41 kept and as many more released. Mostly bluegills but with some nice red ears mixed in. I would have stopped keeping at 25 but the wife was having a good time and she really likes to eat what she catches. They were very aggressive. Up sized hooks twice from an #8 to a #4 and some were still managing to swallow it. Even some of the smaller ones.

All caught on worms from 10' to 12' deep near the outside edge of weeds with either an associated ledge or woody cover.

Also had a strange experience with a nice largemouth and a smallish gill on a 1/0 circle hook. The fish ate the perch once and when I tightened down the perch just slipped out. It was almost completely scaled. I tossed right back in with the same perch and it was immediately taken again. Watched the line move and twitch for what seemed like several minutes. I was convinced it must be a decent cat or a gar. But it would never take all of the slack out of the line. I finally decide to slap the side of the boat in hopes of convincing it to swim away. The ruse worked. The fish was 20" and my bet guess is around four pounds. The battery in my scale was dead so I can't be sure. The fish was hooked in the gullet and I choose to cut the line instead of taking a chance on harming the fish. So don't let anyone tell you that a fish can't be hooked deep on a circle.

Nice haul.

Never landed a bass that ate one of my gills, but have played tug of war a few times, they always let go when I go to grab them

I am sorry Fitz, the the perch the bass hit was being used as bait. It wasn't incidental but deliberate. I had it out the back of the boat just to see what else might be swimming around the area.

Nice fish. Good job.

Even better!

Nice mess of fish and a super post. Good job.




Side Note: I caught a six pound bass which took a Bluegill that I was reeling in. The bass was not hooked at all. It just would not let go of the Bluegill. After I got the bass the Bluegill came out very much still alive. Both bass and Bluegill were released.

Great story Banker!

Thanks for the responses everyone. These little fish are the most disrespected and under utilized resource in our waters, IMO.

Nice haul!

This is the bass that I caught on a hooked Bluegill as I was reeling the gill in the bass took it. Bass was not hooked at all. Both the Bluegill and bass were released. This was a few years ago fishing a pond.

That's a great looking bass! Cool story, too. It's amazing how stubborn and aggressive bass can be.

Great looking mess of sunfish, looks like some pretty big ones mixed in. Always love the bass eating bluegill stories and scenarios.