Bluegill - Big Bluegill
MONSTER TRUE BLUEGILL CAUGHT ON SLAB JIGGIES 1/80TH OZ BUGGIE JIGGIE IN YELLOW
it was a pretty chilly morning for us in So California on td April morning. 45° to be exact. Was with my manager and best friend Johnny Unn at one of our southern California favorite reservoirs, got there a little late (7:30am) due to me not setting my alarm, but woke up from Johnny yelling in my window, lol. So we had a ton of my signature Slab Jiggies, Buggie Jiggies in 1/80th oz in white, red, pink, chartreuse, orange and yellow. We headed out to oit usual big bluegill spots.
Didn't see any on Shallow beds but the beds were there, so we stepped back and headed to our pre spawn area's with lots of luck. Was so textbook it was funny. We anchored up off the reeds about 20 feet and the monster male gills were on the shallow side and the smaller but extremely fat females were on the deeper side. We stayed in one spot for an hour getting fish all over a pound with an average of 10 1/2" in length. We were off the lake by 10am with ear to ear smiles on both our faces. We had both phones taking video's and pics and our hi-def camera rolling. Was such an epic day of big bluegill fishing. Should be hitting the water once next week hopefully cause we should be pre-fishing for a big tournament next weekend at another lake.
Chris Salmon
Apr 27, 2014
Chris Salmon
Apr 27, 2014
Bruce Condello
That last picture...on your hand....is currently my favorite bluegill picture of all time. What a freak!!!!
Apr 27, 2014
carl hendrix
those are some dam nice size gills!! huge in fact!!! congrats!!
Apr 27, 2014
Jason Preslar
Wow! Something to be proud of (and brag about)....
Apr 27, 2014
Jim Gronaw
You throw the 1/80th oz with 2 pound test?
Apr 27, 2014
Chris Salmon
Apr 27, 2014
Chris Salmon
Apr 27, 2014
Chris Salmon
Apr 27, 2014
Jim Gronaw
Yes Chris...got the goodies. Check your in-box...I sent you a PM.
Apr 27, 2014
Chris Salmon
Apr 27, 2014
Kirk Metoyer
Jul 5, 2014
DAVID L EITUTIS
WHAT A BUNCH OF MONSTERS CHRIS !!!!!!!!!!!!!! CONGRATS MAN most folk , INCLUDING ME, only dream of gills like these
Jul 5, 2014
Slip Sinker
what great fish... fish of two lifetimes! after looking at these it feels pointless fishing for these northern gills
Jul 29, 2014
DAVID L EITUTIS
ABSOLUTELY STUNNING PICS OF SOME MONSTER GILLS !!!!! WISH THEY WERE ON THE MAIN PAGE ...
Jul 29, 2014
Michael P. Holoubek
I think Fisherman who Bed Fish aren't true fisherman! Thats the easdy way to catch fish. Be a real fisherman and catch in deep water like i caught my State record Bluegill dragging a 6in Yum Dinger Worm in 30ft of water! Now thats a true test of fishing!
Jul 30, 2014
Tony Livingston
All of us here at BBG are real, true fishermen (and women). Methodology aside, there are certainly periods and circumstances that lend themselves to higher success ratios, but it's that way with any fish. I would wager that the great majority of state record bluegill catches happen by accident.....not by directly targeting the record itself.
Jul 30, 2014
Michael P. Holoubek
Mine i think was caught by accident. We were drifting in 30ft of water dragging a 6in Yum Dinger Worm for LMB when i hooked my State Record Bluegill of 3lb 14oz. The week before that i hooked a Bluegill weighing approx 2lbs with the same method
Jul 30, 2014
Jim Gronaw
First off, congratulations, Michael, on a spectacular catch of a near 4 -pound bluegill. Few anglers, living or dead, can lay claim to such a phenomenal fish.
In regards to bed fishing, keep in mind that bed fishing for various sunfish species, especially red-ears, can be very tough and challenging when they are actually bedding and not feeding. Bed fishing for panfish is also traditional and looked forward to by most all panfish enthusiasts. It is a great time to enjoy the fun and harvest of our great bluegill and sunfish waters, nationwide. We have caught almost 2000 bluegills and sunfish so far this year and most of those fish have been in bedding areas or very close to them. The fish have remained shallow and have continued to spawn throughout the summer, peaking during full moon phases, similar to what Jeffrey Abney has observed in his North Carolina waters. Less than 100 of those fish have been harvested, and most have exceeded 9 inches in length. What may be sad about bed-fishing is that too many anglers tend to overharvest adult male and female bluegills when they are vulnerable during the spawn. Many panfishermen even today hold to the ancient concepts that bluegills, crappie and perch cannot be harmed by the removal of fish, and so they catch and keep all they can. Fisheries nationwide have suffered from the steady, day-in, day-out removal of adult fish and the result is almost always smaller top-end size structure for fish.
Additionally, I have had the great opportunity to introduce many young anglers and family members to the joys of bluegill fishing by targeting bedding fish and helping them have a productive, fishful day. I schedule my angling instructional classes to coincide with the spawn and have developed numerous children's fishing event likewise. And then, there are times when the weather throws us a curve and cold rain or exccessive heat can push back, or speed up, the spawning cycle.
I, for one, enjoy fishing during the spawn, not just for bedding bluegills, but for pre-spawn largemouths and smallmouths, crappies, white and yellow perch and American and hickory shad, just to mention a few. I see nothing wrong with fishing for bedding bluegills and would not belittle anyone who takes advantage of this natural phenomena to enjoy rod-bending action and tasty fillets to boot.
Again, congrats on an amazing catch with your state record bluegill.
Jul 30, 2014