Epic Day at Laurel Hill

Epic day on my yearly trip to Laurel Hill Lake. All bluegill caught on a Sow Bug or Bison colored Trout Magnet. Used Fine Tail Banshee 6’ Super Ultra Light Area Trout Rod…Daiwa Ballistic 1000 FW reel spooled with 2.3# ester line…..section of Phantom FC leader 2# test….Daiwa Gekkabijin 1.5 gram jig head #8 hook. All fish cookie cutter…8-8.5 inches. Many were the Northern strain bluegill mixed with copper nose bluegill. When I decided to call it quits the counter read 187 fish! Found massive beds there…all over the lake. All those fish came out of just 2 beds though. Colors on these fish are amazing! Life is good and getting better!

Regards

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Awesomeness, thanks for sharing

Beautiful gills, and wow, that is a lot of fish!

What an awesome day of catching gills ! Congrats!
Just how long does it take to catch 187 bluegills ?

Great looking catches ! You have your SI dialed in great, I wish I could find beds like that.

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Originally Posted by gillchaser999

What an awesome day of catching gills ! Congrats!
Just how long does it take to catch 187 bluegills ?

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I was on the water 4.5 hours. I was catching every cast. The number of beds just in the one big cove I was in was simply off the charts. I wanted to stay longer but it was 91 out there and I had a 90 mile drive ahead of me. I had the whole lake to myself…..which was surprising to me. That lake was for many years a premier bluegill fishery. Then the shad showed up and it became a pretty good bass lake. I think in a year or so it may get back to producing those constant 9 inch fish.

Regards


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Originally Posted by Fly2bTied

Great looking catches ! You have your SI dialed in great, I wish I could find beds like that.

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I figured I would find some beds but never thought it would be that many. I didn’t move off that one bed for I guess almost three hours….and the only reason I moved was hoping for bigger fish.

Regards


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Originally Posted by Alphahawk

I was on the water 4.5 hours. I was catching every cast. The number of beds just in the one big cove I was in was simply off the charts. I wanted to stay longer but it was 91 out there and I had a 90 mile drive ahead of me. I had the whole lake to myself…..which was surprising to me. That lake was for many years a premier bluegill fishery. Then the shad showed up and it became a pretty good bass lake. I think in a year or so it may get back to producing those constant 9 inch fish.

Regards


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You’re a better man than I . That long would probably be over my limit these days , especially with the heat .
I wasn’t doubting your catch . I caught close to 200 myself a few years back , on a flyrod . My friend caught around 150 . And these were scattered fish . We counted anything that had fins . LOL !

What a day, your arm should be tired after that action.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gillchaser999

You’re a better man than I . That long would probably be over my limit these days , especially with the heat .
I wasn’t doubting your catch . I caught close to 200 myself a few years back , on a flyrod . My friend caught around 150 . And these were scattered fish . We counted anything that had fins . LOL !

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I hear ya….I want to go back tomorrow but just no way. Just a few years back and I would have stayed all day and went back the next. Anything over 4 hours on the water for me now and I’m really pushing it. A big part of that is all the driving I do. It’s almost a 4 hour round trip to down there. That’s one of the reasons I’m headed to Arkansas Sunday to meet with a builder…..hopefully to get a house and be closer to good fishing waters.

Regards


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Awesome fish and great report!

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Originally Posted by zekepa

What a day, your arm should be tired after that action.

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Arms not tired…but both hands cramped on the drive home. Just kind of wake up one day and we feel a lot older…LOL.

Regards


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Thanks for sharing. What a batch of beautiful fish. I'd stop at 25, because that's our keep limit and I love to eat bluegills!

Awesome day for sure, it has started up this way, fish have moved up and are staging shallow now. I am glad you made the drive, will be watching for the video.

Glad you was able to make the drive and have the great results you had!good choice I see !
noting like getting into them like that .

What a beautiful piece of water to fish. This was a great ride along, and thanks for your post. A long day but a real good one.
Bob

Great effort, Randy!!! Regarding your move to Arkansas, I'm not sure they have better overall bluegill/shellcracker fishing than Tennessee waters boast??

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Originally Posted by redearhoosier

Great effort, Randy!!! Regarding your move to Arkansas, I'm not sure they have better overall bluegill/shellcracker fishing than Tennessee waters boast??

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I'm not sure they do either...but I will find out. I have several reasons for moving. My town has far too many people and I want to be in a smaller community. I want to lower my cost of living...be reasonably close to several waters to fish. Murfreesboro has around 160 thousand people at present....the traffic...taxes....the building...it is all out of hand. I am meeting with a builder on Monday in Arkansas to discuss a new build. What I can get out there for 300 grand would cost me around 650 thousand here...an 1800 square foot home...safe room...and this is the best plart...a big detached shop with HVAC and and a bathroom. I would have a nice place for my boat...fishing gear..and my wife would have space to do her projects. While this may never come off...I mean we all know it's not done until it's done...but we are darn close. Going to be putting my boat up for sale once I close the deal and once out there buy me a Supreme trout boat with jet drive.


Regards

A nice plan, Randy, and I hope it all comes together.
Bob

Congrats. Good report and pics are perfect

But .. but .. if you move, you won't be close to Bonnaroo!

rotfl

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Originally Posted by jawjatek

But .. but .. if you move, you won't be close to Bonnaroo!

rotfl

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Or close to ifish [emoji15]. [emoji16][emoji16]


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Definitely a great day, Alphahawk! Thanks for the ride!


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That’s an outstanding trip Randy!! I can’t imagine a catch rate like that. Maybe one day…..

Not sure I would go that far if I were to move. There’s a lot of good areas a little farther out of town right where you live. Another thing to consider is that you have the fishing dialed in. You just choose where to go today and drive. Not sure I could do that move. Only reason I moved back to Florida was family. The fishing is good here but I’d go back to the Manchester area in a minute.

Jawja, my first house in TN was across the street from the campers at Bonnaroo. They didn’t walk on my grass if they didn’t ask permission first. It’s not for everyone but it wasn’t a bad experience at all for us. I came home on a Friday night one year and Tom Petty was on stage singing “Won’t back down” and I couldn’t hear him over the crowd, and he was amplified! I liked living there and would do it again, and we got free tickets!

Hey skeetbum, I had an awesome time the year I went (escorting my daughter and her friend from HS), it definitely wasn't a bad experience. I am an advanced camper, and was well prepared and stocked, and we had a great time. Not sure I want to do it again, and it sure isn't for everyone. The older I get, the less I like being in crowds.

Neat story Skeet. I love listening to Tom Petty. Randy you sure are on the fish. Keep up having fun and sore lipping em all!