A Good Lesson - The Pursuit Of A 10 [EPISODE 2]

Welcome back to a mini-series... The Pursuit Of A 10! This series is all about seeking out & catching trophy-class Bluegill. As a multispecies angler, I have grown to love Bluegill not only as a neat part of the ecosystem, but also as a truly prominent sportfish. What I have found, however, is that Bluegill tend to earn 1 of 2 reputations - they can be either a "beginner fish" or a "fill the freezer fish". I definitely believe they are far greater than those two stereotypes. I believe they are a true sportfish and you know what else is great about them? They are pretty much everywhere!
My goal is simple with this mini-series... Build confidence in my big bluegill hunting skills & catch a 10" gill along the way. Michigan considers a 10" Bluegill a "Master Angler" Fish - essentially implying that it is a trophy in our waters. I definitely feel I can accomplish this goal throughout the course of this series, however time will tell. Ultimately, I just want to continue to flex my multispecies muscles and learn more about targeting and patterning large bluegill. Throughout this series, I will obviously be fishing a lot but I also intend to include some informative biology information so we can all learn to be better conservationists and help create better big bluegill fisheries for years to come.
In this episode, I talk about an important lesson regarding bluegill conservation... Overpopulation/how bluegill grow and allocate their energy. Definitely something to think about as we manage our ecosystems.
Episode 1: • A New Goal... The Purs...
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Additionally, I have intentions of doing more mini-series projects just like this (for other species). Let me know what feedback you have and what else you would like to see in the future!
#ThePursuitOfA10
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[@fish2reelaxfishing662]

Directly proportional...... fish size ⬆️ voice ⬆️, love the excitement level

[@FishAnything]

Hahaha that is true XD

[@54kasey]

"....I'm on somebody's dock!!...". Lol! Great video :)

[@FishAnything]

That was one of my strangest kayak fish catches thus far haha

[@CoreyL984]

Just got in to ul fishing and will probably never go back. Thanks for putting out great content to help us figure out how to start

[@FishAnything]

That’s awesome!! Thank you for watching, glad you’re having fun 🤠

[@Dicyple1979]

I love how you get excited man. Channels of people who show no emotions just bore me. Nice video as usual.

[@FishAnything]

Lol I am just being myself so I am glad you appreciate it :D It is hard not to show emotion when tangling with a nice fish on light line!

[@B1acken3d]

You've got the best fishing audio in the game. I thought it was dubbed over the first time I watched one of your videos. Bravo!

[@FishAnything]

Haha I am glad people feel this way. I keep it pretty dang simple!

[@davidrauschenbach6871]

Know you want a 10in bluegill, but that cross breed was definitely a nice catch. Good luck!

[@FishAnything]

Oh I ain't complaining. If I catch a hybrid that is 10", I will count it haha

[@davidrauschenbach6871]

@@FishAnything 👍👍👍

[@j.t.cooper2963]

I've been following your lead and fishing for Bluegills exclusively the last 3 trips out. I always release them too. I caught several nice 5-6 inch gills, a few 4" and a nice 8" green sunfish. I've been having a blast just roaming the bank in search of some bulls. Heading out in the morning to do it again. Never give up! 🎣👍🏻😎

[@FishAnything]

Hopefully we both find that trophy 10-incher later this year. Keep after them J.T!

[@j.t.cooper2963]

@@FishAnything ✌🏻

[@FishOClockSomewhere]

Glad you finally got those marker bouys!

[@FishAnything]

Imagine how beneficial they would have been when we found those offshore crappie earlier this year

[@mthompson2442]

Keep up the good work. Go team dink!

[@FishAnything]

Thank you :) TEAM DINK 4 LIFE!

[@midwestfischerman]

Ethan, I love your focus on conmservation in this post, KUDOS to you my friend. However, my studies have brought me to the understanding that stunting of a fish species is in almost every circumstance the product of overpopulation that disrupts the healthy distribution of biomass. The concept is a body of water can support a fixed biomass, and then that biomass is distributed among the numbers in the fish population. If you have an unnaturally huge number of fish in a body of water the biomass is distributed among too many individual fish, resulting in each fish being stunted relative to their age. The unnatural number of fish results from an imbalance of predators (too few) and prey (too many). The best was to imporve the size of fish, especially among panfish and bass species, is to actually catch and keep the stunted fish to allow the biomass to be distributed among a more natural number of individual fish. This concept is analogous to game management principles for game species like wild turkey and whitetail deer, i.e., thinning the herd through harvesting produces bigger and healthier individual animals and reduces starvation and disease among the herd. So, contrary to your very reasonable inferences, fish populations actually benefit from catch and keep if there is stunting, because stunting is most often the product of overpoplulation. A great guy on Instagram and KZbin that discusses this is Shan O'Gorman @aquatic_biologist.

[@FishAnything]

Yes I do agree with you in many ways. Selective harvest is of extreme importance to keep the size in good shape, however it really does need to be selective. The release of big male bluegill will create more incentive to small males to try to allocate their energy for physical growth to compete with the other big males. If the big male population is thinned out, the small males will focus their caloric intake on reproduction efficiency because they won't need to compete with the alphas to reproduce anymore. Then they just fuel the overpopulation even more. This lake has a huge population of 1.5 - 3lb bass and a lot of 20-26" pike and yet they don't even scratch the surface of the gill population. I feel this lake needs a massive cull of gills to ever have the potential of truly large fish again. Maybe even implement a C&R rule for anything over 7" to ensure the big ones stay in the system and the genetics pass on.

[@armandorjusino]

Amazing resource management thinking, on my next trip to FL I'm definitely going to order a nice large order on those lures.

[@FishAnything]

I truly appreciate that AJ!

[@FitzYakin]

That's an interesting theory about size of the individual compared to size of the "pack". I think the culture is the same in a lot of places up north. During the spawn and during the ice fishing seasons, people want to keep those big slabs for table fare but I think it hurts the genetics and leaves a fishery with a lot of small dinks as opposed to less but bigger brutes. It's cool to keep some fish here and there for your own dining pleasure but I wish people would release more of the slabs and maybe keep the medium ones. I think you see it with perch too. 8.5" hybrid in a sea of dinks. Getting close buddy! Nice bass to finish it off.

[@FishAnything]

Yeah harvesting fish is totally fine. The limit here is 25 for a reason. Ultimately, I just want to help educate on responsible harvest. If every angler takes home the biggest gills they can find while they are on beds, that fishery will be screwed. Excited to keep this series going - I have some stuff in the works I think people will enjoy.

[@madlifferth7108]

Love this series!

[@FishAnything]

Glad you are enjoying it :) I am having a blast filming it.

[@jonpogue427]

Oh yeah my favorite time of the week!!!!

[@FishAnything]

I appreciate you JP!

[@anastaciolopez1434]

It is so much fun, microfishing that is. When you are using micro everything and catch a decent size fish it is exciting. I have caught 10 plus lbs cat fish on 2 lbs test line. Now that's a fight. Love this video. Lots of fun. Thank you for bringing us along.

[@FishAnything]

Thanks, I totally agree! I bet a 10lb cat on 2lb test would be an absolute riot haha I am jealous!

[@ltoutdoorsman]

Great video man keep making great UL videos.

[@FishAnything]

Thanks you know I will :)

[@chuckymystic]

Foncussion protocol had me rolling lolol

[@FishAnything]

Happy to help :)

[@KNFishingSmarts]

Much fun was had with that bass on the bed! Good luck getting that 10+ bluegill. (And the hybrid you got near the end was probably a bit bigger than the other specimens because hybrids *usually* tend to feed more aggressively than pure parent species.)

[@FishAnything]

That is really good intel, I honestly didn't know that! I am telling you - we need to figure out a way of collaborating in the future. I have a ton of respect for your content & website. Reach out anytime if you want to group up on something (virtually or in person).

[@flynnsjflynn]

Ethan, I noticed you caught gills and pumpkinseeds and a hybrid and a green sunfish. Have you ever seen or caught a blue gill - green sunfish hybrid? They are total freaks.

[@FishAnything]

I catch them quite a bit! They are always a blast :)

[@fantomphoenix6170]

After I get my first BFS setup (going to be an Old 18 suppressor rod with a Calcutta bfs) I’m going to absolutely load up on mule stuff, hopefully

[@FishAnything]

That would be incredibly nice of you if you do :) Also that setup will be insane!

[@KevinderKinderen]

As good as I am at fishing, all fish are preserved. I know they are down there looking up at me saying "everyone relax, it's just Kevin!"

[@poimendave9536]

LOL

[@mynamejeff2006]

same bro

[@FishAnything]

Lol that is what most big fish say to me. The little ones are my best friends and bite every time :)

[@InTheWoodsToday]

Long live the Bull Pumpkinseed, they have their own kind of fight!

[@FishAnything]

Yeah man that fish was a freaking blast!

[@InTheWoodsToday]

Haha and then I catch the one I sent you pics of! Thats too funnyI

[@papadew1964]

Try fishing 5-10ft deep.A lot of times bigger gills are deeper behind the boat.

[@FishAnything]

Yeah I agree! This lake is kind of annoying because it is shallow and grassy everywhere you go. No real structure.

[@rhensley05]

Hope you get some mule jigs on your website soon

[@FishAnything]

Will be back in stock VERY SOON!

[@boikman]

Another great vid man! I've been messing with my spinning gear a lot more lately and was wondering, do you have any tricks to casting those super small (like 1/80 and 1/64oz) jigs, or is it just as simple as adding some split shot? I always see guys whipping super small jigs way out and I can't get them to go but 15 feet or so, but I also always forget I can add splitshot because fishing baitcasters/BFS gear has me trained to always have my line reeled all the way up before casting.

[@FishAnything]

I never add split shot really. Usually I just fling it out there straight up. It is alllll about the equipment you use. A good ultralight stick with a soft enough tip to whip it a bit and 2lb monofilament will make your life a lot easier. Size 1000 reel has been my go-to as well.

[@boikman]

@@FishAnything good to know! I guess just more practice and finesse is what I need then. At least I happen to know of a solid KZbin channel I can watch to pick up tips on ultralight multi species fishing!

[@coltonniemann9811]

im going to south dakota to do some trout fishin, you got pink of them mule jigs that are a good size for trout?

[@FishAnything]

Yeah I think the 1/32oz would be perfect for most situations! If the water is a bit deeper or faster current, go with a 1/16 or a 3/32. If the water is super slow and shallow, go with the 1/64 or 1/80.

[@coltonniemann9811]

@@FishAnything I just seen the donkey tail Jr are all out of stock 😔, do you know when you'll have more?

[@frankdudek6242]

🥇

[@FishAnything]

Thanks Frank :)

[@micahspilker9322]

Around here finding big panfish is all about location, location, location. The best lake is catch and release on catfish and is loaded with 30+ inch channels which seem to keep the population of dinks in check.

[@FishAnything]

We have much less, and smaller, catfish up here than true midwest states (Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, etc.). That is a really good observation. I wonder if I need to find a lake with giant pike... This lake has a lot of pike & bass but not any real big ones.

[@poimendave9536]

Ok a good conservation lesson…..too bad I see fisherman every year cleaning out the bluegill beds in the Spring. If you really want to catch a Bull Bluegill your going to have to fish the Lakes that hold them and there are not many around SW Michigan. They don’t get big by chance they have learned to go deep and Bed in deeper water. Flats with quick drop offs IMHO are key spots. Good luck and keep up the videos. ✌️

[@FishAnything]

Thanks Dave! Yeah I have been trying to work off into deeper water whenever possible. Disappointing that our "Bluegill fishing culture" here in Michigan is to keep ridiculous quantities of big bluegill during the spawn. Gotta throw them big males back!

[@skj468]

Can we pls get a ultra light rod comparison? I want to upgrade from my celilo but not sure if it’s worth it. I want sensitivity and no noodlyness

[@FishAnything]

I will do a comparison video after I get through a couple more so I can provide the most valuable possible.

[@skj468]

@@FishAnything thank you so much! If you’re looking for ideas Of which rods to try out, the ugly stick for low end, temple outfitters for mid range, and st croix avid for high end

[@iancameron1662]

Ethan you need to try and do a trout vid.

[@FishAnything]

I will get back to trout one of these days. I would like to do a "Pursuit Of A Brook Trout" series too. That day will come in the future!

[@xnorcal831x]

This is why I dont bed fish anymore. I feel they start focusing on reproduction verse growing big. My local reservoir is horrible cause of these things. Within a hour we had probly 20 to 30 guys all trying to bed fish. Now that the big fish are gone all they do is produce tiny tiny bass and gills. Yes it's fun but it is killing the size of our fish.

[@mynamejeff2006]

i wish people would catch and release.

[@FishAnything]

It is frustrating that people target big Bluegill on beds to take home for the frying pan. I am all about keeping Bluegill but not the big ones during the spawn. Makes no sense! I will say that I enjoy bed-fishing but I always practice catch & release and try to handle the fish with care.

[@snakeclips]

Please just make a video where you take all your bfs setups and catch a racket of fish ! Or maybe see how big a fish you can catch on them!?

[@FishAnything]

I will do some more BFS content in the future for sure! I am just having fun with these other videos for now haha