A post yesterday got me wondering
Just how large (honestly) is a ‘big bluegill’ ?
Here in CT a fish that is a minimum of 10" and 12oz. is considered a trophy and properly documented will get you an award pin from the state.
Hi Dudley;
A ten foot bluegill is “big”, seriously I think any bluegill at least ten inches long is big anywhere!
Wayneb
Come on down. I can put you on 10" bluegill…all day long! Watch for a story about that coming soon(I hope).
I don’t need to go anywhere
I can do that right in my own neighborhood
I’m just wondring what you consider 'big
If a purist ever tied into a big gill they’d poopie in their silk panties.
I’ve been chasing bluegills with the fly for a long time and after thousands of personal encounters I have these indicators of size:
Dink: Anything a hardware fisher would have the same size of in his box with treble hooks hanging off of it.
Little Brother: Bigger than a Dink but smaller than a “Whoa”. Usually you utter “go let your big brother know I’m here” when releasing one.
Whoa: Anything I have to put my rod between my legs or better yet on the ground because I need two hands to handle. Easily identified by yelling out “Whoa…” so all those around you will look and admire what you just tempted with your meager offering.
Moby: Anything requiring someone come help me because I don’t want to lose the rod, risk breaking the rod, or I need a net.
The above words have been carefully selected so they can carry over the water so all those around you can congratulate you (or in the case of a dink) take a photo prior to release.
I agree a 10" bluegill is darned big, and something of a rarity around here. I might suggest that 9" bluegills be considered BIG. I wouldn’t put a 10-incher on the wall, but maybe one 11" or better.
I know the 10-inchers are around, but I made a proposition last year to the members of the fishing club I belong to. If anyone could put me on a 10" bluegill in 2008, I would give them a suitable prize. I caught over 800 bluegills this past year on the fly rod, a few were 9"+ but none that were 10". The last time I caught a 10" bluegill was in 1990!
I’ve heard guys say its easier/more common to catch an 8 lb bass than a 10" bluegill. In the past 2 years, my personal biggest was 9.5". Obviously I fish in the wrong places. :rolleyes:
One of our club members did post a picture of an 11" bluegill he recently caught ice-fishing, and another member several years back caught 3 bluegills that were 12" or better each at a farm pond one day. He had all 3 mounted. Those are true Giants!
O…K. Just trying to be nice with an offer to fish. I’d say 10-12 inches is big. Those to the South of me yet might say 12-14".
I’d say this is a pretty good one:
That’s a good-lookin’ fish there! 
That’s a good-lookin’ fish there!
Looks like you have some decent room to cast, too, which makes fishing a bit easier. Wish I could get permission to fish the ponds at a couple of local golf courses. I’ve heard rumors…
That is a golf course pond. Here’s another picture of the pond and another fish from it. I became a member of the country club(was ‘only’ $80 a month) …just to fish the pond! Nice course but their greens sucked ;).
Oops, can’t find picture of the pond.
The further north you go shorter the growing season and smaller are the fish. 10" Bluegil in Poconos is a big fish.
Wow, Wulff, looks like he took you into the backing, too !
- smc -
I think the biggest Gill I ever caught was about 10 or 11 inches. But I was looking at the records for TN and come up with these. They were caught a number of years ago, I wish had been around to see these. John
Bluegill 3 lbs. Farm Pond, Bledsoe Co. Brad Pendergrass December 19, 1987
Bluegill 3 lbs. Fall Creek Falls Creek Thelma Grissom June 27, 1977
Do gills get big you bet they do.
There is also this one that is on the books. Not from TN. But it is the current World Record.
World Record: 4 lbs., 12 oz., from Ketona Lake, Ala., April 9, 1950
Dudley,
In Virginia our Department of Game and Inland Fisheries will award a citation for bluegills that meet or exceed either 11 inches or 1 lb. Apparently they think that’s big and I’d agree. DGIF says a 4 lb 12 oz sunfish was caught in a private pond on 4/28/1986. I cannot even imagine what bluegill that size would look like!
Most of my bluegills run 8-9 inches (0.5 to 0.7 lb)with an occasional 10 incher (0.8 lb). I mostly fish in my backyard, so maybe I’m limiting myself too much. For the last 22 years though I’ve kept my freezer well stocked with bluegill fillets and had many breakfasts of fresh bluegills without ever leaving home.
I’ve been pursuing a one pound bluegill since I moved here. It’s been a casual pursuit but now that I’m semi-retired I’m going to get serious about the pursuit.
Greybeard
Here in Northern Kentucky, it’s not uncommon to run into a 10 - 11 inch bluegill, but it’s not something you can count on more than once or twice a summer. I consider any bluegill over 10" to be a really nice fish.
In fact, I have a lot of fun catching 7-9" bluegill. Those hand size gills are a bunch of fun to catch and are quite good to eat.
Jeff
Having lived in New England and now down here in Georgia, I can safely say that there are a LOT more big bluegills and red ear sunfish in the south, mainly due to the extended growing season. I live on a 50 acre lake where I routinely catch one or two 10+ inch bluegill every evening during the summer and several large red ear as well. The largest red ear I’ve ever caught was 15 inches long and Im guessing 2+ pounds. Hopefully he’s still out there growing bigger and waiting for a rematch. I must admit there have been a couple of times when I considered keeping one of the really nice fish and mounting them as they are my favorite fish for eating, catching, and just plain beauty.
To answer your question, in my book any bluegill over 10 inches long is a big bluegill no matter where you live.
Jim Smith
It’s 9 inches from the tip of my left middle finger to my watchband.
I consider any bluegill that reaches the band a ‘big’ one.
We’ll get a few larger than that but they are rare.
Largest that has come over the side of the boat so far was a 14" inch giant a freind caught. Looked like a hub cap. At least I tied the fly he caught it on.
We seem to catch the largest bluegills of the year during what passes for ‘winter’ here, January or February, fishing deep with sinking lines and nymphs.
Buddy
Buddy,
That’s exactly how I measure them. Any bluegill as big as my hand falls into the “nice” category. Any that reach the watchband are “big.”
I hope you guys post pictures of these biggies…I’m already drooling! 
Buddy,
That’s exactly how I measure them. Anything as big as my hand falls into the “nice” category. Once you get to the watchband, it’s “big.”