fat bluegills…

I took the kids out fishing this weekend. Sunny both days (yeah!) with a nice pre summer breeze. Spent Saturday on a boat for some largemouth action, then the Sunday at the banks of the lake, catching bluegills. My son caught the largest bluegill I have ever seen (about 10 inches) and he caught a nice bass on his spiderman fishing rod. My younger son had a blast with the cane rod, catching more than 15 bluegills. I was busy hooking the worms and getting the hook out of the fish for the guys, and it was great. By the end of the weekend, one of the boys was able to hook the bait himself, and release the fish as well. We spent time to discuss what the fish normally eats, how they like to stay hidden in the shades, and why it’s important to keep the waters clean for the fish. I bought my son his first fly rod & reel, and I hope to teach them to cast this season. The highlight of the weekend was when my son caught something, and I said “it must be a bass!” and he corrected me and said “I think it’s a perch, dad”. When he brought the fish up, it was a perch.

(Bluegills: from Wikipedia)

The Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) is a species of freshwater fish sometimes referred to as bream, brim, or copper nose. It is a member of the sunfish family (family Centrarchidae) of order Perciformes. It is native to a wide area of North America, from Québec to northern Mexico, and has been widely transplanted to stock game fish for anglers. It is commonly fished in Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Texas, and Louisiana, and is the state fish of the U.S. state of Illinois. It is renowned as an excellent tasting fish on par with Walleye.

Of tropical sunfish body shape, the bluegill's most notable feature is the blue or black "ear", actually an extension of the gill cover called the opercular flap. Its name, however, comes from the bright blue edging visible on its gill rakers. It can be distinguished from similar species by the (not always pronounced) vertical bars along its flanks. The bluegill grows to a maximum overall length of approximately 40 cm (16 in).

The bluegill is a schooling fish with schools of 20–30 individuals. These fish spawn in June in nests in the shallows. During this period males assume a very bold coloration, as they are guarding their nests. An interesting piece of their biology is that some males assume the coloration of the female fish so that the nest guarding males won't show aggression towards them. Then these "sneaker" males enter nests and spawn. Because of their size and the method of cooking them, bluegills are often called panfish. Bluegills are excellent fish to teach children

They are notorious for their nibbling or pecking style of feeding and commonly steal bait off a fisherman's hook. They hit hard for their size.(making it easy to tell when the angler has one on the line) Adult channel catfish, largemouth bass, and turtles prey upon bluegill.

In some locations where it has been transplanted, it is considered a pest: trade in the species is prohibited in Germany and Japan. In the case of Japan, bluegill were presented to the crown prince, Akihito in 1960 as a gift by Richard J. Daley, mayor of Chicago. The prince, in turn, donated the fish to fishery research agencies in Japan from which they escaped, becoming an invasive species which has wreaked havoc with native species. The emperor has apologized.