A hunerd years ago, when I was a kid, one of my dad’s ‘rich’ friends gave me a few copies of Field and Stream and Outdoor Life. In one of them was an article I think called “In Quest of the Three Pound Bluegill”. A couple of guys spent a bunch of time and money researching, and traveling to, big bluegill waters. I think, even then, you couldn’t get into Ketona but they fished some waters close. I think they finally got it done in some strip mine out west. I’ve been fascinated with big 'gills ever since.
I think truely “big” 'gills are a real trophy. I spend considerably more time fishing for 'gills than bass. Yet, I have caught 3 bass (only one on the fly) in the 8 pound class. (I know this isn’t a big bass to some of you guys but remember - Iowa is “The Black Hole” of bass fishing.)
Yet, I can’t catch a pound and a half 'gill to save my butt. 22 oz. is my biggest.
Here’s a 'gill caught from a pond that I’ve been fishing for over 40 years. It has no no history of anything even close. Good friend of mine’s 14 year old daughter - bobber and a worm.
Been 15 years and I still haven’t forgiven her.
As often, the pic doesn’t do the fish (or the girl) justice. 2 pounds 15 oz.
So what are the biggest ‘bream’ you guys have caught (or seen)? I know Jim Hatch has some stories. There’s got to be more.
when i first moved to florida, and first took up fly fishing (only about 5 months ago) i was fishing at a lake near my house, and right as the sun went down, i caught a pretty big gill. it was probably the biggest gill i’ve ever seen. i caught it on a popper and it swallowed the whole thing. i guess that it was probably close to 2lbs. though i’ve only been fly fishing for a few months, i was one of those nasty bait soakers for the first 18 years of my life.
i didn’t keep it, nor did i get the chance to weigh it: it was almost totally dark, and i had seen a nasty gator an hour earlier, and didn’t want to end up as dinner.
“Tolerance is the mark of a man with no convictions.” -G.K. Chesterton
I guess I’ve been hooked on “bream”
since I was a wee lad fishing worms on the
old cane poles. Over the years I’ve had
foreys into serious bass fishing or salt
water but I aways quickly come back to the
bream on the fly rod. It just doesn’t get
any better than that for me.G
Based on the numbers, South Carolina’s
Santee Cooper Lakes, and in particular,
Lake Moultrie, is the place for really big
bream. The world record of 5 pounds 7
ounces came from this lake as did a number
of other 5 pound plus fish. There are a
number of theories why this lake is the hot
spot. Probably the most accepted theory
being an abundance of a particular snail
species which they consider a major food
source for the big fish. The larger of the
fish having come from an area heavily
populated with the snails. I do know that
the 60,400 acre lake is a healthy one and
enjoys a long growing season in our mild
climate.
While the really large bream can be very
illusive, fish of 1 to 2 pounds are quite
common here. Fish of 3 pounds or better are
less common but I catch and release a number
of them each season while fly fishing. My
best fish to date was estimated at 3 1/2
pounds, but was released without weighing.
I have hooked and played a number of very
large bream that I believe would have
exceeded 4 pounds. I have actually had my
hand on some of them when the hook tore out
or the tippet broke.G I don’t like using
a net on them but I am giving it some
thought.G Anyway, to make a long story
yet longer, I know of no waters that have
a better record on large bream than Lake
Moultrie here in South Carolina. It is a
fact that my retirement home is less than
400 yards from said lake and the reason for
this is these very fish.G I’m hopelessly
hooked on bream fishing and there appears
to be no cure other than spending as much
time as possible drowning flies in my favorite bream holes. I will continue to do so as long as I can.G Warm regards, Jim
Are you talking about RES (red ear sunfish) or CNBG (copper nose blue gill) or something else? I don’t believe CNBG eat a lot of snails nor, in my experience, are they commonly seen at 2 pounds and over…RES are different, but I could be wrong.
A 1 pound BG is a treasure and we can grow them quite readily but 2 pounds and above, that must be something.
Biggest BG? 1# 10 oz. on a black deerhair cricket in '76. I cast to a pod of 3 bluegills; the largest one did not hit it. A number of 1#+ over the years [I think over a dozen in '77 if my re-memory is working]. <G> I don’t weigh them anymore; just do a quick measurement and put 'em back. I kinda got over the “mine is bigger than yours” thang.
Here in the south, a number of species
of slab sided sunfish are grouped together
and referred to as bream. Very common here
and even the fishing regulations will often refer to them in this manner and single the
individual species out only as refers to a
record fish.
You are correct that the bluegill
(bream) does not grow as large as the red
eared sunfish but 2 pound bluegill are not
rare here. The red eared sunfish
however often runs half again as big as the
bluegills and by the same token, 3 pound
redears are not particularly uncommon. The
current records here are 3.4 pounds for the
bluegill and 5.7 pounds for the redear.
The redeared sunfish has a set of molars in
the back of his jaw that he uses for
breaking open the shells of the snails that
he favors, hence the favored southern name
for these kritters, shellcracker. From April
though October you will most often find me
waving a 3 weight in shallow cypress swamps
bordering Lake Moultrie. I’ll be easy to
spot as I’m the one with a flyrod and a big
grin on my face.G Warm regards, Jim
My biggest Bluegill was 2-3/4 lb. on Charlie Creek in Hardee County. On a live earthworm under a splitshot free lining with a little ultra light spincaster many years ago. The second largest was about 2-1/4 lb. in the same place caught on the same thing. I just set the rod up between a Y-stick stuck in the ground on the creek bank so I could watch the rod tip for movement (for very slight rod tip movement as these old fellows are very smart and wary).
Man, these reports of 2 and 3 pound BG are driving me crazy. I’d pay some good money to have some verifiable brood stock from 2.5 to 3 pound BG. Any takers?
Meadowlark,
There are lots of folks who can and will do just that. What they are selling is HYBRIDS. The one’s I raise are Georgia Giants and in a well maintened pond will go to the mid to high 2’s easily. BUT (you knew that was coming, didn’t you), the first generation will go that big and then each succesive generation will get smaller till the fish return to their original species. And remember that Bluegills will go through 2 to 4 spawns a year, depending on the water temp. So in 2 years or so, for your effort (lots) and money (also lots) you will have bluegills and green sunfish. The effort to maintain ponds is greatly under-estimated and requires a commitment of time that most are un-able to complete. A lot learning by experience talking here.
As it turns out, the Bonneau Fish
Hatchery about 2 miles west of me here
on the lake is milking a number of these
large red eared sunfish and raising fry
to share with other states. I don’t
know about individual ponds but I can get
you a contact number if you want one.
Warm regards, Jim
Forgot to mention Shellcrackers. Biggest Shellcracker (Redear) was 10 inches last fishing season on a yellow foam pusher with the fly rod. Where I got it, I can’t say. My fishing buddy would shoot me. Sorry.
Yes I am familar with the GG…in fact have a “Kids pond” with 200 of them growing now and should be ready for some fun fishing next spring. I have several ponds and more planned. The management required is a function of the pond itself and the fish you choose to place in them. I have established a set of management techniques which include a couple of very critical species, Tilapia and grass carp, which allow me as a part-time weekend pond meister to maintain them without significant effort.
When the GG’s outgrow their usefulness, I will simply pump out the small pond(1/4 acre) and start again…a weekend operation. Thanks.
[This message has been edited by meadowlark2 (edited 06 January 2006).]
Yes I’m very interested. Not sure where that is located and it will most likely require shipping to East Texas, but that is very doable…if I can find someone willing. Thanks much.
As it turned out, I had a meeting this
afternoon with some of the DNR types here
in SC. I queried them on red ear fry and
was informed that the state had recently
discontinued stockings/dealings with private
ponds/individuals. They do however still
operate the hatcheries but only deal with
official agencies of state and local
governments. I was referred to a private
hatchery that provides red eared sunfish
fry for private ponds. The info is:
Aquatic Management Services, 918 Arborgate Dr., West Columbia, SC 29172, 803-755-1389
Triploid Grass Carp, Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Redear
Hope this helps. Warm regards, Jim
Thank you for your efforts. I can purchase red ears and about everything else locally, but not fish with 3 pound genetics…especially BG. Texas has a lunker bass program where anglers provide LMB over 13 pounds to the State for breeding purposes. In turn, the State stocks Texas lakes with the offspring of these special fish. It would be nice if large BG genetics were also somehow available.
I don’t know what kind of contacts you
have locally with county or state folks
involved in stocking programs, but here are
the folks that are milking just the fish
you refer to. Might be worth having your
local guys contact my local guys.G
SC Department of Natural Resources
305 Black Oak Road
Bonneau, SC 29431
(843) 761-8829 or 761-8820
My biggest bluegill was 1.8 lbs out of Lake O The Pines in east Texas. I caught it on a hard-bodied fly-rod popper from K-Mart. I think it was red.
My biggest ‘brim’ type fish was a 2-1/2 lb. rock bass, caught in Turkey Creek, near Sweetwater, Tn. It attacked my Pheasant-Tail Nympth with total abandon.
