Big Hand-painted Bluegill from Georgia

In May 2016 we stocked a one-acre pond in central Georgia with 500 hand-painted bluegill that ranged in size from 2-7”, with most of them being on the small side. A little over a year ago the landowner sent me a photo of a hand-paint that weighed just under eighteen ounces. A couple days ago he sent me this photo:

That’s 1.5 lbs., or 24 ounces, as in a pound-and-a-half bluegill. If this fish is one of those 7” ones we stocked initially, it should have two more years of lifespan left based on the six-year average lifespan bluegill have in the South.