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If you’ve fished for any length of time, you’re probably caught your fair share of bluegill. It’s likely that some of you reading this have caught hundreds of them over the years.
For a few, maybe even thousands…
That said, very few anglers will ever catch a two-pound bluegill.
For Adam Bruff, a lifelong recreational angler from North Carolina who can lay claim to a such a feat, it is an experience he is happy to share.
“I have been fishing all my life, for as long as I can remember,” said Bruff. “I grew up fishing with both of my grandfathers and dad. Fishing was instilled in me at a young age. It’s all I know!”
A multi-species angler, Bruff fishes a variety of lakes near his home, including High Rock Lake in central North Carolina.
Angling for carp has become a recent pastime for Bluff, but he has recorded some impressive fish across his twenty-three years.
At 15, he caught a 22 pound flathead catfish.
At 19, he entered the coveted “two pound club” for crappie.
The following year, he landed an absolutely lunker — an eight pound, seven ounce largemouth bass.
While these are all impressive catches, there is a much smaller “P.B.” that he shared on social media that has been garnering the most attention.
On November 27th, while fishing a nearby pond with his father, Bruff hooked up with what he initially believed was a feisty bass.
“The day I caught my Bluegill, my father and I had just decided to walk up to the pond above our house to just fish for fun,” said Bruff. “That day, I was using a 6’6” Bass Pro Shops Crappie Maxx rod with a Zebco Bill Dance Ultralight Crappie Reel. The bait I was using was a white, curly tail jig on four pound Zebco crappie line.”
“The fight was incredible,” said Bruff. “I didn’t think it was a bluegill at first. Honestly, I thought it was a 2 pound bass because it put up such a hard fight. I was fishing my jig like a plastic worm, just slightly bouncing it of the bottom on the pond.”
While many anglers would be disappointed to land a bluegill instead of a bass, that was not the case for Bruff in this instance.
“I’ve never seen a bluegill this big in my life,” said Bruff. “To be the one who caught it was unbelievable!”
At two pounds and thirteen inches, it’s easy to see why!
As many do after catching a potential once-in-a-lifetime fish, Bruff debated getting his trophy mounted.
He gathered some opinions before deciding to ultimately get a replica keepsake.
Using photos taken before releasing the fish, Bruff coordinated with The Fish Mount Shop out of Merritt Island, Florida, to craft his impressive memento.
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