Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Question about raising bluegills

Absolutely! I use a method to mount panfish knows as the half cast method. Basically I make an impression of the fish in plaster to use as a guide to mount the fish skin. If it has a hump it will have a hump in the finished mount. You can't get any closer than using a mold as a guide. I just finished a 1 lb. 6 oz. female that was full of eggs the size of a baseball. The bulge is there in the finished mount too.

Like I said your two gills are done. Driftwood for your two bluegills should arrive Monday. Once it arrives I'll get right to adding it to a base with habitat. You will be able to hang the gills on the wall or set it on a table etc. Either way.

Wished I could have taken a pic of a gill I got out of my bass pond the other day. (I think I mentioned this earlier.) He was as tall as he was long and couldn't have gone 10 inches (I didn't measure him as I wanted to get him into the perch pond ASAP) But I did weight him at 1 lb. 1/2 oz. If I had to guess only 9.5 inches.

BTW do you want to enter the above fish for catch and release of my website? I sure could use some entries. I must be missing something as I even had one person chew me out for having the web page!

That Bluegill obviously paid attention in geometry class. He's trying to shape himself in a perfect circle.

Cecil, I can't like to the record entry site from your taxidermy site. Am I doing something wrong?

There were no other witnesses to the catch. Does that disqualify me? If so I plan on catching several more like it this year.

Also I thought maybe I'd be disqualified based on the fact that a two-year-old could have taken a better picture.

At least I did get this one measured.

I didn't know there was a link from my taxidermy site? But I do think the link should be here. Is that what you mean?

Here try this:

http://www.ligtel.com/~jjbaird/pprf/pprf.htm

I don't require a witness anymore as I don't require a certified scale either for kept fish. As far as pics you're O.K.

As long as you have a pic of the fish and you, and the length clearly visible it qualifies for a released fish. You make it with 11 inches.

Only snafu is my wife who does the web page won't be back for a month. She is in Germany with students. :p

Bruce - so much of air-over-the-gums about all the previous discussion about your male BG being light colored. Those fish were perfect examples of our description of color and hue in Part I of Growing Behemoth Bluegill.

OK, so I just run off a copy of the form and send it in, right?

Believe it or not, I don't have a printer. I'll have to get on the wife's 'puter sometime soon and do this.

Yes and I can use the pics you posted on this website.

Bruce said:

Bruce:

I showed that pic of the 11" Bull Gill to my best male Gills. It scared them so much they regressed back through puberty and are hiding on the bottom of the pond, eating frantically and doing pushups to get in good enough shape for CSBG Females.

The phrase "We're not worthy, we're not worthy!" keeps emanating up from under the water.

The darn things kinda look like the proverbial 1,000 pound gorilla.

Bruce and Theo plan selective BG propagation thru in-breeding ...wouldn't this make you guys "in-laws"? Have sufficient studies and scientific models been created, including all the potential x/y chromosome results? The ramifications of an unanticipated monster could be devastating! Please remember the lesson we learned with King Kong, the Amazing Colossal Man, and Pee-Wee Herman.

Bruce - what a great fish - congratulations...!
I'm with Eastland - I'll join him on a trip for some of your BG genetics to combine with our CNBG.

Talk about "Bubba"..WOW..

OH MAN !!!! -- What a panfish - his shape befits the name and I bet his weight is like one of the cast iron variety. Maybe I should say extra large biggie sized ten times real fast while the envy turns to pride for knowing someone who can grow BG like him.

CB1 I am still trying to catch a fish worth entering. I caught a few BG and RES but none worth even taking a pic.

Well at least you're trying! And thanks for not putting down the website!

WOW! Very nice BG Bruce!

Here's another one. Caught it when NEDOC came to visit. He took the pic.

I caught it on my second cast and it was 10 inches.

Corey caught several nice, fat yellow perch.

That looks like a new dish ware pattern -- called male BG deluxe.

I wonder what the dinner sized plate looks like.

Bruce, how are you catching your BG?
Flies - lures - bait?
Nice fish !!

I am only fishing in the cool of morning to avoid HSB stress.

The best way to "sample" bluegill is simple--1/32 ounce chartreuse jighead, barb down, with a third of a nightcrawler cast and hopped along the bottom. It's killer if you want to see a fish quickly!

Bruce:

I was this (pinch fingers together) close to posting "I hate you" (again) after that last picture. But since you are sharing the big BG fishing secrets - I LOVE YOU, MAN!

Thanks Bruce, I have no scruples about fishing in front of the feeder to "sample" BG population.
There will be dozens of BG waiting for the feeder to go off - I'll splash the water with a pellet fly a few times - let it sit - and the baddest BG in bunch will hit it.

You guys have about made BG my favorite fish - right behind HSB of course.

Honestly, that fish doesn't look as impressive on camera as it did in person. The cameraman must have done a poor job.


That was the most impressive conditioning of a bluegill that I have ever seen. But at Bruce's I think that is just another average bluegill.

BTW, I think the lure of choice for 'sampling' perch is a pink 1/32 oz. jighead and worm. It seemed as though all I could catch were perch and Bruce was catching the sought after BG's. It may have also been that he had home court advantage.

Nedoc, Bruce didn't tell you did he, he has all of his monster BG trained to only hit either his or his Dad's line. It's part of his secret anti-poaching program using Vulcan mind meld techniques.

Shorty, I would find that funny if it wasn't for the fact that Bruce would probably do such a thing. When you land the fish and he knows their name, last date they were caught, weight and length at that time, birthdate and who the parents are, I start to wonder if he has gone a little too far.

Bruce's fish looked impressive to me in the pic , but I know what you mean Nedoc. But he is not showing us the 14in. dinner sized plate version. They have been mind altered to only appear to Bruce. Even if Bruce shows up with a camera they take it away from him and laugh while they sing "we are the masters , we are the champions .. of the world.

Nedoc, I was out there the other night and all I caught was one very, very, fat perch, and yes Bruce had all the specifications on that perch. Bruce caught all of the trained and mind melded BG and not a single BG for me. Ewest, now I think I understand why I couldn't get that tune out of my head while we were fishing.