I live in Kansas. I would like to know how many people think that a 10 inch Blue Gill is a good sized Gill? I have a friend that says that a 10 inch Blue Gill is “a normal sized Blue Gill”.
I thought that i might want to get so out of state help on this one. Both my friend and I fish almost weekly for gills with 5-wt. fly rods using black and green wooly bugers. You have got to love those gills!
thanks,
genben
Are you serious?
I think that gills that big are huge, but that might just be Kansas.
Our state record is only 8 ounces… I wish our bluegill were as big as yours. Check the IGFA or state fish and game for state records. I’v heard people say it’s a good thing a bluegill doesn’t grow as big as a bass… no one would be able to land it. Love those gills.
Aloha,
Stan
The state (Kansas) record bluegill weighed 2 pounds, 5 ounces.
The world record is 4 pounds, 12 ounces. :shock:
More here …
imho, a ten inch blue gill is a great bluegill. would love all my gills to be ten inches. on the waters i fish, the average blue gill i catch is usually right around six inches, with several smaller and maybe if i’m lucky i’ll catch two or three 8-9 inchers. best i’ve done this year is a 10 1/2 incher. you know, spring hill is not that far from kc, maybe you need to invite me to go fish where i can catch some of those “normal” 10 inch bluegill :lol:
Hey Genben,
I have caught bluegills here in the carolinas to 14
inches. Amazing fish! But a 10 inch bluegill is by
far the more common fish here and a heck of a lot of
fun. Also about my favorite size for table fare.
Warm regards, Jim
Jim
A 14" gill is beyond my comprehension… :lol:
I’m thinking for a 10 incher in KS to be called average you’d have to have access to some well managed farm ponds.
My largest Bluegill was 2.75 lb.s and a second was 2.25 lb.s caught out of a hole and a bridge in a creek bed on live worms when I was a lot younger. I have not caught any that big since. Our average here is about 8-9 inches but 10-12 inches are not uncommon.
I fish public waters here in Kansas, and we catch 10 inchers often. Often, but not every time. Bigger ones are out there, and I get into those a few times a year depending on how much I fish. I’d say on the public water that I fish on, a 10" bluegill is a nice fish. Not a trophy, but above average. Kansas has great public water opportunities, and I can list at least 3 lakes within an hour of here with a nice 10" bluegill population and several more if you want to go 2 or 3 hours. There are also many where they don’t get over 6", so gills aren’t everywhere.
A 10" gill is a very nice gill here in Ohio. I would think it would be in most States. I fish for gills a lot, & in the course of a year, if I get 2 or 3 10" or larger, I have had an excellent “big gill” year. I’m still looking for that elusive 12" Ohio gill. My largest is 11". I think trophy fish size varies by State & also body of water.
Mike
:shock: Where are you fishing?!?
Most of the state fishing lakes around here have some NICE bluegills in them if you can get to them. Most of the pressure seems to be for bass and catfish. I hit one on the way to a funeral up north this June as a whim and caught gills for 2 hours straight in midafternoon from the shore. I never cast more than 4 times without a strike, and never moved over 20 yards or so from my spot. I would say at least 60% were over 8 inches and 10% were 10" or more. But that is not typical by any means. You have to hit the right day and a boat really helps. But getting skunked happens, too. The only bad part is that there seems to be a lot of snakes on the state fishing lakes lately.
10 in is a nice gill.I’ve had many a day that 10 inches of gill would be near wall hanger.8 is about average around hear in state lakes but private ponds are another story.I’ll take 10 inchers all day.
State lakes around here your lucky to get 8smany are 6.
Dennis
most of the gills around here are 4-6 in long
I more prefer the sunfish over the gills because they’re larger both in overall size and they have a bigger mouth. Not so important for removing hooks but better for using bigger flies. More likely around here, the gills are small to medium size, or not more than 6 inches.
I think Cabela’s would be the best place to get monster gills around here but I can’t get them to let me in the aquarium with my rod. 
Not very neighborly, if you ask me.
MOturkE,
I LOL…I also drool over the HUGE gills in the aquarium at Cabela’s, although ours is in Dundee, Michigan. I was telling Brad & Jack that there’s one in there that must push 3 pounds. It is a mutation!
Mike
I more prefer the sunfish over the gills because they’re larger both in overall size and they have a bigger mouth.
:shock: :?:
Ah, MO, I see, I think you meant Green Sunfish. I was scratching my head because Bluegill are one of the Sunfishes.
Dear dpenrod,
I fish farm ponds almost all the time. All you have to do if fish some farm ponds(make sure that you know that there are fish in it) and find a pond that has good gills in it. Most of the ponds that I fish also have vary good bass and catfish. I will some times go fishing at Heritage Lake, which is between Lackman and Pflumm just south of 159th St. Heritage Lake have alot of very small gills and other panfish. I have pulled one or two Trout there in the spring time. I think that the last day to fish there before the lake closes in Oct. 31(I think but don’t hold me to it). All in all the biggest gills that i have ever landed have come from “farm ponds”.
I hope that this can help you.
genben
Genben–
I catch a lot of 10" gills around here, but I don’t think I’d call them the average. Most of the ones I catch are more in the 8"-10" range. Farm Ponds and smaller lakes seem to produce a larger percentage of bigger gills, perhaps because there isn’t as many places for the small ones to hide from the resident bass and cats.
MoTurkE–
If you figure out a way to get the folks at Cabela’s to let you drop a line in the tanks, let me know, I’ve been trying since they opened. No luck, go figure :lol: