Man can big gills fight on light tackle!

Fished a lake I rarely fish especially with the pickerel population and never fished it this early in the year. The first fish was a 10" crappie - great! But then I found a school of sunfish near some pads in 3'. Man did they bend the rod! Here are a few:


It always amazes me when fish can be caught on different soft plastics. As you can see in the photos, some were caught on a paddle tail worm, some on this clear cone tail grub:

45 fish and I'm still learning the lake.

Another thing to consider when you know a lake has larger fish in general: you can catch fish larger lures. I've found that the larger size riles them more.

Solid Post and solid fish. Good job.

Big Slabs. Good job Senko Sam!


Side Note: Were they in spawn mode?

Nice gillz!

Way to go Sam ! YES, for their size they put up a righteous struggle ! Love that Pumpkinseed on the right

Nice fish.

Beautiful colors on those fish! Thanks for sharing senko sam

Love the pumpkinseed...wish we had those here in Texas...

Thanks, guys!
Inch for inch sunfish are amazing fighters, but one thing had me wondering about this yellow perch:

Is the fat belly because of eggs or what it gorged on? Water temperature range to spawn is 46-52 degrees and the water temperature a few days ago was 62 degrees.
Having fished in lakes near Wichita Falls, I never caught one in the four years I lived there. Bet Texas has some giants!

Man that is a prized fish up north. For those of us that have never tasted one, they are extremely delicious.

I would guess eggs in the belly. Probably spawning.

Nice fish. Love the perch and the Pumpkin Seed.

Great pictures! Bluegill on an ultralight rod & reel are a ton of fun.