Today in the evening I was catching nice numbers of 1 to 3 pound LMB from the bank of a residential lake in Palm Beach Gardens, Fl. Mostly I was tossing weightless Zoom Super Flukes in Watermelon Red Flake on #12 fluoro.  Reeling back my bait after an unsuccessful cast, a funny thing happened (I was standing a good 20 feet from the grassy shoreline so as not to spook fish there): as I popped my little green fluke out of the water, a diminutive bluegill jumped out onto the grassy bank right behind the fluke. Why? Why? Why?  Here are some theories I'm considering:

 

1) The bait startled the bluegill and he accidentally jumped out of the lake to get away

2) A larger fish behind the bait startled him and he accidentally jumped out of the lake to get away

3) He thought my bait was a brother bluegill that was startled and thought if his bro is swimming away he better go too

4) He thought my bait was a brother bluegill and the schooling impulse made him follow him to hell

5) He was trying to eat my bait even though it was bigger than he was

6) My bait contacted the little bluegill and physically launched him onto the grass

7) He was severely depressed and was trying to commit bluegill suicide

 

 

And, hey, doesn't that fluke look a lot like the bluegill on this dorsal view?

Im thinking number seven. Lol.

Seriously I think I would go with three. He believed his buddy was in danger and he wasn't gonna take the time to find out what he was fleeing. The distance he leapt seems to me to indicate it was fear induced. It could have been hunger but I have never seen panfish that aggresive.

Im thinking number seven. Lol.

Seriously I think I would go with three. He believed his buddy was in danger and he wasn't gonna take the time to find out what he was fleeing. The distance he leapt seems to me to indicate it was fear induced. It could have been hunger but I have never seen panfish that aggresive.

I think you are right. The little bluegill landed about three feet from the water's edge and his jump seemed to happen a fraction of a second after my bait exited the water surface.

Probably #7, especially if the grass he jumped on was "medical" grade.

Instinctive reflex. He probably doesn't know why. I have a friend who claims a bass jumped into the boat with him. Why would a bass do such a thing? His tiny pea brain's neurons told him to.