@Theo: Hadn't thought about conditions where supercooling could occur. Luckily this pond is in a deep valley and gets little wind. It is usually the last pond to "ice-out" in the area by a week or so (sometimes the ice-out process is assisted by my brother and I in the jon boat when we get impatient. Its simple, run the front of the boat up on the ice with both of us in the back, then move to the front to break the ice, rinse and repeat).
@ewest: There were absolutely no RES in the pond before. My dad has owned pond since 1993 and none were ever caught. Then the pond winterkilled in 2000 (in large part by 2+ feet of snow that accumulated on the pond, due to the lack of wind to move it.) It was restocked the following year with the standard BG, CC, and LMB available through the DNR. None were caught between that stocking and may 2007 either.
The growth of that fish has me mystified as well, thats why I brought it up. I wasn't sure if they would even get that big given the conditions they would be living in. And based on urogenital pore shape/color and overall coloration it is a female. Hopefully we will catch more. Soon.
I should mention that in June one was also supposedly caught by someone that wasn't sure what it was. But we weren't there to verify it, so I cant say it wasn't actually just another bluegill. But that fish was estimated at 8-9 inches, which is why I kind of doubted that it was a RES until now.
Thanks all for the comments and keep them coming!
