Do you love big bluegill?

Bruce Condello's Blog (109)

Old Bald Guy

Old Bald Guy.

That was his Big Bluegill name. It was also his name on the NEFGA forum that I frequent.

He was also Rog Flanders, but for my purposes here, he's going by OBG.

OBG passed away this week. My tears have finally cleared enough to see this computer screen so I can make a humble attempt to write how I feel about him.

OBG was a true bluegill lover. He also loved people. And he loved people who loved bluegill. OBG loved his family, and the… Continue

Added by Bruce Condello on September 2, 2009 at 4:00pm — 21 Comments

WINNERS ANNOUNCED FOR BIG BLUEGILL CONTEST--AGE 8 AND UNDER!!!!!

FIRST PLACE--ELLIOT from Minnesota

Congratulations, Elliot, you've won a $75 gift certificate to Cabela's to buy some great fishing gear.

SECOND PLACE--GLENN from Minnesota

Way to go, Glenn, you've won a $50 gift certificate to Cabela's. Go buy yourself some fun stuff.

THIRD PLACE--KENZ from Nebraska

Good job, Kenz, you've won a $25 gift certificate to Cabela's. Enjoy a little shopping spree thanks to the folks at Big… Continue

Added by Bruce Condello on August 3, 2009 at 7:40pm — 2 Comments

TWENTY QUESTIONS FOR BIG BLUEGILL KIDS CONTEST

These first twenty questions belong to the 9-16 year old group. You have all day Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday to answer. I'll check the answers on Monday morning, August 3rd, 2009

There will be prizes for the top four contestants, based on number of questions answered correctly. If there is a tie after all entries are counted, we will switch to a week long fishing contest.

1. What is the scientific name for bluegill?

2. Are bluegill more carnivorous, or… Continue

Added by Bruce Condello on July 29, 2009 at 9:30pm — 2 Comments

Contest entries closed.

Thanks for all of the great entries in the BBG kids bluegill contest.

I will attempt to make contact with all entrants before Sunday, July 26 to confirm the entry and give information on the bluegill science quiz.

I will also provide very soon a breakdown of the prize packages.

Thanks kids!

Added by Bruce Condello on July 24, 2009 at 12:09pm — No Comments

CONTEST!

Between 10:30 a.m. Central Time on July 9th, 2009, and 11:59 p.m. Central Time on July 23, 2009 I'll be accepting entries to the Big Bluegill Kids contest. In order to participate you must send me a PM (personal message) on the Big Bluegill forum, stating that you will be UNDER 16 years of age at 11:59 p.m. on July 23, 2009 and are either a member of Big Bluegill or an immediate family member of a member of Big Bluegill living at home.

Only entries received during that time period… Continue

Added by Bruce Condello on July 9, 2009 at 8:35am — 5 Comments

The contest formerly known as the Big Bluegill scholarship contest...

I'm currently working on a contest for kids that will be under the age of 16 years on September 30, 2009. It will now be known as the "Kid's Big Bluegill Contest".

We're going to be hopefully getting a little sponsorship from Cabela's or Bass Pro Shops, unless we have a member out there with a connection to another sporting good outfit.

The contest will involve a one week registration period. After all registrations are in there will be a 20 question science test on… Continue

Added by Bruce Condello on June 20, 2009 at 7:30am — 3 Comments

Big Bluegill becoming the fire-breathing, three-headed dragon of the fishing world.

Closing in on ONE THOUSAND members!

And the most amazing thing is the quality of people on this site. No angry arguments--just healthy exchange of information in a respectful way. Other sites can only aspire to be at our level! :-)

Added by Bruce Condello on May 28, 2009 at 8:16pm — 2 Comments

Searching for all that great information on BigBluegill.com

There's so much great information on this site that sometimes it's difficult to locate a gem that was several months ago.

Here's a way to find it.

Type the following into your Google search box:

"search words"site:bigbluegill.com

Added by Bruce Condello on May 11, 2009 at 5:07am — No Comments

Richmond Mill, North Carolina getting a reputation for really big bluegill.

Thanks to Big Bluegill member and friend Bob Lusk there are some pictures beginning to filter in of massive tanker bluegills from Richmond Mill!

Here's a couple more. Folks, these are some true behemoths.

Here's Dr. Jim Morgan with a 1-12 bluegill. This fish is very young, with tremendous upside potential.

...and here he is again with a pound-and-a-halfer.…

Continue

Added by Bruce Condello on May 3, 2009 at 9:45pm — 2 Comments

This is a photo of a huge fire at the Condello bluegill ranch tonight!!!

I looked to the west while I was fishing for bluegill tonight, and I'd swear that there were two sunsets!

This fire was absolutely raging! It was multiple lines of flames, many of them 20 feet high. There were multiple lines, some of them were 500+ yards long. I counted 150 vehicles on the surrounding road.

Here's a picture (from my cruddy cell phone) that kinda shows the multiple lines.…

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Added by Bruce Condello on April 8, 2009 at 9:00pm — 3 Comments

DARREN MAY'S STATE RECORD BLUEGILL--courtesy of Prarie State Outdoors

Photo courtest of Prarie State Outdoors, Illinois' Premeir Outdoor Website

Years ago prior to a story on his state-record bluegill, I interviewed Darren May by telephone. At the time he had his monster bluegill perched on a wall in his home, staring down a mounted 7-pound largemouth bass.

’‘You know what?’‘ May said. ’‘If they were still in the water, the bluegill could tear that… Continue

Added by Bruce Condello on March 9, 2009 at 8:44pm — 6 Comments

Todd Overton's big coppernose bluegill.

Todd Overton of Texas is a fish raising specialist. He has isolated some really exceptional coppernose bluegill broodstock. Note the beautiful white and/or orange fin bordering.

Added by Bruce Condello on March 7, 2009 at 12:00pm — 3 Comments

Video of world record bluegill mount!

One of our valued Big Bluegill members wanted me to give a little better image of the world record bluegill replica mount.

Well, here it is....alongside a mount made by Big Bluegill member Cecil Baird of two 1.25 pound fish caught from my pond.

Added by Bruce Condello on February 15, 2009 at 8:30pm — 13 Comments

BIG BLUEGILL SCHOLARSHIP CONTEST

On Friday, July 24, 2009 Big Bluegill presents the Big Bluegill Youth Scholarship Contest.

With the help of B. Waldman, the Big Bluegill shirts, caps, mugs, stickers, etc. have been created for you to enjoy. The site charges us a specific amount for each unit sold, and exactly 10% has been added, all of which will go to the prizes for the youth winners.

Click here for… Continue

Added by Bruce Condello on January 24, 2009 at 2:00pm — 18 Comments

The new Big Bluegill logo is unveiled!!!!

Well? What do you think? Does it look like it would make a cool hat or sweatshirt? This was developed by the creator of Big Bluegill, Aaron Matos. He kind of stays behind the scenes, but he's always watching and monitoring us (spooky, isn't it?) so that we stay focused on big bluegill.

Added by Bruce Condello on December 12, 2008 at 4:24pm — 60 Comments

BIG BLUEGILL RULES

I'd like to reiterate the rules on Big Bluegill blog posts and discussions.

1. No profanity

2. No commentary in regards to race or…

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Added by Bruce Condello on November 30, 2008 at 8:00am — 54 Comments

The Helmet.

I was thinking the other day of all the reasons I love bluegill.

I love the way they bite.

I love the way they fight.

I love the way they taste.

I love the way they look. Oh, man, I think they look so cool. They kind of have an attitude. Sometimes a big bluegill will look at you, and his look says, "If I had a chance dude, I'd kick your butt."

All those bright colors turn even darker when you hold them--sometimes turning almost black with… Continue

Added by Bruce Condello on November 20, 2008 at 6:30pm — 8 Comments

Big Bluegill pride.

I just spent an hour or so reading and re-reading some of the comments and observations made by members of Big Bluegill over the last few days.

VERY impressive.

What started as a fun way to post some pictures of my favorite fish, has turned into a fantastic clearinghouse for bluegill information. That's not even mentioning some pretty good fellowship and friendly banter.

Nice job, people. I thank every one of you.

I think there are thousands of other… Continue

Added by Bruce Condello on October 22, 2008 at 1:39pm — 12 Comments

Product Corner: Bruce goes back to back big shellcracker and big bluegill!!

I'm not a critic.

So this feature isn't about being some "expert" who can tell you what's great and what isn't.

It's about fun, and it all starts with the first new product I've decided to try out. I took myself out of my comfort zone tonight. Generally this time of year I'm soakin' real crawlers trying to get a bluegill in it's cold water lethargy to pay me a quick visit at the end of my line.

But tonight I was using one of Zig's Jigs. It was a calf tail hair… Continue

Added by Bruce Condello on October 18, 2008 at 8:30pm — 4 Comments

Google Analytics and Big Bluegill

I checked Google Analytics today and it informed me that this site has had visits from the following countries.

United States, Canada, Jordan, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Mexico, India, Malaysia, Australia, Bulgaria, Italy, Thailand, Indonesia, France, Hungary, Romania, Belgium, South Korea, Norway, Brazil, Turkey, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Ireland, South Africa, Slovakia, Spain, Austria.

Big Bluegill has been visited by all 50 states, Puerto Rico and… Continue

Added by Bruce Condello on October 14, 2008 at 9:11pm — 3 Comments