Canton Mike Posted July 5, 2010 Report Share Posted July 5, 2010 I particularly enjoy fly fishing for, catching & releasing some big bluegills & redear. Thought I would share some pics... All 'gills in the pics were immediately & safely released. All the 'gills pictured were at least 10" long..largest was 11 1/4". Last pic is, of course, the old goat himself (me) fightin' another. I only keep bluegill under 8" for the fryer. Any 8" & larger swim again. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calfoxwc Posted July 6, 2010 Report Share Posted July 6, 2010 Hey, Mike - Now, THAT is why I need to put in a pond ! Bluegill fillets are excellent. Nice job ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kosar_For_President Posted July 7, 2010 Report Share Posted July 7, 2010 All 'gills in the pics were immediately & safely released. All the 'gills pictured were at least 10" long..largest was 11 1/4". Last pic is, of course, the old goat himself (me) fightin' another. I only keep bluegill under 8" for the fryer. Any 8" & larger swim again. Mike Hey Mike, why do you keep the smaller fish. Shouldn't it be the other way around? Just curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canton Mike Posted July 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2010 Hey Mike, why do you keep the smaller fish. Shouldn't it be the other way around? Just curious. Good question. Ten or twelve years or so ago, I DID keep larger 'gills, then I read an article about creating big bluegill fisheries that recommended releasing the large bluegill to improve the "gene pool" & increase average size in a body of water. Since reading that article, I have followed that catch & release philosophy, plus I DO NOT keep bass & WILL NOT even fish a small pond while bass are spawning (they'll hit anything & are in a weakened state, even if released). I may be wrong, but every pond I have fished has seen an increase in average size (usually a significant increase). Besides, a thick 7" to 8" bluegill has a lot of meat when properly cleaned. I fillet & skin them, then freeze them packed in water (no freezer burn) & they'll taste fresh as new after a year or two. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpolen4 Posted July 8, 2010 Report Share Posted July 8, 2010 Nothin like fish mmmm and ya freezing them in water does help big time. i had fish that was 2 or 3 years old that was frozen that way n i couldnt tell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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