Huge Bluegill

[dreadnut]

MSN

 

[Midnight Toker]

I have to call bs on “retired angler”. You either cast….or you don’t! (Joking!)
That’s a monster bluegill for sure! Reminds me more of the sunfish I once caught in Plum Lake Wisconsin back in the late 70’s!

 

[5thumbs]

It doesn't mention what kind of rig he caught it with.

If it was an ultra light or fly rod I'll bet it was fun!

 

[JohnW63]

That's not the fish we call bluegill in the lakes down here.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluegill

 

[dreadnut]

what do you call them, jw?

 

[Midnight Toker]

There are many species and subspecies in the sunfish family, which bluegills are a part of. Most do have the black spot on it's side....some are stripped, some aren't. Some are dark green, some more yellowish....depending on sex...and region, but the one in Dread's article does look more like the bluegill I am accustomed to seeing. (Just not that big!!!) Just do an image search for "bluegill", and you will see a lot of variants in appearance.

 

[Westerly Wood]

Fish looks tiny.

 

[FNG]

It's a bluegill.

 

[Westerly Wood]

It's a bluegill.

kind of like a choggy?

 

[FNG]

kind of like a choggy?

Kind of like a bluegill....lol.

Good eating but you need to catch a mess.

 

[JohnW63]

Dread,

The bluegill I've seen our pulled out of a local lake are not so tall top to bottom , which makes them look almost round. In the Wiki link I posted, you can see the fish near the top of the page are what we see. If you scroll all the way down , you'll see a very blue and round one from Alabama. The article you posted shows a very " round one ". I suppose Louisiana and Alabama have very similar fish. A mountain lake in California is a different one.

 

[Midnight Toker]

Dread,

The bluegill I've seen our pulled out of a local lake are not so tall top to bottom , which makes them look almost round. In the Wiki link I posted, you can see the fish near the top of the page are what we see. If you scroll all the way down , you'll see a very blue and round one from Alabama. The article you posted shows a very " round one ". I suppose Louisiana and Alabama have very similar fish. A mountain lake in California is a different one.

Smaller ones are definitely more round, but when they do make it to an advanced size, do get that "taller" look. Fish often do change shape and appearance (color/stripes/etc) with age, sex, spawning season, etc.

Just look at the pics of the smaller bluegill on this page, and as you scroll down, you'll see a much bigger one that looks more like the record fish in Dread's article.

Bluegill Fish 101: Guide To Learn Everything! - Fishingery

Bluegills are found in lakes, ponds, and slow-moving rivers. In this guide, you will discover everything about the Bluegill fish in 2023!

fishingery.com

 

[Uke]

Not to confuse things, but the fish in the second photo of the wiki article looks a lot like what we call a "redbreast." Names are often regional. I grew up in Florida calling speckled perch "specs". Then moved to North Carolina where they called them "crappy." My brother in Tenn. calls them "croppy."

 

[Midnight Toker]

Not to confuse things, but the fish in the second photo of the wiki article looks a lot like what we call a "redbreast." Names are often regional. I grew up in Florida calling speckled perch "specs". Then moved to North Carolina where they called them "crappy." My brother in Tenn. calls them "croppy."

Yep....there are numerous names for them, and they are often misidentified, being a close family member to dozens of other fish in the sunfish family. In Texas they call them perch....but they are nothing like the white and yellow perch found in brackish tributaries of the Chesapeake....other than being another "panfish".

 

[Cougar]

Well, a crappie is like a bluegill, isn't it? Don't I get in the record book?

You can see what I was using. Didn't expect this fish to be going after it....

 

[Cougar]

Don't I get in the record book?

Oh, well, nevermind. The black crappie record holder

 

[FNG]

Still a pretty nice crappie!

 

[Boneman]

Growing up in NY we used called them sunfish, and we'd use the smaller ones for largemouth bass bait. They are good eating but very boney, and need a few to make a decent meal. I forget when, but first time someone called them bluegill and I was like huh? But found the names are interchangeble, and yea, that sure is a large one!

 

[fronobulax]

I've been trying, without success, to figure out how to make this about a BlueGuild and then have @davismanLV chime in.

I think I'd call it a sunfish but I also recall being surprised when I discovered all of the other names for what seemed to be the same species.

 

[FNG]

I've seen some good old boys clean bunches of bluegill amazingly fast with a electric filet knife and some hand cranked skinning device. Perfect little filets ready for a dusting of cornmeal and quick-fried in hot oil. Heavenly!