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Product Corner: Bruce goes back to back big shellcracker and big bluegill!!

I'm not a critic.

So this feature isn't about being some "expert" who can tell you what's great and what isn't.

It's about fun, and it all starts with the first new product I've decided to try out. I took myself out of my comfort zone tonight. Generally this time of year I'm soakin' real crawlers trying to get a bluegill in it's cold water lethargy to pay me a quick visit at the end of my line.

But tonight I was using one of Zig's Jigs. It was a calf tail hair… Continue

Added by Bruce Condello on October 18, 2008 at 8:30pm — 4 Comments

Google Analytics and Big Bluegill

I checked Google Analytics today and it informed me that this site has had visits from the following countries.

United States, Canada, Jordan, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Mexico, India, Malaysia, Australia, Bulgaria, Italy, Thailand, Indonesia, France, Hungary, Romania, Belgium, South Korea, Norway, Brazil, Turkey, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Ireland, South Africa, Slovakia, Spain, Austria.

Big Bluegill has been visited by all 50 states, Puerto Rico and… Continue

Added by Bruce Condello on October 14, 2008 at 9:11pm — 3 Comments

The chores can wait

My home is in shambles. There are window frames in various stages of paint, vehicles that are in desperate need of a wash and polish, and I believe I overheard my wife talking to the local farmer about renting sheep. I can only presume that means she thinks the grass is too high……..again.

Anyone with any lick of common sense would start working to alleviate this list of priorities. I decided to go fishing.

Who wouldn’t rather spend an hour by the water with a fishing rod in hand… Continue

Added by Zig on October 14, 2008 at 7:22pm — 4 Comments

Iowa Bluegills – Spring ‘08

(I'd written this earlier this year and had it published on the Fly Anglers Online website.)

An unusually long and frosty winter made the ice stick around on the lakes and ponds here in central Iowa much longer than normal. Still, by April 1, the bluegills were starting to hit flies in the newly-thawed water.

I had tied up some “FishnDave’s Flashback” flies. I like this simple pattern for early season stained waters, but have found they work all season long, even in clear… Continue

Added by David Merical on October 13, 2008 at 1:36pm — 7 Comments

Doozie or Woozie I'm not sure which

This entry is merely an outlet for my excitement.

While only fishing for 1 hr. each day, this past Friday and Saturday evening are going very deep into the memorable fishing trip vault.

I need to get some photos hosted, then put my weekend into words...................if I can find the right ones.

(My personal journal reached six(6) pages - from a measly two(2) hours of fishing.)

Teaser: What does one get when you mix flat water, a child, a flyrod, and an educationally… Continue

Added by Zig on October 13, 2008 at 6:00am — No Comments

Big Bluegill definitions and trash talk.

The following words are used to describe a bluegill.

Scientific name: Lepomis macrochirus

'Gill

Bream

Brim

BG

Perch

The following words describe a redear sunfish.

Scientific name: Lepomis microlophus

Shellcracker

'Cracker

Government brim

RES

Chinquapin

Stumpknocker (thanks for the reminder, Theo)

The following words are descriptive for largemouth… Continue

Added by Bruce Condello on October 12, 2008 at 6:30pm — 4 Comments

The beat goes on.

It's getting dark here much earlier now. I continue to hang onto the thought that I have until 9:00pm to get some form of time into a fishing trip........................the honeymoon is obviously over.

I also seem to have contracted a new disease - AllIseearefeedingbluegillitis. It's an extremely horrid infestation. The only relief seems to come when I stand beside the water with an ultralight in hand.

So, seeing as how my fever spiked last evening (measured by the knee-jerk… Continue

Added by Zig on October 9, 2008 at 6:00am — 2 Comments

Here today, better tonight

The USPS has it made. 1.5hrs. for lunch.................do you have any idea how much fishing I could get done in that time?

Probably 1hr. worth.

And I did - by proxy.

I had a few shipments to go out a few days ago, and was greeted with the "We'll be back at 12:30pm" sign on the door. It was 11:20am.

I had ZZ (my oldest) along and asked him if he wanted to get some fresh fish for lunch.

He needed some persuasion, but finally gave in. I grabbed a rod,… Continue

Added by Zig on October 6, 2008 at 7:10pm — 2 Comments

Stormy fall angling in Pa.

The rain set in here in southern Pa on Friday afternoon. Saturday morning we received the cancellation calls from the soccer coach, followed very closely by the afternoon baseball game cancellation.

Both were ok by myself, as that merely opened up quite a few hours to get some work done. Sunday morning greeted us with more showers, and passing downpours - so more time open.

One can only work with lure making so long before it gets the best of them, so I made the announcement that I… Continue

Added by Zig on September 29, 2008 at 7:07am — 2 Comments

Greatest underwater bluegill video of all time!

I'm not kidding.

I decided to use my creative side yesterday. I took some bailing wire, and bent it in a semi-circle so that it dangled right out in front of my Aquavue camera, which incidentally looks just like a bluegill.

Then I tied a short little piece of monofilament to the end of the wire, attached a severely overbent hook so as not to injure any fish, and added a big chunk of nightcrawler.

Wacky hijinx ensued.…

Continue

Added by Bruce Condello on September 25, 2008 at 8:30pm — 26 Comments

Big Bluegill and Stewardship.

How does "Big Bluegill" feel about conservation?

Easy. We're all for it.

Big Bluegill members are a gang of anglers who know they're on to something special.

The bluegill is really the perfect fish when you think about it. Perfectly satisfying to fly fishermen and bobber slingers. Equally satisfying for ice fishermen and kayakers. Beloved by catch and releasers, as well as those who fish to dine. Targeted by the trophy fisherman, and the folks who just crave… Continue

Added by Bruce Condello on September 14, 2008 at 7:00pm — 12 Comments

Wyoming angler catches new state record bluegill.

The following story is a press release from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

NEW STATE RECORD BLUEGILL

8/15/2008

CHEYENNE - One of Wyoming's long-standing fish records was broken last month with the catch of a new state record bluegill, besting a record that has stood for 20 years.

Wheatland angler Rod Horsley caught the record 1.92 lb. fish on a fly rod from a stock pond near Lusk using a… Continue

Added by Bruce Condello on September 12, 2008 at 7:07pm — 2 Comments

Do bluegill spawn more than once each year in the Northern U.S.?

We all know that bluegill will spawn multiple times in the Southern U.S., but will they do the same in the North?

This question was addressed by Dr. Dave Willis of South Dakota State University. Dr. Willis is a Distinguished Professor who joined the Department faculty in 1987. He assumed the role of Department Head in 2008. He is also a member of Big Bluegill.

This commentary was originally posted in the world renowned pond management forum "Ask the Boss". His post was… Continue

Added by Bruce Condello on September 12, 2008 at 3:00pm — 3 Comments

Big Bluegill's biologist Daryl B. defines "stunting" of bluegill.

Stunting is easy to define--slow growth.

In panfish populations stunting usually occurs when there are so many panfish that there is not enough food to go around. That is why I crawl up on my soap box so often and state that largemouth bass are KEY in controlling numbers of panfish in pits and ponds.

However, what might be a density of panfish that causes stunting in one body of water may not be a density of panfish that causes stunting in another more productive body of… Continue

Added by Bruce Condello on September 8, 2008 at 5:14pm — 3 Comments

Big Bluegill has a theme video! Not for the faint of heart!

Click HERE for Big Bluegill video!

A friend of mine from the NEFGA forum took the photos of big bluegill that he could find and made a video from them. I thought it was pretty awe-inspiring. If you have a picture of a big bluegill upload it to the www.bigbluegill.com website and perhaps we can make another video sometime in the… Continue

Added by Bruce Condello on September 8, 2008 at 4:00pm — 1 Comment

Relative weight chart for bluegills.

Relative weight, sometimes abbreviated as simply "Wr", is a reference to how much a bluegill should weigh for a particular length.

If you look at all bluegill in a particular region of the country, the fish that would be at the 75th percentile, or bigger than three out of four fish is given the designation of Wr 100.

Therefore, if you catch a fish that is 10% heavier than the 75th percentile bluegill for your region, your fish will be given a designation of Wr… Continue

Added by Bruce Condello on September 7, 2008 at 7:00am — 19 Comments

Bluegill growing at their very best.

These two bluegill represent what the approximate maximum growth potential in the Midwest can be, if you keep fish's bellies full at all times.

The top fish is about 6 ounces and is 14 months old (age-1), and the bottom fish is a little over 12.5 ounces and is 26 months old (age-2).

Typical bluegill grow significantly slower, but these fish have been fed a high quality Aquamax Grower 500 and Aquamax Grower 600 diet. This program has… Continue

Added by Bruce Condello on September 3, 2008 at 1:00pm — 3 Comments

When it comes to bluegill, how old is "old"?

I posed the question to biologist Daryl Bauer what qualifies as an old bluegill, and asked if he had sampled some really ancient specimens in his years as a fisheries professional.

Here was my question.

"Actually, I'd like to know from Daryl if he's seen any truly ancient bluegill in his sampling days. You know, like 12 or 13 year old fish. I've probably aged, or assisted in aging somewhere around or over 200 bluegill, but haven't run across any real oldies like… Continue

Added by Bruce Condello on August 30, 2008 at 1:30pm — 1 Comment

Food "A" vs. food "B".

The following blog will document the introduction of a new pelleted feed for a specific group of bluegill. Eventually the brand and formulation will be revealed.

Food "A" has been in use for a group of bluegill for 1 year. These bluegill are currently age-1 and age-2. The fish grow well on food "A", and seem to eat vigorously.

Food "B" is the feed that we wish to convert to.

Food "B" was delivered to my house at 1:30 p.m. today. The feed was then brought to the… Continue

Added by Bruce Condello on August 27, 2008 at 8:30pm — 16 Comments

Trophy Savannah River Shellcracker

Throughout late summer and early fall, the larger shellcrackers move into several ox-bows off the upper Savannah River to feed and spawn. Through trial and error, I have figured out that one must take on a mentality similar to that of a trophy bass fisherman in order to catch these fish. Like a big bass, and a mature buck for that matter, these fish do not get big by being stupid, so outsmarting them is the key. One particular ox-bow lake that my father and I frequent is riddled with flooded… Continue

Added by Kelly Nobles on August 25, 2008 at 5:37pm — 15 Comments