Do you love big bluegill?

Bruce Condello's Blog – September 2008 Archive (8)

Greatest underwater bluegill video of all time!

I'm not kidding.

I decided to use my creative side yesterday. I took some bailing wire, and bent it in a semi-circle so that it dangled right out in front of my Aquavue camera, which incidentally looks just like a bluegill.

Then I tied a short little piece of monofilament to the end of the wire, attached a severely overbent hook so as not to injure any fish, and added a big chunk of nightcrawler.

Wacky hijinx ensued.…

Continue

Added by Bruce Condello on September 25, 2008 at 8:30pm — 26 Comments

Big Bluegill and Stewardship.

How does "Big Bluegill" feel about conservation?

Easy. We're all for it.

Big Bluegill members are a gang of anglers who know they're on to something special.

The bluegill is really the perfect fish when you think about it. Perfectly satisfying to fly fishermen and bobber slingers. Equally satisfying for ice fishermen and kayakers. Beloved by catch and releasers, as well as those who fish to dine. Targeted by the trophy fisherman, and the folks who just crave… Continue

Added by Bruce Condello on September 14, 2008 at 7:00pm — 12 Comments

Wyoming angler catches new state record bluegill.

The following story is a press release from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

NEW STATE RECORD BLUEGILL

8/15/2008

CHEYENNE - One of Wyoming's long-standing fish records was broken last month with the catch of a new state record bluegill, besting a record that has stood for 20 years.

Wheatland angler Rod Horsley caught the record 1.92 lb. fish on a fly rod from a stock pond near Lusk using a… Continue

Added by Bruce Condello on September 12, 2008 at 7:07pm — 2 Comments

Do bluegill spawn more than once each year in the Northern U.S.?

We all know that bluegill will spawn multiple times in the Southern U.S., but will they do the same in the North?

This question was addressed by Dr. Dave Willis of South Dakota State University. Dr. Willis is a Distinguished Professor who joined the Department faculty in 1987. He assumed the role of Department Head in 2008. He is also a member of Big Bluegill.

This commentary was originally posted in the world renowned pond management forum "Ask the Boss". His post was… Continue

Added by Bruce Condello on September 12, 2008 at 3:00pm — 3 Comments

Big Bluegill's biologist Daryl B. defines "stunting" of bluegill.

Stunting is easy to define--slow growth.

In panfish populations stunting usually occurs when there are so many panfish that there is not enough food to go around. That is why I crawl up on my soap box so often and state that largemouth bass are KEY in controlling numbers of panfish in pits and ponds.

However, what might be a density of panfish that causes stunting in one body of water may not be a density of panfish that causes stunting in another more productive body of… Continue

Added by Bruce Condello on September 8, 2008 at 5:14pm — 3 Comments

Big Bluegill has a theme video! Not for the faint of heart!

Click HERE for Big Bluegill video!

A friend of mine from the NEFGA forum took the photos of big bluegill that he could find and made a video from them. I thought it was pretty awe-inspiring. If you have a picture of a big bluegill upload it to the www.bigbluegill.com website and perhaps we can make another video sometime in the… Continue

Added by Bruce Condello on September 8, 2008 at 4:00pm — 1 Comment

Relative weight chart for bluegills.

Relative weight, sometimes abbreviated as simply "Wr", is a reference to how much a bluegill should weigh for a particular length.

If you look at all bluegill in a particular region of the country, the fish that would be at the 75th percentile, or bigger than three out of four fish is given the designation of Wr 100.

Therefore, if you catch a fish that is 10% heavier than the 75th percentile bluegill for your region, your fish will be given a designation of Wr… Continue

Added by Bruce Condello on September 7, 2008 at 7:00am — 19 Comments

Bluegill growing at their very best.

These two bluegill represent what the approximate maximum growth potential in the Midwest can be, if you keep fish's bellies full at all times.

The top fish is about 6 ounces and is 14 months old (age-1), and the bottom fish is a little over 12.5 ounces and is 26 months old (age-2).

Typical bluegill grow significantly slower, but these fish have been fed a high quality Aquamax Grower 500 and Aquamax Grower 600 diet. This program has… Continue

Added by Bruce Condello on September 3, 2008 at 1:00pm — 3 Comments