Follow-up: Camping at Lopez Lake

Another 2¢ worth

27-May. After our camping trip to Lopez Lake, there was some discussion about Bob's fish: Was it a crappie or a blue gill? Was it a record breaker?

Jim asked for the expert opinion of his friend Jon, who writes:

The picture you sent is not a bluegill. It looks like a crappie to me, based on the few I've caught at PML. One of the guys on the lake told me it was a crappie and that they had been introduced by the fishermen. The black and white spots are the sign; a bluegill would have that dark spot on the gill plate and be more of a greenish color.

I caught a great crappie a couple of weeks ago that was in the 2.5 pound range, so they can definitely get bigger. It hit one of my smaller bass lures.

Most folks don't weigh and record their fish so it is quite possible that Bob caught a fish larger than the lake record. Some of the rishing magazines occasionally mention anglers who focus on beating records by exploiting the fact that most folks don't register anything.

Jon