Drove up to my uncle's farm just outside of Sadler early this morning. Didn't get there till about 8:30 but the wind was cool and crisp and there were a few showers in the area. He built a new pond about 3-1/2 years ago. Nice little lake with a good creek to back into and lots of cover. I then tried out some new lures a friend came upon working the big Bass Anglers convention and show(not sure which group this really was) that was held out of state about a month ago. He gave me a bunch of plastics (shad - lizards - craws - etc.) we also caught some big grasshoppers for the hybrid bluegill. Didn't take long to start catching bass with the "Storm" rattle craws. we were both catching them ...mostly in the 2 to 3 pound range. My uncle, "Art", baited up my Wonderpole telescopic rod with grasshoppers and worms but the bluegill were lockjawed. I switched over to a medium to large sized "Riverside" plastic shad with a blue/silver color...you know...the new translucent natural look that storm and others are producing.I was fishing them with the rather sizeable leadhead that comes with them in the promo pack. Did pretty good with them. Then I rigged it onto a spinner, and started catching bass every other cast (or at least getting strikes). Then I caught 1 that weighed probably 4-1/2 to 5 lbs. I started catching them ol' monster bluegill on the same lure and caught 2 more bass in the 4 - 5 lb. range and lost track of all the smaller ones.
I haven't seen LMB action as fun as this many times in my life. The perch were not biting strong though and he is concerned about their numbers. Funny thing though, when we were leaving I threw around a dozen leftover grasshoppers in the water and within 3 minutes or so the water was boiling with them. Has it been established that in a pond bluegill get smart and wary like bass and cats can after a few years? They sure are a blast to catch...biggest bluegill I've ever seen. The bass are F1 and their offspring of course.
What a blast. Dave

Way to go duckcreek. About how big would you say these bluegill are? There is a pond I fish sometimes with may bluegill over 11 inches long and 11 inches in diamater. These are the biggest I've ever seen in a natural setting. The bass in this same pond are overpopulated and many are "skinny" bass. The owner of said pond has been told by pond management consultants that if he managed the pond for trophy size bass he would lose most of the giant bluegill. That would be a shame. Those big 'gills are a blast on utralite tackle. I'm gonna try to go after 'em with fly fishing tackle come spring. Take it easy and congratulations on a good day fishing. Roadtrip

Hey Roadtrip.I weighed one of the bluegills back in the early summer using a rusty old Zebco scale. He came in at 1-3/4 pounds. I caught several that day in the same range. Of course they aren't all that big. Art needs to restock some channels in the tank. He stocked it with them the first two years after he built the lake. I bet though he did what many people are guilty of...stocking your game fish before you have established a healthy population of baitfish. The baitfish seem to be thriving now.