Bluegill

April 30, 2025

I am not sure exactly why, but Melissa and I rarely fish since we got the kids.  We did go a couple of times when Zena was a pup but even then, Melissa sat with her while I fished.  I always felt bad about leaving Melissa with the two dogs while she was still working.  Now that she is retired, I guess it comes down to being out of the habit.  That changed on Monday.  It has been raining and we were (mostly) confined to the house.  By the afternoon the sun was out, and it was a beautiful Spring Day.  I took the dogs for a walk and then we decided to go fishing.  That meant stopping to get worms.  I prefer red worms (Eisenia fetida) as they do not tend to die as easily in the heat as the nightcrawlers  (Lumbricus terrestris).  We also went online to update Melissa’s fishing license.  Now we were ready to fish at one of our favorite spots.  This is a small pond where Melissa caught a 3 pound (1.4 kg) largemouth bass (Micropterus nigricans) several years ago.  Mostly, the pond produces bluegill.  When I went online, I found bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus), also called “bream” or “brim”, is a species of North American freshwater fish commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds, and wetlands east of the Rocky Mountains.  It is the type species of the genus Lepomis (true sunfish). 

Bluegills range in size from about 4 to 12 inches (100 to 300 mm) and reach a maximum size of 16 inches (41 cm) long and about 4-1⁄2 pounds (2.0 kg).  Color varies from population to population depending on their food source, but they typically have deep blue and purple on the face and gill cover, dark olive-colored bands down the side, and a fiery orange to yellow belly.  The bluegill is noted for the large black appendage (the “ear”) on each side of the posterior edge of the gill covers as well as the base of the dorsal fin.  The sides of the head and chin are commonly dark shades of blue, hence the name “bluegill”.  They are omnivorous and will consume anything they can fit in their mouth, but mostly small aquatic insects and baitfish.  Blue gills are important prey for bass, other larger sunfish, northern pike and muskellunge, walleye, trout, herons, kingfishers, snapping turtles and otters, and play a key role within the food chain of its freshwater ecosystem.  The largest bluegill ever caught was 4 pounds 12 ounces (2.2 kg) in 1950. 

When I blogged about the large bass Melissa caught, I mentioned she is really known as “queen of the tiny fish”.   Small bluegill have a voracious appetite and will devour the smallest amount of worm on a #10 hook.  The trick is not getting them to bite, it is catching them as they tend to nibble rather than engulf the hook.  That is another reason for red worms’ verse nightcrawlers.  The reds are smaller (2 inches /5 cm) and skinnier (1/5 inch/2 mm), meaning the bluegill needs to get their mouth closer to the hook.  Melissa has perfected the skill of fishing for tiny fish and consistently out fishes me.  Monday was no exception as she reeled in 16 bluegill to my 7. 

THOUGHTS: The problem I have fishing for bluegill is that after I catch several, I decide it is time to go after something larger (that bass?).  That means switching from my casting rod to my fly pole.  Invariably, Melissa will catch 2 to 3 fish while I am transitioning.  I rarely have luck with my fly rod at the “tiny fish” pond, but it is fun to practice my cast and to retain the hope of hooking a largemouth.  While Melissa enjoys catching fish, I enjoy the process of fishing.  We both practice “catch and release”, although we occasionally keep a stocked rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) at the end of the season.  Both actions are a luxury many in the world do not have.  I have watched videos of people who fish so they can eat and keep anything they catch (regardless of size).  That is true even with many fisher people in the US.  Over 3 billion people worldwide rely on fish for a significant portion of their animal protein intake.  We need to keep our waterways pollution free and use conservation to keep this resource viable.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.