Bcmech 1, thanks! It was fun. Here's a better pic of that big one to give it more perspective.

Captain Nick, lol. Will do!

Thanks Harris T. Fudpucker! I fished a friends farm pond as a kid and used to catch lots of 8 to 10 inchers but NEVER this big. As you can tell from the pics it's actually over 11". I WILL be getting it mounted.

Thanks Dakoda!

Gary W Allen, I plan on it. It also qualifies for a master angler certificate and patch. I plan on applying for that as well!

Mgiven, thanks. Yeah, i love the taste of bluegills.

bapabear, thanks! It will be a while before it's done but I know a local taxidermist that does great work. I had him do a deer head for me and it turned out beautiful. When it gets done, I assume 6 months to 1 year, I will be sure to post it.

I mean Papa Jack.

Thanks Poppa Jack.

HenryG, thank you! It was fun.

Thanks Whitey! I plan to get it mounted since in Michigan it's a master angler fish. Any bluegill over 10" qualifies. I'll do my best to keep pics coming. As for the ice it was about 5 inches thick. 3 1/2 - 4 inches of black ice and 1 - 1 1/2 inces of cloudy ice. It was plenty thick enough. Besides the 2 of us and our 2 sleds worth of gear 3 more adults and 2 kids showed up along with their gear and fished with us. Even with all that weight in a relatively small area the ice wasn't flexing at all. I think we'll be alright for the rest of the winter now. Fingers crossed.

fishyaker, thanks! It was a blast all day long. The fish fry is coming soon. I plan to wait until next weekend because we are going to another lake north of Alpena for some perch to add to the pile. Sorry about the bass pics. The action was just too fast and we were trying our best to keep the school of gills nearby. Hopefully next time. That big one is a master angler catch. I am applying for a certificate and plan on getting it mounted.

OJdidit, thank you!

bknecht, thanks!

Funny you should say that. When we fished there before our last thaw I caught a pike with a bluegill in it's stomach. So when I caught a small gill, around 3 or 4 inches long I put it on a tip up knowing a pike would hit it soon. Unfortunately the pike must have been somewhere else because we had minnows, suckers and a bluegill on tip ups all day and didn't get a single bite. All we caught was bass and gills this trip. Last time out it was all bass and pike. Same spot, same bait. Just a different day. Go figure!