55,000 acre resevoir bluegill??

[Tony Alexander]

I fish for bluegills here on Lake Murray,S.C. five years ago there was alot of hydrilla in this lake. my wife and i would catch monster bluegills every trip out. it was incredible. then grass carp were introduced to eradicate it. it,s been gone for years. and i haven't caught a big bluegill in years?? my wife won't even go out anymore, and she loves to fish..this big monster lake is clear water with tons of humps, secondary points and main lake points. where did all the bullgills go?? this lake was a world class bluegill lake until the grass disappeared. all the bait shop owners will say the same thing. bluegill fishin isn't as good as it once was. any and all tips, opinions, and new techniques will greatly be appreciated!!! thanks to all!!!!

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

Nothing wrong with sheelcracker. I caught some nice ones on Murray this last season. And I've read your blog about it. It's a fair trade off, in my esteem. But, I did catch some good brim, too. I just hadda go up-lake to do it... I live near Clouds Creek, so that's not too bad a deal.

I do remember years ago, fishing in the big lake section and catching nice bluegill. Maybe there should be a requirement for fishing time on the water, if you're gonna own a house on the lake shore.

[Tony Alexander]

it' still really good when there shallow, such as March, April, and May!! But after that it gets real tough!! I think the shellcrackers are taking over..This fishing is outstanding!! But i've been a bream guy for along time! It's just really sad to watch an outstanding fishery go to hell, because of home owners who never liked the hydrilla! sad kinda deal!!

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

If there is anything Lake Murray has plenty of, it's rich people. SO how is the brim fishing 3 years later, in your esteem. You do more of it than I do - what do you think?

[Tony Alexander]

thanks for the info!! it was all the homeowners that wanted the grass eradicated!! Rich people that don't fish!!

[Walt Foreman]

I never saw this post originally, Tony.  Aquatic vegetation can foster an entire food chain for bluegill, providing them with many food sources, such as grass shrimp, that can't exist in a "clean" lake.  So basically what your state DNR did was to destroy the bluegill's food chain.  State DNRs are not always the most forward-thinking organizations; some are at the forefront of fisheries science, such as Illinois and their research into the phenomenon of sneaker male bluegills; then there are those like my home state's, that, for their statewide limit on bluegill, has - wait for it - no limit.  As in, you can fish 90% of the public water in Tennessee and keep 200 big bluegill in a day if you can catch them.  Never mind that research in multiple states where research is actually done, has found that such heavy removal of bluegill, especially the larger specimens, can permanently damage a fishery, often irreparably.

So, the short version is, your state DNR spent your taxpayer money to destroy your fishery.

[Tony Alexander]

none at all?????

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

This was from 3 years ago, Tony. Any improvement since then?