Two PB Sunfish in 1 day :-)

[Fish Chris]

Sorry, it's been quite a while since I have been here. I LOVE big Sunnies.... If only I could connect with them on a little more regular basis, I'd spend more time here.

 

Anyway, a week ago, I got into some really good Redear fishing {+ a few good Bluegills mixed in, too}. Caught about 35 of them, with a bunch of legit 2 lb'ers. I kept 12 of them for the pan, and they went 22.1 lbs.

 

Now, in my experiences, I almost never go back to a sunfish bite like this a week later, to find them still there....

So from that standpoint, I guess yesterday was a blessing, because not only were they on still, but I caught my new PB Bluegill, of 2.0 lbs {yes, of course I took photos... but 1) the fish was really old / beat up looking, 2) it didn't show the size well, and 3) next to the photo of the Redear I'm fixing to post, it just wouldn't be worth posting.

 

Anyway, after about 4 hours of fishing, and numerous legit 2+ Redears, I stuck "the one"  :) I really thought I had hooked a good sized bass. I hadn't retied my 4lb leader for at least a couple fish prior, so I was really nervous / gentle with the fight, but I did finally land it.

It ended up going 3.2 lbs, and was 14 1/2" in length :)

I was extra pleased that the photos came out as good as they did.

 

Only bummer is, I won't be able to go back out for at least 2 weeks, and by then, they will almost certainly be gone :(

 

I sure know where I will be a BUNCH early next Summer ;)

 

Peace,

Fish 

[Walt Foreman]

Awesome fish!  I'd still like to see the photo of the big bluegill - it might be more impressive than you think.  I never tire of photos of two-pound bluegill. 

[Fish Chris]

Well hey Walt, if you instist. As I say, the photo of the big Gill didn't show the size well. It was pretty hollow bellied. All it's weight was in it's back. Appeared to be an old male.

Peace,

Fish

 

[Walt Foreman]

That's a beautiful fish - looks like it's almost as long as the bigger one.  This one looks like a bluegill-redear cross.  And definitely a male.

[Bruce Condello]

I think that is the rare, and highly misunderstood "gill cracker". At least 1/2 bluegill, but at least a hint of redear. I think the photo is epic.

[Anthony Palafox]

That's a beautiful monster! good catch man.  I sure hope to hook into one like that someday.

[Fish Chris]

Thanks all :)

 

Fish

[Bruce Condello]

I am absolutely, completely, thoroughly impressed with the fish, the stories and the photos!! Thank you! It is gratifying to know that a legendary angler like yourself loves sunfish and took the time to post such great photos. I hope you go back in two weeks and catch even more.

Bruce

[Tim Overbaugh]

What Bruce said.

 

 That is one nice Redear Sunfish!  

[Fish Chris]

Well thanks very much Bruce, and Tim :)

 

But hey now, how could a guy call himself a fisherman "and not" love these fish ? They are strong, they are beautful, and they are almost always willing to play... if you can find them :)

 

Besides all that, it was Bluegill (probably the same for many of you, and millions of others across the country) that got me hooked for life, on fishing, in the first place !

40+ years later, and that bug still hasn't warn off ;)

 

Peace,

Fish

[Bruce Condello]

Chris, definitely make certain to upload these photos individually into the "photo" category. That way I can feature them for optimal national exposure. Thank you.

[Josh Milczski (Omaha)]

Incredible.

[Fish Chris]

BTW, I forgot to mention this, but I took these photos, of myself (and the fish) by myself, like I do with nearly all of my trophy catches, of whatever species.

 

One of my other hobby's / passions is photography. I have a DSLR that I use for straight up photography trips.... But I actually WAY prefer my Canon A6xx series cameras for fish photos.

In a nutshell, you can set these cameras in basically a full manual mode, fine tuning, and tweaking every detail {exposure, ISO, focus distance, timer + # of shots after timer, flash brightness, etc} then hit one btton, and it saves everything you have previously set.

So, you stick a big one, your adrenalin is pumping, your hands shaking (and always for me, by myself) but my camera is ready to go, and calm as can be :) So I slap it on the tripod, and turn it on, and instantly, it's like I'm both behind the camera, and in front of it, at the same time :)

It's kind of funny, but I have gotten to where I trust my own self taken shots, "more" than I would handing my camera to somebody else.

 

Here's another one I took about 6 weeks ago, which you might like.

7.3 lb Smallmouth