Bluegill - Big Bluegill

Do you love big bluegill?

A network for Bluegill fans and people who love big bluegill (Lepomis Macrochirus). Bluegill photos, videos, discussion, blogs & more.

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John Sheehan

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Greg Wade

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Resources

If you'd like to grow huge bluegills in Illinois or surrounding states contact Herman Brothers Pond Management
Visit our friends at Pond Boss forums. The world's best discussion forum on ponds and small lakes.
Read Pond Boss Magazine, with frequent articles about growing huge bluegill--big, BIG bluegill.
For growing giant bluegill check Purina website for Aquamax fish feed
Differentiating between male and female bluegill
Bluegill mounts by famed taxidermist Cecil Baird
Commonly asked questions on how aeration can affect your bluegill pond
Hybrid Bluegill, pictures and discussion
Midwest Pond Management "NEFGA"
Floating Islands for your monster bluegill pond
Condello Strain Bluegills
Hatcheries
Pond construction consulting
Troubleshooting for your trophy bluegill pond
Ray Scott's Lake Life Pump for keeping oxygen in your bluegill pond
Donate to Jesse West Foundation
Bluegill on Wikipedia
Bluegill on fishbase
Central Data Storage will help you store your medical or dental data online if you click Here

Photos

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Videos

big bluegill

Added by Zack T
DSCN0140

Added by Rob Greer
DSCN0126

Added by Rob Greer
On the water with Bullworm!

Added by Patrick "Bullworm" Olson
Bass Fishing with shallow cranks

Added by Jonathan Barzacchini
Fishing The Midwest crappie, bluegill, and bass rigs Part: III of Christmas special

Added by Jonathan Barzacchini

State Bluegill Resources

Iowa DNR - bluegill
Texas Parks & Wildlife
North Carolina Bluegill
Wisconsin DNR Bluegill
Minnesota DNR Bluegill
Illinois State Symbol - Bluegill
Missouri Bluegill
Michigan Bluegill
Kansas Bluegill

WELCOME TO BIG BLUEGILL!!

This website has been created for all of us who love BIG BLUEGILL! Create an account, post blogs about bluegill and redear sunfish, research bluegill history, view photos, and post photos of our favorite fish. Your bluegill, redear or pumpkinseed picture doesn't have to be of a gigantic fish. A nice fish with a happy angler or pretty background will do just fine. Photos of redear sunfish, pumpkinseed, hybrid sunfish, or other lepomids (sunfish) are also strongly encouraged. Big shellcrackers and pumpkinseed sunfish rock! We especially like bluegill and/or redear sunfish videos.

Forum

State record 8 Replies

Ever went and looked at your states record fish and say to your self..... Ive caught and eat one bigger than that! OMG Its happened to me. I would love to nail the WRBB but as we all know I got a bet…

Started by Jeremy R. Mayo. Last reply by Jeff Soto 53 minutes ago.

Cooling Lakes About To Open ! 14 Replies

On March 1st, the first cooling lake in Illinois will open to fishing. All Winter I have been thinking about an article I read here (but can't find anymore) about spoon fishing for bluegills. I'm rea…

Tagged: cooling, lakes, Illinois, shore, bluegill

Started by Joe Hinton. Last reply by Josh Milczski 31 minutes ago.

Very Cool Photo 8 Replies

This photo was taken in late January of 2010 by one of my fellow fishermen here in CT. We caught about 200 that day as a group. Most were released. Love the variety and the colors.

Started by Mike. Last reply by Jeff Soto Feb 3.

Do your homework before planning a trip!

Everyone,Thought I'd share some tips and suggestions for those of you planning trips to a new lake for the first time, or those of you wanting to try fishing for a new species. Since everyone on her…

Started by Greg Wade Feb 1.

ZERO TOLERANCE

On Big Bluegill we have a ZERO TOLERANCE policy. If you make one post, or send one personal message toward the originators of this site, or any other member of Big Bluegill, that can even remotely b…

Started by Bruce Condello Jan 31.

fish mounts 28 Replies

I have a feeling this year were going to get a fish worthy of mounting! I myself have never mounted a fish. There is plenty of folks on here that have and that also do taxidermy. How bout some advice…

Started by Jeremy R. Mayo. Last reply by John wilkins Feb 4.

3 days on the ice 2 Replies

Fri. night came and went with nothing to show for eyes. Boone,Doug,Chris,Nick Mallard and myself hit a local lake for a quick shot at eyes only we did not get a fish. The next day we worked a tough b…

Started by CrappieKeith. Last reply by Jim Gronaw Jan 12.

I Got a New Fishin' Pole 15 Replies

I was in a sporting goods store in Bainbridge Ga. the other day, freshening up my Non-resident Georgia fishing license. That's sort of a necessity when you live right on the State line. Anyway, while…

Started by Dan Gwaltney. Last reply by Lord of the Fly , Rods Jan 20.

Blog Posts

Richmond Mill package deals

Thanks to strong demand for bluegill packages, Richmond Mill is creating some package deals for groups of four or more.

Without question, Richmond Mill is nirvana for big bluegill enthusiasts. Bluegill average over one pound, and two-pounders are possible for those with a lot of skill, and a little luck.

I've… Continue

Posted by Bruce Condello on February 3, 2010 at 12:00pm — 1 Comment

Bluegill Attack

Largemouth bass love small sunfish for dinner.

This is an 8-pound bass replica and 5.5-inch bluegill replica I've recently completed.

… Continue

Posted by Tim Overbaugh on January 9, 2010 at 10:38pm — 9 Comments

1947 World Record Bluegill

I wanted to find the biggest bluegill blank (an unfinished replica) I could find.
I ended up purchasing this blank that was listed as 16-inches, 4 5/8 pounds, 1947 world record bluegill....
This is what it looked like out of the box.

After examining it I determined it was molded from a skin mount and was prob… Continue

Posted by Tim Overbaugh on January 19, 2010 at 9:50pm — 13 Comments

Deep Creek Lake Jumbos

Well, I finally got to do a little ice fishing for some big yellow perch out in western Maryland at Deep Creek Lake. I stayed with my friend Ron and we fished 2 1/2 days on the lake and were joined the last half-day with our buddy Dan. I wish I could tell you that we murdered them, but the truth is that we worked very ha… Continue

Posted by Jim Gronaw on January 17, 2010 at 7:14pm — 3 Comments

Fishing the Hot Water

Hey y'all, got to fish the warmwater discharge at Brunner Island today on the Susquehanna River in PA. Good wading conditions, low water, clear, but tough fishing. Cold this early AM- 12 F with some wind.

Ran into one guy who got 6 smallmouths from 13 to 17 inches on 1/8 th oz jigs. I got my first fish of the year...a 18 inch channel cat on a Zoom Fat Albert on a 3/16 th oz jig. Also got yet another cat on the jig and a nice 16 inch smallie on the same. Missed about 6 or 8 strikes. Cold with th… Continue

Posted by Jim Gronaw on January 5, 2010 at 1:35pm — 8 Comments

The rest of the ice fishing story

After we took the kids back inside to their mothers and their eventual naptimes, I headed back out with my mom and dad… Continue

Posted by Nate Herman on December 20, 2009 at 1:53pm — 1 Comment

A Couple Ice Fishing Babes....

Literally. It wasnt but just a couple years ago and I was changing their diaper… Continue

Posted by Nate Herman on December 20, 2009 at 1:42pm — 3 Comments

freshwater fly tying reference pt.1-terrestrials and land walkers

hello i will be posting fly tying reference throughout the winter so keep an eye out and tight lines this coming up summer!
EDIT: Added a cricket and spider picture!

1) beetles (lady bugs, stag beetles etc,etc) tie in a variety of sizes
materials i would use...Foam,foam and more foam! i am not that good at tying beetles with elk hair F.Y.I.!

… Continue

Posted by Joseph Torres on December 3, 2009 at 8:30pm — 5 Comments

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Latest Activity

Sharon commented on Jeff Soto's photo '2lb2oz'

You sure do. I also liked the FL BG, had really nice colors. I may have to move back to CA though

12 minutes ago

John wilkins joined Josh Holley's group

live bait fisherman

13 minutes ago

John wilkins commented on John Sheehan's group 'Slip Floating'

I use a 10' or 12' rod when fishing slip floats (slider rig). These rods are specially made for float fishing. This is a great way to fish a lot of waters which are deeper than your rod. The longer rod assists in "punching" that float rig out to you…

16 minutes ago

Josh Milczski replied to Joe Hinton's discussion 'Cooling Lakes About To Open !'

Man, I've been looking at getting into spoons this spring...now more than ever.

28 minutes ago

John wilkins joined John Sheehan's group

Slip Floating

Last year (2009)was the first year slip floating for me and found it to be very effective.Would like folks that are into this kind of fishing to post photos of gear and tips on the best rods ,reels ,bait and terminal tackle to use.

37 minutes ago

John wilkins commented on Tom F's photo 'Bluegill Feeding 3'

Are there bass waiting just beneath to pick off the gills in this picture? That hoop picture is much the same as my fishing school logo...

40 minutes ago

Jeff Soto commented on Jeff Soto's photo '2lb2oz'

Sharon, I've got some other very colorful Bluegill, including another "Purple Coppernose" and a "Blue Coppernose", in my photos...check them out. Good old Southern California Bluegill have some crazy colors!

44 minutes ago

Josh Milczski replied to Nick David's discussion 'Harvesting' in the group Your Pond

Afraid Walt is right Nick. I think you can attain balance, but not trophy status. If you want trophies, going to have to pick which one is more important to you.

45 minutes ago

Josh Milczski replied to jason alan grimm's discussion 'My favorite hooks'

John, what size do you usually go with these spade hooks?

49 minutes ago

Jeff Soto replied to Jeremy R. Mayo's discussion 'State record'

Hey what is that fish in the bottom of the photo that has the beautiful reddish scales?

50 minutes ago

Josh Milczski replied to Sharon's discussion 'Will Channel Catfish work?'

Walt is describing a pond scenario that I'm contemplating building over the next couple years after I get my main pond up and running and that is a 'kid friendly' pond. Inspired by a recent PondBoss article, I think having an overstocked bass pond w…

1 hour ago

Tobias Jackson Jr. gave a gift to Zack T

Red Ribbon

From the Gift Store

1 hour ago

Walt Foreman replied to Sharon's discussion 'Will Channel Catfish work?'

Josh is right - catfish won't do a good job of keeping the bluegill thinned out. Additionally, they relish pellet food, and once they get to be four or five pounds they'll literally knock the bluegill out of the way with their tails to keep the blue…

1 hour ago

Sarah Thomasson replied to Sarah Thomasson's discussion 'HELP!'

Thanks. I'll be sure to keep that in mind!

1 hour ago

Walt Foreman replied to Nick David's discussion 'Harvesting' in the group Your Pond

I just noticed you said you want trophy bluegill and bass - it's nearly impossible to achieve both in a pond, as the ideal environment for growing big bass is overpopulated bluegill (lots of bluegill in the ideal forage size range) which invariably…

1 hour ago

Walt Foreman replied to Nick David's discussion 'Harvesting' in the group Your Pond

No, you don't want to keep smaller bass - they're the key to growing trophy-sized bluegill. I never allow any bass at all to be kept from ponds I manage for big bluegill; that way the bass overpopulate, which means they eat most bluegill at the fry…

1 hour ago

Sharon commented on Mike Penrose's photo 'Spawn bed pic'

Could you give me an idea how deep the water needs to be for a bluegill "nursery" ? Some of those nests look like they are out of the water. What is the deepest?

2 hours ago