9" redear and friends

A 9" redear and 20 of its closest buddies, on a platter.

This is the result of the day's fishing at Bethany Reservoir, in the California delta.

What was most notable about this redear, apart from its size, is how it was caught. I'd rigged up my bass rod for catfish and set it out in a rod holder while I went about the more serious pursuit of bluegill fishing. About 2 hours and a few bluegill later on a slow and midday under a cloudless sky, I heard the bell on my catfish rig.

Figuring, "Wow, I got a cat after all!" - I wasn't that serious about it - I ran 30 feet to the rod and started reeling in. When the fish got close enough to sort of see it, I thought it didn't look right for a cat and hope it wasn't a carp (OTOH, my wife knows how to cook carp, so...).

It was only when I got it out of the water that I realized it was a much larger than run-of-the-mill redear. Wife and kids were suitably amazed, as was I :-)

My rig at the time was 2 ounces of weight, and a number 4 longshank baitholder, onto which I'd threaded a nightcrawler. When I got the fish out of the water, it was bleeding. I looked in its mouth and could just see the eye of the hook about 2 inches down its throat. The hook itself was about 2 inches, so that was a deep swallow.

I was amazed that it took a whole nightcrawler and a long shank size 4 hook all the way down its throat.

Size and weight: 9 inches and 9 ounces, one of my best sunfish/bluegill ever.

Artful platter arrangement and photo by my lovely and talented wife, Thuy.

Our kids were present but not really into fishing today, these 21 fish were all caught by my wife and I.