Do you love big bluegill?

Bluegill

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Comment by Ben Seay on July 23, 2013 at 12:24pm: Yes, I have learned not to trust the colorizations of sunfish because sometimes they can vary widely. Sometimes the marking patterns can vary, especially with Bluegill, Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, and Spotted Bass. I have caught some Largemouths and Smallmouths that have NONE of the typical textbook side blotches or vertical bar markings. These are just variations within true species (non-hybrids). I caught one Spotted Bass last year that I thought for sure was a Smallmouth/Spotted Bass hybrid, but I had it identified as an extremely dark Spotted Bass.

Going to try to find another Bluegill pic similar to this one that I caught last year and was slightly bigger.

Comment by Tony Livingston on July 23, 2013 at 10:52am: What's curious to me, is the coloration and markings. This fish is colored overall like a female, and it has a smaller opercular tab (earflap). BUT.....it also displays the dark tipped scales on it's back and shoulders, reminiscent of a male.

I'm wondering if this could be a cuckold male....a male that displays female coloration, which allows it to gain access to a nesting pair of Bluegills...normally, the resident male will chase off all other males that approach, but this cuckold tactic allows the other male to enter the nest, and fertilize the eggs deposited while the female and the resident male are doing the dance. Pretty sneaky.

Or, perhaps it is a female that has the tipped scales like a male....the smaller eartab might hint that direction, and female BG displaying black tipped scales do turn up from time to time.

I also wondered if it was simply an immature male.....that's why I asked about the sizes you normally catch in this BOW. If this is a big fish for this pond, then it would seem that it is indeed mature......

Curious!

Comment by Ben Seay on July 23, 2013 at 10:36am: As far as Bluegills, this is one is big for this pond (and for me). I think I have only caught one slightly larger than this one out of the same private pond.

Comment by Tony Livingston on July 22, 2013 at 1:12pm: This is an interesting fish you have Ben, from a "Biology of a Bluegill" type of viewpoint.....would you say that this fish is an accurate representation of what you usually catch in this body of water, size wise? (Is it big, small, or average?)