strong>I have a spot where I…</strong></em></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><em><strong>This story would be better if you could hear our grandson tell it himself. This was two years ago when he was eight years old. </strong></em></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><em><strong>Our son, daughter-in-law and grandson, Jacob, were with us on vacation in Michigan. One thing Jacob wanted to do while on vacation was to go fishing with me.</strong></em></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><em><strong>I have a spot where I fish from shore that is on a boat channel off of Lake Michigan. </strong></em></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 16px;"><b><i>I have caught a lot of Smallmouth Bass and some times decent Perch from this spot. I usually ride a bicycle to fish there, so I take a 5 gallon bucket that I hang on the bike handlebars. In the bucket I have a small Plano box with hooks and sinkers, needle nose pliers, tape measure and a chain stringer.</i></b></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 16px;"><b><i>This time rather than trying to catch bass I just wanted Jacob to catch some fish. I rigged two poles with small hooks and bobbers. We just got started when my wife's friend and her grandson rode their bicycles down to where we were fishing. I gave my pole to her grandson so he could fish. </i></b></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 16px;"><b><i>About as soon as their lines got in the water the bobber would go down. They had a ball catching one fish after another, mostly small sunfish and perch but some keepers occasionally. </i></b></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 16px;"><b><i>I told Jacob if he caught about six keeper size I would clean them and Grandma would fry them for a fresh fish dinner. He was all for it. </i></b></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 16px;"><b><i>I started putting the keepers on the stringer in the water until we got enough. We had five on the stringer and when he caught number six I pulled the stringer out of the water to put it on. </i></b></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 16px;"><b><i>"Oh No!" I said. They all said "What?" I showed them the stringer, five fish heads was all that was left. "A turtle ate our fish!" The boys came closer. Jacob said "Yep, there they are"as two large snapping turtles swam away close by. </i></b></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 16px;"><b><i>Jacob said "Grandpa, next time you better put the fish in the pail!" I said "maybe next time we'll try to catch the turtles and eat them!"</i></b></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 16px;"><b><i>When Jacob told his Mom and Dad what happened his mother said "Well Jacob, now you have a fish story to tell!"</i></b></span></p> Catch and release Green Sunfish!tag:bigbluegill.ning.com,2018-02-23:2036984:Topic:7463362018-02-23T20:16:05.344ZSlip Sinkerhttp://bigbluegill.ning.com/profile/SlipSinker
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-family: 'Lucida Console'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: windowtext;">Early in the open water season Earl and I hit a favorite narrow, shallow cove on a nearby reservoir. The spot attracts the local fishes in close to the warmer waters with the big ones leading the way. We are on the water early ice out to low 70’s when the spawn hits.…</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-family: 'Lucida Console'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: windowtext;">Early in the open water season Earl and I hit a favorite narrow, shallow cove on a nearby reservoir. The spot attracts the local fishes in close to the warmer waters with the big ones leading the way. We are on the water early ice out to low 70’s when the spawn hits. Our targets are jumbo master angler Lepomis with B.Gills on the top of the list.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-family: 'Lucida Console'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: windowtext;">The cut is very shallow and narrow resembling a canal in characteristics. It is dirty water fishing mainly where long casting a jig is nearly futile. Slip floating/pink waxies or nite crawler bits usually becomes the main method of choice.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-family: 'Lucida Console'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: windowtext;">Upon arrival to the spot on this beautiful mid-may afternoon we are happy to find fish settled in cruising the shorelines with no visible spawning sites as of yet. With water temps in the low 70’s the fish are on the move and active, Earl, Connor and I are tagging fish right and left with the slip/float/waxie or nite crawler bit method when earl lands a trophy Green Sunfish reaching the 9” mark a first and PB for Earl. We take some record photos for Master Angler registry and quickly release the healthy fish. Just a week previous I tagged a trophy 9” Greenie but on a private lake rendering unregister able for a certificate but a trophy none the less.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-family: 'Lucida Console'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: windowtext;">I grew a bit jealous of earl’s conquest but become refocused on the flurry of fish activity with many fish crossing the gunwales. Approximately 40 mins later I set the hook into a solid fish and after a good battle I haul a lunker green sunfish into the boat. I put the fish up against the trophy board and it measures near 9.25”… wow Earl and I are stunned. A trophy G.Sunfish is rare in this county yet two in the same day from the same boat! The fish is quickly released into the gene pool and we resume fishing with renewed vigor.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-family: 'Lucida Console'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: windowtext;">Connor comes close to a master angler P.Seed measuring upper 8’s… he was having a blast!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-family: 'Lucida Console'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: windowtext;">Within an hour of my trophy Greenie Earl tags and records a Master Angler P.Seed of just over the 9” mark… wow! His second double master angler trip of the year! Three trophies for the boat in one day.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-family: 'Lucida Console'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: windowtext;">I get a call from my wife informing us dinner was just about ready so we head back in.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-family: 'Lucida Console'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: windowtext;">After dinner Earl and I download the pictures onto the pc and start filling the paperwork out for the Master Angler fishes. I do a ten year search on the Master Angler Database for Gladwin county and discover 0 Green sunfishes have been registered in the past 10 years… we are the first.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-family: 'Lucida Console'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: windowtext;">Looking over the pictures of the two fish I make a second discovery… they are the same fish! What are the odds!! Reminiscing on the fishes position when caught revealed the fish was tagged on opposite shorelines… definitely the fish was on the move, active and feeding heavily. Wow what an amazing feat.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-family: 'Lucida Console'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: windowtext;">A couple days later I headed back out to the cut still reeling from the excitement from the previous trip. Once in position I noticed considerably less activity with less fish spotted cruising the shorelines. The activity at the end of the hook was dramatically down from just a couple days ago… what changed? The bite slowly started coming in with some quality fish. The quality was worth the wait… every fish hooked was lunker proportions over the 90% Master Angler Rating. It kept me on the spot and I felt I was in the game.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11.5pt; font-family: 'Lucida Console'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: windowtext;">Then it happened… I set the hook into a nice fish and was pleasantly surprised to see another Lunker Green Sunfish! After some closer inspection of the gill plate I confirmed it was once again the same fish. Wow!! The same trophy fish caught three times in three days… what better argument for the benefits of catch and release!</span></p>