Couple Blue Gills

Went to a fairly nearby lake to look for bullheads yesterday and once again nothing, same ole same ole there but people swear they are there! Was catching a lot of smallmouth bass. Probably got close to 20 of them and one may have almost reached 6"! That lake really sucks! But hooked a fish in the bass spot that really put on quite a fight. Turns out it was a blue gill about the size of my hand. Didn't know there were any around here and been here 30yrs! I forgot how good those little thing's fight. I can't imagine catching a 2# blue gill! Kind of doubt there are any around big enough to eat! Got a few years ago in Colorado a bit bigger than these and did eat them. Don't recall if they were any good or not but I did eat them!

Bluegill are very good. I haven't found a member of the sunfish family that's not great table fair. Although some of them do take several to make a meal sometimes...Over population of a lake or pond usually causes this, so I do what I can to help thin the population when I can...

A few years ago I was approaching a dock to prepare to load the trailer. There was a lady catching regular size bluegill and pitching them in the bucket she was sitting on. As I was coming back by to load I asked her how she ate fish that small. She said "well you eat butterbeans don't you". Changed my way of thinking!

Sent from my E6810 using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

That's great!

I agree, all the panfish taste good. I’m not a fan of cooking them whole, but may try them one day and change my mind. I fillet everything for my table. Some of the small ones don’t offer much but good taste, we call those ‘Tater chips. Just about the same size and not much thicker. Cook super fast. Hope you find some more of the good size ones, they’re as addictive as crappie.