You would see something in fishing news too. But there is nothing.

Google Reddit Bluegill Michigan...it should come up.

Now more confusion. Now it was caught in Indiana. It's fake.

I guess like most fishing stories - The more it gets passed around...
I saw the headline and photo and shared, so I'm good.
Huge gill either way and may very likely be almost 4 pounds. I can't argue with that.

The fish is real however the story behind the catch is false.

Maybe......

I got curious and did a little casual research on really big bluegills. There have been a fair number of 3 pounders caught but very, very few over 4 lbs. As a matter of fact at the 3 1/2 pound mark they get really scarce. Interestingly the 2 biggest bluegills on record 4lbs 10 oz and the world record of 4lbs 12 oz both came from the same lake within 3 years of each other. The smaller of the 2 was caught first and was the world record until the bigger one was caught. Both came from what was called the Ketona Lakes in Alabama. These were 2 lakes that came about by limestone mining and the smaller of the 2 lakes produced both fish. The lakes were bought by a company and have been closed to all public access for decades. It is possible that more world record class fish are dying of old age in this very lake right now.

If you want to read about this, use the link below.

https://www.gameandfishmag.com/editorial/the-fascinating-story-of-two-world-record-bluegills/338745

For what it is worth, the biggest sunfish ever caught was a shellcracker that was caught in Lake Havasu, AZ on Feb. 16, 2014. It weighed 5.80 pounds, measured 17 inches long and had a girth of 19.5 inches.