Very helpful info, catmandoo. I never keep a bass from ponds I'm managing for trophy 'gills, and like you, I culled heavily in years past when I had several such ponds. I just recently started managing ponds again after ten years in CA, and I have a five-acre pond that I'm working with that I've been wondering if I should be culling in more heavily. The 'gills average about 8" but they averaged close to 10" and very chunky when I last worked with the pond twelve years ago, and I used to keep quite a bit of them. This year I've just been keeping some of the females, but I may start keeping more of them as well as some of the smaller males.
Congrats on a great pond! Any man who manages for trophy bluegill is a man I admire. I too would love someday to produce a state-record bluegill or shellcracker. There's a good probability that a shellcracker caught about fifteen years ago from the pond I mention above would've stomped the TN record (the record is 3 lbs. 5.5. oz.), but it was eaten without being weighed. There's a photo of it in my photos on bigbluegill.com; it's almost as long as the torso of the man who caught it, and is so thick it looks like it recently played major league baseball.
