Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Proper Bluegill Handling

It hurts to lose a nice daddy like this from the pond. He got a popper impaled in his gills. There was blood in the water as I pulled him out. A couple of nights ago, I saw another one about this size floating. It is probable that it was returned to the pond after being caught.

There is lots of info all over about handling bass and bigger game fish, but almost nothing about handling bluegill. Maybe I just haven't looked hard enough.

I always am concerned when I have to return a big unhurt bluegill to the pond. I wet my hands before I grab them on the sides, and I try to return them to the water as fast as I can. But, I always wonder how much it affects them. Is there a better way of holding bluegill when catching and releasing?

I crush the barbs on on my hooks. But there are always a few fish that get hooked in the gills or gullet, and the hook just won't come out without damaging the fish even more. I've always wondered if they can really survive if the line is cut.

Thanks,
Ken G.

I have to say that I think they are very tough. Out of the 300 bg I caught with a hook and stocked my pond with, none died from being caught and handled. How do I know? They stayed in a very overcrowded 30gallon tank for a few days after they were caught before being transported to my pond. You could see the little place in their lip where they had been caught but they were fine and would feed like pigs one day after being put in the 30 gallon. I think hooking the gills or real deep is about the only time they will die IMHO.

Ken, if you will accept a Redear as evidence towards BG survival, they can indeed survive when the best you can do is cut the line.

I caught one of my tagged RES on the beds earlier this Summer; he had the (circle) hook stuck inside his mouth (not back as far as the gills, fortunately). I was pretty upset with myself and disconnected the snelled hook from the snap swivel on the line, then released him. The next day, he was back on the nest and remained there for over a week, until all my shallow-water RES seemed to be done with their spawn for the year.

A week ago, I caught him again (verified same RES by tag number), this time hooked in the lip like a circle hook is supposed to. He had managed to lose the prior stuck hook and had been feeding well enough to have gained weight. Hopefully I'll see him again in the future.

I wet my hands before handling any fish that I think I'll be putting back in the pond; I keep my "keeper" bucket next to me when I fish for convenient hand-dipping.

Now if a sunfish has bleeding gills, I figure it's a lost cause and go ahead and remove it from the pond.

I have a well oxygenated holding tank that I put bluegills in if I'm undecided on keeping them. My evidence points to the fact that Theo's right on the money. Bleeding gills always leads to dead fish.

This used to bother me a lot, but now I've come to accept the fact that this is life at the pond. Do what you can. Circle hooks, barbs down, etc. It even seems to help to use the biggest hook possible, and the biggest bait possible because the fish don't swallow it as quickly. But if they bleed, fry 'em up. It's OK, it just makes that much room for the other fish to grow.

I did feel a little better about it after lunch. My cardiologist would have a heart attack if he knew I had a BLT-BG sandwich - with the BG fried in the bacon grease! Nothing like a home grown tomato and bluegill!

Thanks all.

Mmmmmmmmm. BGBLT.

catmandoo...a great question with some excellent follow up stories. i dont see any dark tipped scales or lavendar coloration, what else did you use to determine he was male (earflap?)?

lepomids are about the toughest species out there, nevertheless i too have always wondered about when you have to cut the line and leave the hook....how do they (specifically BG) do?

i usually sample my fish using my old backpack fly rod and a cheap fly, crimped barb. the sensitivity of this method is excellent for lip hooking quickly and gently but for out of maybe 20 or 30 fish caught there's always one or two who inhale the fly in a nanosecond down into the gill or gullet. i've snipped the line, left the fly in, and never seen a floater, but wondered how and if they survived and continued to feed......

i agree......mmmmmmmmmm...BGBLT, its whats for lunch

Mmmmmmm ... bacon grease ... bluegill.

DIED,

The picture may not show it, but I've found that the mature males in my pond are much darker than the females, with very dark orange breasts. The females are much lighter in color, with very yellow breasts. I've also found that there is great color variation over very short periods of time after they are caught. The lavender color you mention seems to drop away fairly quickly after catching them. Sometimes they turn almost pink.

I can also be fairly certain this was a guy, as he had milt in him. None of my BG seem to be nesting right now, though.

I keep the keepers in a basket under my dock when I'm fishing. I find it surprising how much they change in color between the time they are caught, and when I take them up to the house for cleaning. I believe there was a recent thread about color changes.

It's worth trying the BGBLT -- just make sure you take your cholesterol pills!

Good fishn'
Ken