Bluegill - Big Bluegill

Do you love big bluegill?

What state would you choose to fish Bluegill if you could only pick one?

We are fortunate to have members from all over this great nation...One of my favorite things about Bigbluegill.com is the instant connection with the people that love and enjoy the same things that I do when it comes to all things Bluegill from folks all over the country.....Many of us have also had the great experience of fishing several different states whether vacationing, traveling for work or as a result of moving..... If you could pick one state to fish Bluegill, what state would it be and why? Thanks for sharing and I expect this may be a difficult choice for some and very easy for others.....Again, thanks in advance!

Views: 13173

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

If history would repeat its self my choice would be Back bay Virginia, In the mid 70's to early 80's you could pull up to a duck blind and catch hundreds of bluegills with the average being between a pound and a pound and 4 ounces. That would be my choice, for those that never fished it back then. you really miss out on something amazing.

I was fortunate enough to taste the awesome Bluegill fishing in Back Bay....the grass is making a comeback and hopefully the bass and bluegill fishing will follow.....Filled with long nosed gar right now and you must be patient with the wind....it's always breezy that close to the ocean but what a treat it would be to get Back Bay to where it was......Totally agree Mark!

Being a hick I never realized there were bluegills in the salt water.

Bruce, they can live in pretty brackish water. However, reproduction at a certain salinity is a different story. Unlike the tilapia with adjustment at a slow incrementation of salinity level, bluegills have certain ceiling limit, like every other fresh water species.

Yep....Back Bay is brackish water.....

I have seen stingrays swim buy and my cork go down and on the other end a big bluegill.

Also the only place I've caught a flounder on a Bream Buster too! Could you imagine taking a boat load of members out there when it was in it's prime Mark......you really can't do it justice in words......I was young back then and didn't do the picture thing that much because it was too disruptive compared to the digital world we live in now........I hope I can share a tidbit of Back Bay in the years to come........Some of the biggest stringers for average that I ever saw for Coppernose gills........

What happened to them?

This was a vast region of submerged grass filled flats but almost overnight all the grass died and so did this body of water.....turning the region into a 9,000 acre mud hole......Bottom line is ........man's intervention and water level manipulation impacted this fishery so negatively........Only separated from the ocean by small barrier islands.....these fragile brackish waters became over run by salt water at higher than normal levels and upsetting the balance for many years to come......Trophy gamefish in multiple freshwater species were there and hopefully it will make a full comeback.........

You know, Jeffrey, the Tropical Storms Agnes and Eloise of the early 1970's so impacted the Chesapeake Bay complex that upper bay rivers...full of big largemouths, chain pickerel and resident striped bass of 25 pounds plus in the Bay proper, were all but extinct for 30 years, coinciding with the tremendous loss of grasses in those tidal flows. Only in the last 5 to 10 years have those species rebounded to comparative levels back in those 'glory days'. Things are on the rebound. I wonder if those storms, and other huge climatic events, weren't at least part of the culprit for the Back Bay demise.

This is a great question, and it is very obvious that there isn't one answer...mainly because there is such good bluegill fishing in so many states!  I guess that is why this web site is such a success!  This little gamefish is prolific everywhere! and is available year round to all types of anglers....What a great discussion!

Thanks Bill and I couldn't agree more...I love to hear about the different possibilities throughout the country.....

RSS

Latest Activity

John Sheehan posted photos
Wednesday
John Sheehan commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

cupsaw bass

"The Yellow Perch Pattern is more so a Northern catcher I believe, Jeff. The Silver /Black Back and…"
Saturday
John Sheehan commented on John Sheehan's album
Thumbnail

Shore Fishing Trout and Panfish

"The benefit of catch and release perhaps, Dick!"
Saturday
John Sheehan posted photos
Saturday
Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
Sep 26
Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
Sep 26
Jeffrey D. Abney posted a status
"Scattered thunderstorms predawn moved out to sea and I gave it a shot..North Carolina creeks/river were very dirty from runoff, moved north"
Sep 26
Jeffrey D. Abney posted a status
"Hoping the beat the frontal boundary tomorrow morning for a crappie stalk on the coastal marsh….we have a lot of uncertainty in our weather"
Sep 25
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

cupsawlow waterwalleye

"Nice adjustment to the conditions John……good fishing…..cool that you tied the…"
Sep 25
John Sheehan commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

cupsawlow waterwalleye

"Hey Jeff-Every 4 years or so the lake committee lowers the lake for folks to do dock repairs. Thats…"
Sep 25
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

cupsawlow waterwalleye

"In a drought or drawdown for damn work? Nice fish…..I’ve never caught one but always…"
Sep 24
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

cupsaw bass

"I loved this bait color as a child…..but after lots of torture from being out fished by my…"
Sep 24
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

cupsawlow waterbass

"Nice colors on this largemouth….old school moving bait…."
Sep 24
Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
Sep 20
Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
Sep 20
Jeffrey D. Abney posted a status
"Finally got a calm morning on the 19 day of September, a coastal low dumped rain and high winds promising to turn the marsh over and it did."
Sep 20
John Sheehan posted photos
Sep 16
Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
Sep 10
Jeffrey D. Abney posted a status
"Very rough weather pattern, ready to get out if the wind will break…all the creeks are blown out and holding low….had a good dinner tonight…"
Sep 9
John Sheehan posted photos
Sep 6

© 2025   Created by Bluegill.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service