Bluegill - Big Bluegill

Do you love big bluegill?

Hey folks, I have recently been posting some picks of some very big pumpkinseed sunfish that I now believe are actually hybrids of seeds and bluegills. After viewing many photos from the BBG collection, I am pretty sure that our 'big male pumkinseeds' are male pumkingills. Notice that in several of these the bright red mark on the gill flap is either not present or is merely a small orange edge at the bottom of the opercular edging. The mouths also seem to be proportionately larger than those of pure pumpkinseeds., lending to bluegill parenting.

Notice the white margin on the gillflap with the orange spot near the base of the flap in the fish above.

The fish above has the same characteristic.

The above fish lacks any red or orange on the gillflap, just a partial white crescent.Above we have Matt and Elena with a pure female seed from the same water...classic pumpkinseed body dynamics and opercular coloration, plus typical size structure for seeds. All the male pumpkingills were much bigger, averaging over 9 inches with some exceeding 10 inches in length.

So...what I thought was my biggest seed, above, was actually a very fine 10.5 inch male pumpkingill. Notice only the slightest hint of a white edging on the opercular tab. Still a super fish in my book. No complaints from me as these fish are pure powerhouses on an ultralight rod, and they are spooky on the beds, making them difficult to catch. Live worms seems to do best for now.

Views: 6816

Replies to This Discussion

Love the natural hybridization.

Great fish and post Jim !

A few PGills from years past

John...indeed...they are P-gills! Nice pics!

Thanks Jim ! Here are some more Pgills:

Pumpkingills are a very cool fish, I usually catch a few each year. One thing I've noticed about them is they almost always seem to be a very round fish. Whether they are 7" or 9" they always seem to be a little dinner plate with a tale. This is probably why they are such good fighters. Like most bluegill hybrids the majority of the ones I catch are males, but I have caught a couple females, which also had great body dynamics. I like how the colors and patterns take after each parent, having the colors of a pumpkinseed, but with slightly different patterns.

This was an 8 5/8" p-gill through the ice this winter. Great colors even under the snow and ice.

This fish was only 7 1/2" but it was my prettiest p-gill in my opinion.

This is a female I caught this year, still a pretty fish, it's colors just aren't quite a brilliant as the males'.

Adam....that pretty 7.5 inch male looks exactly like what we have found in a local public lake this year, only they average about 9 inches and we have gotten a few over 10. It's quite a fishery, and one where all the anglers seem to laugh at the big panfish, settling for 8-12 inch bass...and happy with that! Shheeeesh!I am finding mostly females when I do catch a pure pumkinseeds there. Mostly male hybrids. like the one above. Nice observations!

RSS

Latest Activity

Jeffrey D. Abney posted a photo

Last Fish of the Trip….4/6/2025

It was already 84 degrees headed to 90 today….
5 hours ago
Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
5 hours ago
Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
5 hours ago
Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
5 hours ago
Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
5 hours ago
Jeffrey D. Abney posted a status
"We knew it was going to be tough today with gusts over. 30 knots.but good surface temperatures of 68 helped…couldn’t fish where I was 4/5/25"
5 hours ago
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on Jeffrey D. Abney's status
"Just a perfect day….water level…..perfect color…….a little…"
5 hours ago
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on Jeffrey D. Abney's photo
Thumbnail

Very Nice Perch This Morning……4/5/2025

"I agree Bruce, the bands seemed very distinctive on this one…."
5 hours ago
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on Jeffrey D. Abney's photo
5 hours ago
Bruce Tomaselli commented on Jeffrey D. Abney's photo
9 hours ago
John Sheehan commented on Jeffrey D. Abney's status
"Amazing numbers and good variety!"
10 hours ago
John Sheehan commented on Jeffrey D. Abney's photo
10 hours ago
Jeffrey D. Abney posted a photo

Very Nice Perch This Morning……4/5/2025

These fish were hitting very shallow as well….
yesterday
Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
yesterday
Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
yesterday
Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
yesterday
Jeffrey D. Abney posted a status
"Special morning on the Albemarle…..44 black crappie, 21 copper nose, 9 largemouth and 5 yellow perch…surface temperatures up to 70 already…"
yesterday
wag replied to Danny Phillips's discussion Boats
" Sold 17 ft and bought a 2017 Xpress 16 ft front stick steer with 40 hp Yamaha ob.  "
Wednesday
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on Jeffrey D. Abney's photo
Thumbnail

Big Sow Full of Eggs….3/30/2025

"Understand John….we were so windy in March ……..hope it drops off…"
Tuesday
John Sheehan commented on Jeffrey D. Abney's photo
Thumbnail

Big Sow Full of Eggs….3/30/2025

"I have yet to see 50 degree WT and it's too windy today."
Tuesday

© 2025   Created by Bluegill.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service