Question about Bluegill Nesting habits

[cattracker16]

I have a question for ya. Is it the males that gaurd the nest they spun in the sand/dirt? and after the fry have growed up how do ya tell the diffrence between male and female fish? besides the females wearin lipstick. :confused0068:

[bamabass]

how to tell the difference between male and female is that thing thats on the outside of the gills, couldnt tell you what its called though. the males have the big ones and the females are smaller. i dont know what that thing is called sorry i cant be more descriptive.

[gofish]

my question for you cattracker is.......why ya tryin ta figure out what sex yer "bait" is??????????:confused0024:

[cattracker16]

Now that there joe is a good question. I heard that if you leave the big males in the body of water (pond) and take out the females the pond will not be over run with little bait fishes. Hence leaving you with some nice "BIG" bait fishes. Kenny

[Illinoisgiller]

The males are much more colorful than the females. The female gill is pretty much a plain Jane. Even after the spawn ,the males will have brighter blue in the gill area and as bammabass mentioned the "ear" is sometimes a little more pronounced. Mike

[gofish]

best way ta increase gill size is harvest numbers of smaller gills an leave the bigger ones....the genes fer big size are already in the bigger gills,an thinnin the population of smaller ones prevents stuntin,an "sucker " spawnin (lil bitty spawnin gills)aint sayin dont take a few big uns.but leave more than ya take

[Illinoisgiller]

This is a little understood fact with bluegill and red ear. Bluegill of any size will spawn,and for the most part, quit growing when they spawn. By returning the big males, they will have the chance to keep the smaller ones off the nest and the entire population will grow larger. Mike

[wewamohawk]

good to see you guys are trying to get biger gills os we will have more nice bait ;;;maurice

[gofish]

jus wish theyd git round 20 lbs or so........turn on theyre side an do circles ROUND yer bout lol

[Timotha7]

Gills got to 20 lbs you could ski behind them!

[Bobg]

I guess it's ok to use those yankee bluegils for bait, but if you ever caught a mess of those monster gills out of Lake Okeechobee, you'd give up eating all that other fish from fresh water.

I've eaten it all and I've found there's not much better than those huge copper head/band bluegils. Yup, big enough to fillet. I don't do bones.

Now for their spawning habits; The full moon week starting in May and getting better with each full moon through August. Spawning beds so big, you can actually smell them when your over them. It's a bit of a sweet smell.

I realized they were in my home lake around Cocoa Fl, Lake Poinsette, when I saw an Osprey fly over with one in his talons. That's when I lived down there.

BTW, they can eat the poison roe of the aligator gar and thrive on it. That roe has killed many folks. Gils are nest robbers when they can.

[Illinoisgiller]

Bobg. I'm very much looking forward to leaving in the am for Iowa-Wisconsin Yankee gill trip. BUT, Your post left me quite literally slavering for a go at those huge Coppernose gills. I've heard about them before.
A bass guide formerly from down on the edge of that lake known as Ranger Rob wrote an article some time ago on another forum about the great gilling on Okeechobee. He claimed if I found the right local guide-- not him-- lol, that gills up to TWO lbs. can be taken there off the edges of the hydrilla mats.
It raises the hair on the back of my neck just thinking about it . :evilgrin0025:
Thank for the reminder. Mike.

[gofish]

bigger gills........bigger bait lol..sorry couldnt resist...theyre on top of my list in eatin too.....git tired of cleanin em though. im still stuck in the stone ages an fillet em the old way,with a knife.gillers sure good with that lectric of his but i like the skin on mine

[Bobg]

Ya'll will find this hard to believe, but when you clean and handle those big gills from the south, your hands don't even smell like they do when you clean other fish.

I got in a fella's boat at his back door at 7:30 in the morning. Went through the locks to get into the lake. traveled a mile or so to dip up some hydrilla and screen out the grass shimp for bait. Went a few more miles to the fishing grounds, where numerous boats were anchored in about a half mile area. Started fishing, not knowing what to expect, and before long we had a 5 gallon cooler filled to overflowing with or 50 fish limit. We were back to his place by 10:30.

That's the best place I've ever heard or seen with that kind of gill fishing.

This has been going on for many many years, and hasn't hurt the gill population of that lake. The 50 fish per boat a day has also helped, I'm sure.

[Timotha7]

I wold LOVE to get on batch of those big southern gills like that!
Around here person hears bout "1pound bluegills" , gills as big as dinner
plates
Have seen some big hybrids, but never one of those elusive dinner plate
sized, 1 lb gills--2lb gills, I don't think I have ever heard of! But man, if you could
get 2lb gills why would anyone fish for much else
I would just get nothing but bunch of graphite u/l rods an stay down on the water

The kind of fishing you are describing is flat out FUN! Just really can't beat
getting on a mess of scrappy blue gill
If they are hanging in that clean filtered water, eating grass shrimp, I bet
they are some sweet eating fish

I can't imagine bunches an bunches of gills that big---you would definitely have
to be watching where you cast though or you would be hooking Mike's float tube


Tim

[Bobg]

There's no float tubes on Okeechobee, or anywhere else there's gators.

[Timotha7]

I forgot bout the gators though I got a feeling if Mike thought he could
catch a 2 lb gill he might go out there with his flyrod in one hand an a bat in the other

I can almost picture it now, him whacking gators with one hand an trying to land bunch of big gills with the other

Now that would be something to get on film!
:icon_biggrin:

[Illinoisgiller]

Much as I like chasing those big gills, they will never get big enough to mix with the gators in a float tube. Some say I fish for bait and I eat and enjoy bait. I just don't want to "BE" bait.:confused0056: lol Mike

[gofish]

my nephews are in town this week an ive takin them both fishin at lake vermillion.my brothers been based mainly in the south so they know all bout gators,had em convinced we had em here.lol know it wasnt quite right ta do that to em but sure kept em on good behavior in the bobber boat cause i told em id use em fer gator bait ifn they pressed me lol...