Caught this 11 inch guy this weekend. I am getting closer and closer to that ever elusive 12 inch BG. Man this one was nice. I did not get a weight on it but I figure it was a pound in a half anyway at least.

wow man, NICE!!

Thanks WB, I caught him on a fly rod and when he started taking out line I new he was pretty decent!!

RC

"Big Blue" is the fish or RC????

Ha I did not put 2 and 2 together when I said that!! lol. Both I guess

RC

I need to drag out my fly rod, I am sure those are a ton of fun on the end of that rod.

Nice "big blue"!

Yeah Dave they are! I use a little popper dragon fly type bug and just let it sit then everyone once in a while I twitch it ever so slightly to make it look like the wings are twitching on the water and sooner or later BAAM!!! Game on!! I find on my pond the white and red work well and the black and yellow that look like bumble bees.

RC

excellent bluegill!!!!

Thx Mat these CNBG were put in the pond in 2010. I would say they are close to their lifespan soon. I let him go but not sure if I'll see him again or not? I hope I do one more time at the 12 inch mark!!

RC

That is a beauty RC!

Nice fish !

That may or may not be an original stocker. 6-7 yrs is a long time for BG in the south. He could be an early offspring of year 2.It just depends on how much of a pellet hog he is.

Nice fish RC!

Outstanding RC! I think he likes you so maybe he will come see you next year!

Well, as Bob Lusk might say, you'll never catch a 12 inch CNBG that you put in the skillet at 11 inches!

Thanks guys I have been close a couple times now. at the 11 inch mark. I think if I fed more I would have had one already but I don't feed near as much as some folks do... I only feed about 4 seconds a day. 2 seconds in the morning and 2 at night. Hmmm wonder what I would have if I did 5 and 5.....

RC

RC, if you decide to up your feeding, I might try four 2 seconds throws. 2 in the morning, one hour apart, and two in the evening, one hour apart. Just my experience here with shorter throws, but shorter throws seem to increase competition for the reduced number of pellets, competition favors the most aggressive fish, and larger CNBG/BG should be the most aggressive. The best part is that there's no real downside to trying it. It's almost like bumper bowling, in that you may not get a strike, but you won't throw any gutter balls either.

Sometimes I think too much.

Beautiful BG btw.

For purposes of growth the best times to feed BG more is in early spring (just before and after the spawn) and in fall (water temps falling through the low 70s and high 60s). BG and LMB do not grow/eat/metabolize best at high water temps of late summer 85-90 F water temps).

BG have small stomach capacity and may only eat a couple of pellets at one feeding. However at high metabolic rate times they will digest them quickly. During those periods they can eat several times a day. I have used 3 and 4 times a day feeding during the highest growth periods. There are more tricks of the trade with feeding and which ones to use change based on goals.

Cool I did not know that... Thanks for the info guys.