Louisiana State Record Bluegill

[Keith Ritter]

A new state record may have been caught In Louisiana 

http://www.nola.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2016/05/angler_boats_louisia...

[Tony Livingston]

First off, congrats to the angler!

Secondly, the fish in the photo has some curious markings and coloration. Would love to see additional photos. Also, did anyone else pick up on the fact that they were steadily plucking fish off the beds, and were going to come back the next day and hit them again? Brings us back to our recurring debate over legality vs. sportsmanship.

[jim cosgrove]

tony-see it time and time again people are just greedy.i see it all the time.cant tell me its a tasty meal when they sit in a bucket of water in the sun dead and stiff.we live in a different world and country.well over 300 million people.was reading another forum tonight and a guy was bummed that there were no fish on the beds he  had gps saved into his side scan.couldn,t believe there were no fish after he "harvested"100s in the same spots last year.

[Jim Gronaw]

You're right Jim. I heard a guy complaining at Pymatuning this May that he was just going to have to find another lake to go and fish for crappies. Four years ago they brought home over 400 from a weeks trip...that's over 800 fillets. Then, it went down to 300, then 200 and now this year they brought back 'only' 100 fish ( 200 fillets) They kept only fish 11 inches and up and gripping about the PA fish commission not 'doing their job' in maintaining the fishery. Pymatuning is 17,000 acres and has suffered a noticable drop in numbers of larger crappie as there is no limit on them.

Yes...all legal catches...but overharvest is indeed real, especially amoung the panfish community.

[carl hendrix]

YEA;; I READ WHERE THE GUY KEPT CATCHING BLUE GILL ON BED;; AGE OLD QUESTION;;   WILL THERE BE BLUE GILL THERE AGAIN NEXT TIME ?? TO CATCH BLUE GILL IS FUN; DEFINITLY;; BUT TO FISH OUT A GOOD SPOT;; ARENT WE BORROWING OUR RESOURCES FROM OUR KIDS ??

[Lord of the Fly , Rods]

Wow  ! , After reading this story  I have decided to put Old River on my Bucket List ,  the old record , the 1.6 pounder  was caught were I cut my teeth on bluegill fishing   Old River , which is at the Morganza Spillway, It is the swampist, snakiest, premier primal fishing  I have ever done . I will always remember the days growing up when my Dad would take me for a days fishing at this place and we would wear them out , this giant swamp was part of the old Mississippi River. thats why they call it Old River. The Cottonmouths float on the surface with their mouths open , the gators stay on the banks waiting for you to fall out of the boat and the bluegill supply is endless , Mother Nature is in charge here! No Float Tubes here , I wouldn't even fish out of a kayak here, the gators are bigger than Kayaks. You go in , fight snakes , stay away from gators and catch huge amounts of  mature bluegill  , " Bluegill Heaven on Earth "

  I just checked , it 400 miles from my house to Old River , I can do that dragging my boat, fish cooker , and cast iron pot, now if I can just find the time. I will have to eat out while I'm there too , you know   " Cajun Food "  , crawfish , etouffee , shrimp , crabs and real gumbo , yum yum !  and dont forget oysters !

     There is no debate about  Legality vs. Sportsmanship here, if you dont catch them here they will just be eaten by Gators , Snakes , and Huge Snapping Turtles, the Trick there is  " Don't let them Eat You ".     Fishing is Different down South in Naturals  Waters where the Real Trophys hang out , you know  " WILD FISH "  vs. pond raised  fed like cows  fish .    LOFR

[Tony Livingston]

Won't fly LOFR..... gators, snakes, and huge snapping turtles are indiscriminate harvesters, taking whatever size they can catch. Man typically harvests only the larger specimens, therefore his/her efforts have far more impact on the size hierarchy. Heck who knows, maybe if conservation becomes more commonplace down south, you will have a shot at trophy bluegills of a caliber equal to what we have up here...over two pounds, with the state record being 3 lbs 4 ounces. All natural.

[Lord of the Fly , Rods]

I agree thats true Tony on small ponds but if you have never been to " Old River "  you dont know  the situation there. LOFR

[jim cosgrove]

all i can say is lake michigan is 14 million acres and the perch population is in trouble.too many large spawning size fish being taken is one problem the biologists believe.the lake is the cleanest in over 100 years.i am as guilty of anyone of overharvesting these fish when there were no limits.indiana for instance used to allow gillnetting.up to 10 miles of nets that only captured the bigger fish.i believe any fishery can be overpressured/

[Keith Ritter]

I must apologize to Mr. Delaney for setting him up for ridicule. If all you get from the article is that this man and his wife caught a bunch of bluegills from a 6500 acre lake I'm sorry I posted it.  

[Tony Livingston]

Keith, I don't believe anyone here is ridiculing Mr. Delaney. One of the core principles behind BBG is to be respectful of other anglers and their methods, provided they are operating within the law. Another core principle is to be a clearinghouse of sorts regarding information about bluegills. To that end, we advocate for sustainable harvests, AND recognize that our knowledge base is ever expanding, with the result that we know more every year than we did the year before. Certainly this anger and his partner will most likely not decimate the BG population in a 6500 acre lake, but it's the prevailing mindset that says it's impossible to negatively impact the fishery, irregardless of harvest practice, that we are trying to change. If one or two anglers harvest indiscriminately, maybe no harm will come. But if EVERY angler does the same, then chances are the fishery will decline over time. No two bodies of water are the same, and no single management practice is perfect for all. But there are constants that transfer favorable between ponds, lakes, rivers and resi's.

And along those lines, you are correct LOFR in that I have never fished "Old River". But I don't have to, in order to know that angling practices are the single most serious threat to an established BG hierarchy. Capable of causing far more damage than snakes, alligators, turtles, bears, and herons combined.

[jim cosgrove]

no harm meant to anyone keith.i think we must realize the fact that there are over 300 million people in this country and with modern electronics and the internet and google maps there is no place left that cannot be found.i am really surprised that the record was so small given the growing season.i really believe i will catch one that size or bigger myself this season.i have read many accounts of giant bluegills in the bayous taken on flygear.

[Slip Sinker]

First of all Congrats to the fisherman for this excellent catch!... and I find it amusing catching the record on a kid’s set-up.

The thing that made me jump out of my croc’s is how small the record actually is for its location. More fertile waters and longer growing season usually correlates with big bluegill. So where is the problem? If Michigan can grow a near 3# b.gill why can’t Louisiana? So I looked up the daily limit for b.gill in the state and it is unlimited! I think that is where the blame needs to be placed… on the states mismanagement of limits for the it’s lack of top tier bluegill sizes. What else could it be?

to turn things around here i think a slot limit should be imposed to bring trophy sizes back up.