panfish

A back to back big gill double in the middle of a snowstorm… A quick photo and back down the hole they went.

This shot was taken sometime in the early 1940’s near Alexandria, MN. My grandpa taught me how to fish, and loved to eat fish like I do. That said, our fisheries are alot different than they were in that day and age, requiring conservation measures to keep more gills like that around. Every-time I see it I’m reminded of what big gills really are, and what we can have if we limit our kill of trophy male bluegill.

This was one of several gills caught mid-June 2014 from it’s bed by my son Micah. Trophy male gills are a vital part of any good fishery and these fish were put back promptly!

Another trophy gill, this one right at the 10″ mark!

This trophy gill was from one of the first shows I ever got a chance to work with James on. We were fishing late-late ice near the Park Rapids area, and had a dynamite shallow water weed bite going for big gills. Weeds were the key, get away from the small/isolated beds and they weren’t there!