Bluegill - Big Bluegill

Do you love big bluegill?

Spent two half days over the holiday weekend fishing some incredible waters at the invitation of Nate Herman.  As Bruce has pointed out on this site, Nate and his brother Justin run Herman Brothers Pond Management Company in Central Illinois.  They have quickly built a reputation of designing, building, stocking and consulting on some of the premier bodies of water in this part of the country.  This post wasn't meant to be an advertisement for their business as Bruce has already included a link to their website on here but as a thank you for allowing my wife and I to sample some of their current projects.  No doubt, they have countless happy customers who benefit on a daily basis from their pond management services.

 

Back to the fishing.  I don't use a clicker to keep count of fish numbers but looking back at photos, I would say we had 10-12 fish of a lifetime in just two half days of fishing.  Monstous bluegills of all dimensions and color patterns. 

Even with less than perfect weather conditions and spending more time taking off my wife's fish than fishing myself, the fish numbers were incredible.  We likely had 80-100 fish in the 10" class range - a true quality bluegill by my standards and had countless bonus fish including largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappies, yellow perch, walleye, hybrid stripers, rainbow trout, etc.   The trout and stripers were just a riot on 4# test line and UL set-ups. The fish number were not a testiment to our fishing ability but to the quality water we were fishing. 

 

To me it was a real eye opener regarding what can be achieved in a pond or lake of any size with quality management practices in place.  

 

I'll try to throw up a few photos in the days to come.

 

Thanks again Nate.

 

Steve Ryan

Views: 242

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Thats' a booger
Hawg gill!

Nice! I knew I shoulda' become somebody, so I could get invited to those kinda places... :-)

Were they hard to catch; I mean selective or "finicky?"

RSS

Latest Activity

Jeffrey D. Abney posted a photo

Rose Skimmer…..8/29/2025

I’ve seen these guys in Louisiana and North Carolina…..one of the reasons I like pink jigs, the…
9 hours ago
Jeffrey D. Abney posted a photo

Check Out The Emerald Green Cheeks on this Flier……8/29/2025

They kind of have a distinctive black line under the eye similar to a chain pickerel but not as…
12 hours ago
Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
14 hours ago
Jeffrey D. Abney posted a photo

One of a Dozen Largemouth in a Feeding Frenzy….8/29/2025

This river was pretty steady around 76 degrees for surface temperatures…..
14 hours ago
Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
14 hours ago
Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
14 hours ago
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on Jeffrey D. Abney's photo
Thumbnail

Soaking Live Cricket Tipped Jigs on Bridge Pilings….8/29/2025

"Zoom in to see those popping emerald colors at the base of the tail……this pod of…"
14 hours ago
Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
17 hours ago
Jeffrey D. Abney posted a status
"Hit a different river today, this time working beavers are more beneficial than river otters……surface temperatures at 76.4 degrees"
18 hours ago
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

augpick

"The black under the eye and a business mouth……..👍, a true predator!"
yesterday
John Sheehan commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

augpick

"Yes, and mean eyes, Jeff. A bandit with the black across the Eye!"
yesterday
Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
Wednesday
Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
Wednesday
Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
Wednesday
Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
Wednesday
Jeffrey D. Abney posted a status
"I found an influx of salt water in some creeks and the bite was muted, moved inland to locate better water conditions and it paid off.."
Wednesday
Jeffrey D. Abney posted a status
"We finally started settling down from crazy water level swings from Hurricane Erin, coolest surface temps in August in 15 years here…"
Wednesday
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

augpick

"Distinct colors and markings……pretty chain pickerel……"
Wednesday
John Sheehan posted photos
Wednesday
John Sheehan posted a photo
Wednesday

© 2025   Created by Bluegill.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service