We have Bluegills up here too, but that one wasn't as colorful as the Bluegills I've caught. I think the big one that I caught was what dad called a Chinquapin. In either case, they are all from the Bream species, but that is splitting hairs.

Yes. I was amazed when I got him out of the river.

Thank you. Hopefully next year will be better for all of us, both with respect to overall health, and to fishing. Merry Christmas to you and yours too.

Harry

Yes. I was born and raised in Louisiana. Even though I've been living up north since 1980 all it takes is a little push to get my "southern" going again. I think it was David Allen Coe who said "My long hair just don't cover up my redneck". Fishing seems to do that.

I was just wondering because I was born and raised up in Natchitoches La. That same Red River flowed through Shreveport, down past Natchitoches and Alexandria, and finally joined with the Atchafalaya River and headed to the Gulf of Mexico. An interesting fact is that when I was in the Air Force in basic corpsman training at Sheppard AFB, we were on Bivouac up near the Oklahoma border. The Red River starts up in that area as basically a muddy ditch. Some Sargent pointed that ditch and said it was the Red River, and as I stepped across it I was thinking to myself I just crossed the Red River in one big step. Take care of yourself sir, Merry Christmas, and maybe we'll swap stories sometime.

Harry Hyams

You fished in teh Red River? Which part of the Red River? You should see what they did to it now.

Yes, I had to. But, I am a carnivore, and proud if it. You?

I agree. You know, there something that is just satisfying about being able to feed the family and I didn't have to go to the grocery store to do it - talking from a guys standpoint.

My Dad always dredged them in a mixture of yellow corn meal and flour - 3/4 corn meal, 1/4 flour, and then deep fried them in Wesson oil with fries and hush puppies. That's how I cooked that big boy and his buddies, and they tasted just as good as they did wat back then. Memories.

Dudes and Dudette's

Harry from New Hampshire here. I just wanted to share a picture of a Big Bream that i caught in the Connecticut river in late September on my last trip before the weather started turning and I put the boat away. My wife took a picture of it, but I really didn't realize how big this fist was until I was showing this picture to my daughter the other day. I measured my hand from the wrist to the tip of my middle finger and the length is 5 1/2 inches. It's proof that there are some really big fish in the Connecticut river, and next year I'll catch more of them. Merry Christmas to all.

Harry

Thanks for the info. I'll give it a try and report back to all of you.

Thank for for the information. Maybe next time I'll give them a try.

That's interesting. I caught him on an H&H, which is a spinner bait. There are a lot of really big fish in the Connecticut river, but they are kinda spread out rather than all grouped together. On that same trip I caught a really big bull Blue Gill that was about 2 inches longer than my hand. I think they are feeding up and getting ready for the winter.

And to you too.

That was the first pike I caught in the Connecticut. I know they are out there, but I haven't figures out how to target them specifically. So, I only catch one when they are stupid enough to bite my lure. Kinda like picking up the last drunk chick in a bar after a gig on Saturday night - it's a mercy thing.