Got to the lake about 40 minutes b4 sunrise & just headed out to be ready when the sun came up. Had decided this was the day to put a dozen sunnies in the freezer for future consumption. Accomplished that pretty quick, so got them all cleaned on the boat & did some bass fishing to see if it was still on....& it was. Got some pretty big fish today with one going over 5 & a number of 3s & 4s. Most of the bass were caught on swimbaits & the Sunfish were caught on Gulp Alive Minnows. The lake was not very crowded today & the wind also cooperated, but it did get a little warm. I fished until 4:30...





getting ready for the board...

Vacuum packed & ready for the cold..

Yet another day of GREAT FISHING! Good job Steve!



Side Note: Are the Gills on nest?

Chuck...A lot of them are on beds, but one thing I found interesting is that not one of the 12 fish I cleaned had eggs...no egg sacs of any size ? So what does this mean ????

I believe that sunfish (Bluegill) spawn at different times throughout the spring through early fall. They all do not spawn at once. Just my guess.



Side Note: All the years I have fished for sunfish, I have seen them on nest throughout the spring through early fall. I also have seen more Hybrid Sunfish over the past five years than before.

Great job as usual Steve! Great writeup.

What I’ve read, and what you saw and what I’ve seen is — The male sunfish does most of the work in rearing the young.

The males come in and build their nesting bed and put on their best show colors. When the females are READY they come in and do their thing with the male(s) and are gone. The male stays on the bed until the fry leave the nest. He protects them as best he can while they are there and then he leaves. Other males and females come into the beds as the season progresses. Generally, what I have seen is the biggest perch spawn first.

If you do catch a female on the bed it’s just luck that you were fishing while she was visiting. Females are easy to tell apart from male sunfish. Much more plain in their colors, usually being just tones of green.


Below are 3 different female bluegill -- Cute, aren't they












.

Doc...Gone ?? Where do they go ? It's bad enough that they disappear all winter

Another great post Steve. I thought that was your truck I seen in the parking lot. Surprised we didn't cross paths.

Vogey, those them big girls right there!!

JB...My truck (Ford Ranger) always has an Owl on top. I was there on Monday but spent most of the day bass fishing...ended up catching 90...shhh...don't tell anyone !

Thanks Jagg...

Looks like you'll be eating good!




I grilled some the other day for the first time. They were ok. I'd rather have my fish fried.

Yesenia...I have been pan frying mine in olive oil, with a really tasty rub called "Anitas" the past few times & have found that I like it better than fried. Will be cooking up some tomorrow & will try and remember to take a few pics...

This thread has made me hungry. Nice fish Vogey and Doc.