Fat and happy bluegills

[Michael Stockelman]

I was recently fishing the Potomac from a touristy park in Alexandria VA. In fact, it's the one mentioned in this article: http://voices.yahoo.com/fine-fishing-alexandria-va-potomac-river-62.... He kind of exaggerates the class differences, but that's what makes it fun for him, I guess.

So anyway, the bluegill were really lively right on the shore. I had worm on a really tiny circle hook, and I caught three medium-large BG and unlimited small BG. Just about every one was really plump, and I wondered what they were eating.

I kept the three big guys, and a handful of small ones for bait. When I was cleaning them, I decided to see what was in their stomachs. They were stuffed with a clean white paste- it was all bread! The tourists are feeding ducks at the park, and the BG are loving it.

I noticed at least one even had fat pads in its abdomen, which I've never seen in a fish before. Those BG are so well fed, they're obese. Amazing.