5/12 Jumbo Gills

[Fish24/7]

Fished from 2-6

WT 72

4-6' 

Homemade Micro jigs

They were very aggressive getting bites the entire time. 95% of the bites were on or near the bottom. 

Here's a few pics to get an idea what I was into all afternoon.  didn't keep track of how many gills were caught today but it was way over 100, anywhere from 4" to 8+" size.

 

Look at the teeth on this one !☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️

They were  around the brush and debris so had to set the hook and reel like mad and keep em coming or these big ones would instantly wrap me up in the cover. 

[Fish24/7]

 

 

Practice catch and release,  🎣 

[fishinwrench]

Big honker gills are a blast !   I wish this lake had them. 

[MOPanfisher]

Awesome!

[Fish24/7]

 They were hard to find today, water was brown,had some clouds, yet still had to use a fluorocarbon leader to get more bites. . I caught them 10' deep , 1' deep, and everywhere in between. Right next to the bank as soon as it hits the water, some were deeper on the bottom, and others were suspended in just inches of water away from the bank., when I finally found a big school spawning  I anchored and put a hurtin' on em. Average size was big.   Had 2 on that were humongous get away. Either one would have been a new personal best. One straightened my hook as I tried to steer it away from the cover. The other fish broke the line in the brush. When they are that big, they are extremely fast too. They kicked up the mud and boiled the water. I mean they were full grown beasts! Red was the best color today. 1/32 jigs and powerbait. 

The majority were this big👇 

[rps]

Gills may be a bit fussy to clean, but they are fantastic table fare. I scale them , slit the bellies and gut them, cut off all fins except the tail, as close as I can to the body (for the dorsal fins I slit along the back bone and try to get them at the source). Then I head and gill them.

I lightly bread and pan fry.

Backup plan: use Harold Ensley's fish fry

https://www.wareaglemill.com/product/ensley-seasoned-coating-mix-2/