Pumpkinseed bluegills

[10.5" RES Sharon]

The truck where I bought some minnows this week said that any pumpkinseed bluegills they find in their ponds, they throw out. Why would a fishery do that? Why would they think pumpkinseeds are inferior? It wasn't just because they raise CN and want the strain to remain pure, because they also have hybrids. I would have asked him myself but there was a long line waiting for fish, and I had already used up all my time. Are PS smaller as adults?

[david j huebner]

we mainly find pumpkin seeds in creeks. they seem smaller than a gill. dave

[10.5" RES Sharon]

The size must be why they are thrown out then.

[JC]

Here in Maryland, we have the same situation. Bluegills do not seem to get very large here but the pumpkinseed are noticeably smaller and less common.

I happen to be a big fan of them despite their smaller size. I have read several articles that offer advice on stocking ponds with sunfish as forage for largemouth bass. Almost every article actually recommended stocking some pumpkinseed along with bluegill.

The reasons were not given explicitly but I got the impression it was to have a longer time span when sunfish spawned, which in turn would provide a wider range of forage for young bass.

Of course in this case, the pond owner might have other priorities and felt that removing pumpkinseed was necessary. I am sad that I am not able to pay the facility a visit and harvest those tasty little critters rather than see them go to waste!

[10.5" RES Sharon]

Well, I think they are thrown out as soon as they show their "true colors". So, they would be very very small

[Eric White]

Yes pumpkinseeds are smaller than bluegills but in lakes some seeds get large as bluegills. My brother in laws father has a pond where I put some pumpkinseeds and bluegills. The bluegills have done great most caught in the 7-9'' range the only pumpkinseeds caught have been small no larger than 5 inches. This I dont understand when I catch these fish in the same spawning grounds the pumpkinseeds arent stunted.

[Mr. LaVern J. Ringle]

Man, that stinks. I love catching those. There are days that they are
the only thing biting. They make good sandwich size bits. I will catch
all I can at our friends pond. He says don't throw any bluegill, pumpkinseed,
etc. back. If we don't want them for ourself he has a basket to put them in
and he will clean them later.
His pond is a bluegill and crappie pond and the bluegills and pumpinseeds over run the pond if we don't take them out. We just can't keep any bass the the pond.