Quest For The Record Bluegill

[smr_hga]

My neighborhood pond has monster bluegill. The biggest i've caught there was 12in (anyone know some good scales? I am looking for one). From now on i will hunt for even bigger ones. I figured i would post my results here. They seem to love bladed baits like spinners and small spinnerbaits. I really feel like there are some true giants in there... I will add more as i fish more...

 

[Jigfishn10]

Good luck, can't wait to see some pics.

[soflabasser]

I have caught several bluegills over 2 pounds  and over 13 inches on bread or jerkbaits.Caught most of these bluegills at nighttime.

[smr_hga]

1 hour ago, soflabasser said:

I have caught several bluegills over 2 pounds  and over 13 inches on bread or jerkbaits.Caught most of these bluegills at nighttime.

I have caught some bigger ones on crankbaits myself. Cool to find someone who has a bigger bluegill PB than me lol. I will also record the girth of my bluegill if i dont have a scale so we can get an estimated weight.

[soflabasser]

Big bluegills are fun to catch and fight much harder than a bass of equal size.A lot of big bluegills have a bigger girth measurement than they have a length measurement. Do not be surprised if you catch a big channel catfish at night when fishing with breadballs when targeting big bluegills. 

[Bluebasser86]

I use to catch some monsters when I was a kid out of the pond by my grandparents house. A live grasshopper with a tiny hook slipped under the collar so it didn't kill them and let them kick across the surface. No idea what they weighed, but some were probably approaching 2 pounds. A 2" tube on a 1/32oz jighead and a jig spinner is one of my favorite baits for big bluegills. 

[Derekbass02]

I caught a 10 inch Pumpkinseed once. Thats my biggest sunfish. Caught it on a finesse worm

[Bankbeater]

I pond I fished at years ago had redear sunfish that were around 12 to 13 inches long.  Don't know how much they weighed, but we had fun catching them on red wriggler worms.

[buzzed bait]

On 1/3/2016 at 1:28 AM, Bluebasser86 said:

I use to catch some monsters when I was a kid out of the pond by my grandparents house. A live grasshopper with a tiny hook slipped under the collar so it didn't kill them and let them kick across the surface. No idea what they weighed, but some were probably approaching 2 pounds. A 2" tube on a 1/32oz jighead and a jig spinner is one of my favorite baits for big bluegills. 

that's my dad's bait of choice on the bluegills.  BUT he will also rig them with split shot sinkers a little way up the line and does really well that way.  i've caught a lot on the old worm and bobber method and also quite a few on a panther martin spinner.

[JRammit]

While you can catch bluegill on just about anything, i found the best bait ever is a grasshopper head..... Yea, just the head

Im not hunting trophies when i fish bluegill, im just out to show my youngest boy that fishing IS fun...... So if you have young kids, give this a shot

Hand them a jar with holes punched in the lid and turn them loose in the yard... Most kids love catching bugs, and it saves you a trip to the bait store

Shouldn't take long the right time of year, they'll come back with a dozen or so hoppers... Size doesnt matter

You can pinch the heads off ahead of time, but i just take the whole jar to the lake..... The heads are just the right size to cover a #8 hook, so the fish cant pick around the hook, and they are so bony that the kids can catch several without re-baiting... That also saves you alot of hassle!... My kid caught over 30 one day and we only went through about a half dozen hoppers

[MassBass]

I had a bluegill fishing campaign afew years ago, I like a float and fly. A small bobber and a little fly. Like a mosquito imitation dry fly. Works on inactive and pressured fish to.  

[Catch 22]

This brings back some memories. I used to fish an old stone quarry  that filled up. Some real nice gills in there. I cranked one up and a bass about 7 or 8 lbs grabbed it. A minor tug  o war ensued before it let go. I tried for that bass all year=nada.

I saw a feeding frenzy one day when catalpa worms were emerging only to hit the water.

I used to have a pond where I would hang road kills on a pole in the water. When the maggots would start dropping ,it was chow time.

Its hard to beat a meal of cold water gills.

LS13 good luck catching the trophy. Check these pix

https://www.google.com/search?q=fla+record+bluegill&biw=1108&bih=529&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwisktDtnZTKAhVKQiYKHcPHC94QsAQIKQ

C22

[smallie.mike]

I've always liked a water leech under a float for big bluegills. 

[buzzed bait]

11 hours ago, Catch 22 said:

I saw a feeding frenzy one day when catalpa worms were emerging only to hit the water.

when those things are out, unmatched live bait!  my dad, nephew and I worked out some smallies last year after picking some of those worms off the leaves at my uncle's house.  ran out of worms that day!

[N Florida Mike]

On 1/2/2016 at 2:53 PM, LiftedSquare13 said:

My neighborhood pond has monster bluegill. The biggest i've caught there was 12in (anyone know some good scales? I am looking for one). From now on i will hunt for even bigger ones. I figured i would post my results here. They seem to love bladed baits like spinners and small spinnerbaits. I really feel like there are some true giants in there... I will add more as i fish more...

 

I caught a 11 1/2 inch shellcracker in my lake.It was 11 inches around.

[Darren.]

Personal best for me is a 1 pound gill, but
that's quite a rarity around these parts as
the BG population at my reservoirs is rather
pedestrian.

I hear there are big gills at Lake Prince on the
South Side of Hampton Roads, but for the 
most part, a 6" gill is a good gill around here.

[N Florida Mike]

Ive caught a lot of big copperheads ( What we call bluegills in FL.) in the st johns river about 35 miles S of jax.Also big redbreast and shellcrackers.I just use worms on 6 pound line with a #6 bronze eagle claw and a split shot.The rivers full of them.Docks and shell bars are the best for them.We did have some nice sized ones in my lake but a fish kill caused  it to decline but they're trying to recover

[Crestliner2008]

I've caught a few big "bulls" here abouts. One of the best techniques for targeting the largest gills (or even crappie and bass), is to use the smallest size "KastMaster" spoon on 6# test braid (along with a 4' section of fluorocarbon for a leader) on a spinning rig.

Cast it out and count it down in increments of 5's, until you get hit, or hit bottom. Then pull up and count down half that distance again, watching your line constantly. If it stops before it should, raise the rod tip. Counting like this will clue you into where the largest specimens of the species are located. If you only get dinks after a 5 or 10 count, let the spoon go deeper. Sooner or later you will lock into the biggest gills. And don't be surprised at what other species love this presentation as well.

[scaleface]

I thought I caught some nice gills but they are dinks compared tow what you guys are catching .fishing for bedding bluegill with a fly rod and popper is one of the funnest ways I ever fished .I need to do it more often .

[Florida Cracker2]

I caught one years ago with a gold/black countdown repala while fishing a spillway. I thought I had a jack until I got it to the boat. It wasn't no more than 12 or 13 inches but had a huge neanderthal looking forehead and chin. I never weighed it and released it.

[Dillo]

On 1/5/2016 at 1:54 PM, MassBass said:

I had a bluegill fishing campaign afew years ago, I like a float and fly. A small bobber and a little fly. Like a mosquito imitation dry fly. Works on inactive and pressured fish to.  

While you're in the fly section, pick up some beadhead hare's ears in size 18 to 14. I caught more bluegill on this fly than anything else this summer. check out prince nymphs, pheasant tails, copper johns, royal wulffs, and elk hair caddis aswell

[everythingthatswims]

There's a pond near me that I get to fish about once or twice a year. 12-14" hybrid bluegills are the norm. We caught some on weedless super flukes with a 4/0 EWG hook

[Nelson Wormefeller]

Nice one 

[Silas]

We have a legendary bluegill master here inSE Louisiana.  J B Salter. Makes his own fiberglass poles about 10 feet long. Tiny guides and 8 lb Flourescent yellow line spooled on a small plastic reel. Small specially teardrop weighted gold hook  with a cricket. Swing out and watch it sink on a slack line. When it twitches, you have one. 

     Fantastic elder fisherman. 

[smr_hga]

Sorry guys, the weather was rather cold the past couple months and i haven't done much fishing. When i have, its been with no bluegill caught. I guess this has turned more into a thread for other people to share their big bluegill experiences. I did however just buy a mini chatterbait and i will hopefully catch some big bluegill with that.