Do you love big bluegill?

John Cachel's Comments

Comment Wall (18 comments)

At 7:12pm on January 24, 2011, Jeffrey D. Abney said…: Thanks for your comments John on the N.C. record. I fish several mill ponds out here in Eastern North Carolina and the average gills have went up quite a bit the last ten years. I truly believe we're closing in on that record. We just had that huge Shellcracker in a farm pond a couple of years ago and the Management at the State and Local levels here is working. We're cold in Carolina so it must be bitter up there in Illinois. Goood luck Fishing.

At 4:56pm on November 19, 2010, Jim Gronaw said…: Hey John...the boats are at Richmond Mill and we drove the 8 hours to get there.

At 7:43am on April 2, 2010, Bob Lusk said…: Hey John,
Thanks, buddy! We are having lots of fun with Richmond Mill. Doing some basic fisheries management and some outside the box thinking and now we are beginning to see the results.

At 12:58pm on March 25, 2010, Jim Gronaw said…: Hey John...thank you for the kind words!

At 2:58pm on March 1, 2010, John Sheehan said…: Nice Fish Photos John ! Dig your Kayak!

At 7:48am on January 30, 2010, Dale Fortin said…: what kind of fosils did you find?

At 7:40pm on January 21, 2010, Jim Gronaw said…: Hey John...we didn't get any bluegill there on this trip, they tend to be shallower than the perch. Have gotten some very fine gills there in the past from 10 to 11 1/2 inches.

At 7:13pm on November 6, 2009, Jim Gronaw said…: Hey John...that is so cool that you have that 1983 issue of In Fisherman about the pond gills! Wow! My son was only 3 yrs old at the time. Thanks for rminding me how timeless and pure bluegill fishing really is.

At 7:07pm on August 11, 2009, Dave Bausano said…: That's a big redear for that area. I drive through Staunton on Route 4 every time I get back to visit my Grandma. She lives in Carlinville. Whenever we stay with her, we fish a small private lake that we are members of near Beaver Dam State Park called Lake Rinaker. It has a good population of bluegill that are pretty good sized but no monsters. Used to catch quite a few redear as well, but the lake does get hit pretty hard.

I agree with about the farm ponds - they can be quite productive. My father-in-law is a farmer in Jerseyville and he' got a number of small ponds that he does pretty good at.

Do you make it down there very often?

At 12:54pm on August 11, 2009, Dave Bausano said…: John - I was just reading a discussion you replied to regarding personal best fish, and i was wondering where in Southern Illinois your son caught his redear? If it is a secret honey hole, don't feel obligated to tell me. I'm mostly just curious.

Most of my family, and my wife's entire family, are spread throughout the area, so we make it up there a couple of times a year.

At 12:39pm on February 15, 2009, IceWarriorGill said…: Hi John, thanks for the kind comments about my Pumpkinseed mount!! They really put up a fight no matter what their size!!!

At 1:24pm on January 7, 2009, BlueGill Godzilla ><((º> said…: Sorry to say that I have no pictures of the large Bluegill. I was fishing at Ketona Lakes by Birmingham Alabama in 1958 with my uncle and some of his fishing buddies. The good old boys from Alabama fished for fun and table food. I baited with a red worm on some very light test line and threw the line into the very clear water. I was using a cane pole and a quill for a bobber. This was the type of fishing that was done in this part of the country. The group that I was with caught many good size Bluegills that day but mine was the biggest. No one had a camera with them, so on the way from the lake we stopped at a local gas station to buy some gas. They sold groceries and had a meat scale and my Uncle Bob ask the attendant if they could weigh my fish. I assume that the scale was close to being accurate, the Gill weighed at 2 pounds and 9 ounces. Uncle Bob brought all of the fish home that day and cleaned them so that my Aunt Mae could cook them for our supper. I will never forget that summer in Birmingham Alabama that I spent with my Uncle Bob and Aunt Mae. I still have the memories of that great summer as a young boy learning how to fish and spending quality time with loved ones.

At 8:03pm on November 30, 2008, SteveGibson said…: John, I have no idea. I've never caught a bluegill with red eyes. Perhaps it's another member of the panfish family?

At 4:41pm on November 20, 2008, Bruce Condello said…: Yes, I've read about the second biggest bluegill. Fascinating story!!

I even sent a request to the author to use the story on this website, but have not gotten a return email..

Maybe I'll try again.

At 8:21pm on November 16, 2008, Bruce Condello said…: Have you tried to click on the little "photo" icon that's in the top of the box? That should prompt a window to popup with your computer's pictures. Then you just double click on the picture of choice. Let me know if this doesn't work.

At 4:09pm on November 16, 2008, Bill "Musky" Modica said…: I also like to fish deep for big Gills in clear waters....check out my blog on Deep water spoon presentation.

At 5:06pm on November 13, 2008, Bruce Condello said…: Welcome, John!

Thanks for joining Big Bluegill!

We hope that you'll really like the photos, videos and discussion. I see you've joined in already. Good job.

Let us know what you like or don't like about the site.

Bruce