Bluegill Redbreast hybrid?

[Jeff Soto]

I have a friend that recently visited and fished in Florida and he tells me about several "Brim" he caught that were reddish in color with black splotches on their sides. "Not your regular kind of Bluegill" is what he says. (His camera was broken by the way, so no pics) The locals said they are just Bluegill Brim... Is there a sub species or hybrid Bluegill in Northern Florida that is red with black marks on their sides?

[Bill "Musky" Modica]

Sorry Jeff, but I couldn't begin to speculate without a pic.

[Glenn Sampson(Pegleg)]

He's proly talkin about "Red Bellies". In the spring time when the gills are beddin they have Red Belly Days festival in Fanning Springs,Fla. Thats on the Suwannee River in northwest Fla. The Red Bellies are bluegills in their spawning colors.

[Glenn Sampson(Pegleg)]

I just did some research on red bellies and found the real name is "Longear Sunfish".