The Helmet.

[Bruce Condello]

I was thinking the other day of all the reasons I love bluegill.

I love the way they bite.

I love the way they fight.

I love the way they taste.

I love the way they look. Oh, man, I think they look so cool. They kind of have an attitude. Sometimes a big bluegill will look at you, and his look says, "If I had a chance dude, I'd kick your butt."

All those bright colors turn even darker when you hold them--sometimes turning almost black with beligerance.

But what really looks cool is when a big male bluegill develops a helmet. Yes, you've seen it. It's that big brahma bull hump

LIKE THIS...

That big ol' helmet means business. It means blue-zilla has been eating. He's been storing energy from heavy foraging so he can beat the bloody daylights out of any smaller cuckolders that dare to get near his nest in the spring. It means if you're a largemouth bass he ain't takin' no guff from you.

[Gilly-Man]

great fish

[Eric White]

NICE GILL cough!! sunfish er meaner if only they got the size of bluegills on a regular basis:(

[Charles Singleton]

Yes, indeed. Attitude? No bout aDOUT it, guy!

[shooter]

indeed a nice fish,and well said.

[John Cachel]

beautiful fish!

[Alex G.]

Dang Bruce, that thing is a freak of Nature, beautiful colors! That gill looks flat out ticked off!

[OldBaldGuy]

Now that you're 30, one of us will explain it to you, Jason. You did just turn 30, didn't you? LOL

[Frosch]

Sweet gill Bruce. Now a word of warning for anyone like me who didn't know what a cuckolder was. Maybe I'm the only one, I don't know. If you google "cuckolder" you will learn many things. Most of them have absolutly nothing to do with fish. There is one link that I think you might be refering to.
http://www.livescience.com/animals/060918_sunfish_smell.html

I would say that gill diffinitly has the "If I had a chance dude, I'd kick your butt" attitude.