I needed to see if our fish were consuming the pellets at the volume I had the feeder set to dispense, so drove out to our place to observe the 8:00 AM feeding this morning. Normally I allow others to catch the fish and I measure and weigh the catch if needed, to determine which to keep and which to release. This morning I decided to catch some fish. Some days we catch and release more and some we keep more than we release. Out of six bluegills I kept four. We still have some of the original stocking of bass feeding on pellets and I've been trying to remove them. Today I got lucky and took one out.
A 16 inch female largemouth weighing 2.75 pounds.
![](http://i544.photobucket.com/albums/hh338/spikeknife/16in_zps7i8jvzao.jpg)
I kept two female BGs that were twins, 8.25 inches, one weighing 8 oz and the other 7 oz.
![](http://i544.photobucket.com/albums/hh338/spikeknife/female_zpsyjnuhkin.jpg)
One male BG from the original stocking that was lagging behind his classmates made the "eating" bucket at 8 inches and 8 ounces.
If you spend enough time messing with fish you will eventually encounter deformed ones. Most don't make it to adulthood but some do. This male has a deformed, shortened spine that produced a crooked and stubby tail. Its body is pretty circular and thick at 8 inches and 13 ounces, but the front end appears to be smaller than it should be. Anyway, its kinda funky and made the "eating" bucket.
![](http://i544.photobucket.com/albums/hh338/spikeknife/maletail_zpsk9fvlzf4.jpg)
The two male BGs caught and released were 9 inches plus and heavy, right at the 15/16 oz mark. If the BG is obviously a release fish, I rarely measure and weigh, except exceptionally large examples, to reduce stress.
So far this year I'm 100% on sexing those that made the "eating" bucket as verified with the fillet knife.
The fish had been on ice for a couple hours before I took these photos, so their colors had faded some and look splotchy.
We use the 6-8 inch slot as a guide on BGs and remove all bass 14 inches and up.