Bluegill - Big Bluegill

Do you love big bluegill?

How do I determine if a fish is a sunfish or sunfish hybrid blue gill?

How do I determine if these are hybrids or regular old sunfish? The bigger fish do not have the the dark spot on the rear lobe of the dorsal fin and the bodies seem more compact.

Views: 342

Attachments:

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Good question.

Here's a fascinating discussion.

HOW TO ID PUREBRED VS. HYBRID SUNFISH



I'm guessing your photos are as follows:

1. Male GS purebred
2. Female BS purebred
3. Hybrid BG/GS
That is what I was thinking but #1 does not have the spot on the rear lobe and I did not know if they "grew" out of them. I was pretty sure about #2 but it had some really nice dark tiger stripes that did not show up on the picture very well. #3 looks the most like a gill and I figured it was probably more of a hybrid than the others. They don't seem to be a problem since they only hang out in a certain area of the lake for the most part but I will have to keep a eye on them for sure. They are very aggressive and hard hitting which tells me they may be causing problems for the bluegills.
I just realized that I wrote "Female BS" when I meant "Female GS". Oops. I wonder what I was thinking.

Keep in mind that generations of inter-breeding can yield fish that are 90/10 or 60/40, or even possibly a mixture of three species. Very hard to tell for absolute certainty in many circumstances.

Some are just mutts.
I read this on pond boss as recommended:

HOW TO ID PUREBRED VS. HYBRID SUNFISH

Of course a lot of it seemed like TMI for my small brain but it made me wonder if the "purebred male GSF" may actually be a hybrid that has a high GSF gene content but not high enough to keep the dorsal spots and longer body or is may be a regression of multiple generations of breeding that reverted back to the strong GSF genes? Either way I've got some cool fish in the lake but no really big bluegills. I went fishing yesterday and took pictures of 7 or 8 gills that I caught. They were all the same size and each of them had a different color scheme. I also managed to catch a number of bass, one of which was 21 inches. SO why are my gills so small since I have good bass numbers? I'll have to check the archives on that one.
An important question in this regard would be:

"How much vegetative cover does the pond have throughout the spring, summer and then fall?"
It has some really nice underwater weeds beds (not very technical). The lake also has nice cat tail stands along the west bank and also a large 3 foot deep section of the lake with weed beds open water and cat tail stands. One problem that I can think of is that the banks drop off quickly into 6-12 feet within 5 feet of the bank. The bottom is pretty much void of any kind of structure. I usually do not catch and gills around the weeds or cat tails. I pick them up off the bottom of 6-12 foot deep open water jigging or along the rocky steep East bank in 6 foot of water.
One thing that keeps bluegill small is if they have tons of hiding areas during their first six months. So can you think of any way that large numbers of YOY (young-of-the-year) bluegills can hide from predation? Most of my best ponds for big panfish have limited hiding areas during the critical first few months.
This could be the problem! The East side of the lake has lots of nooks and crannies in the rocks/bricks/concrete pieces. I will have to do some research on the problem and see what type of solution can be reached. I'll start a new thread if I don't have any luck. Thanks for the info I think I am getting pointed in the right direction. It might be easier to take you fishing and show you the 3 ring circus that I have going on.
I like fishing.
Rob,
What brand and model of camera do you have? IT takes very good close up photos.
It's a Sony Cyper-Shot DSC-P92 5 Mega pixel that I bought several years ago for $35.00 on clearance for my eBay sales. It's a awesome camera and goes fishing with me every time.
1. Now he's eatin size
2. To big for catfish bait and to small for the fryer
3. Just right for my alfreado dip.

haha.
They look like american fish to me. Just a good ole mixture of all. Unless you catch them from a purebread res. they prolly gotta lil bit of everything in em. I can say I dont think theres any red ear in there and that I dont believe that there is a pureblood bluegill in the bunch. My guess is going to be 1. male gs....2. female gs..... and 3. is most def a hybrid but im no scientologistististist. I just throw em a cricket and if they look like they gonna taste good then they go in the box. Thanks to gustov its gonna be a few days before I get to see any so get out there and stick a few for me.

RSS

Latest Activity

Jeffrey D. Abney commented on Jeffrey D. Abney's photo
Thumbnail

Pleasant Surprise Today….5/29/2025

"Thanks a lot Bruce….wishing you a speedy recovery and good luck when you get out…"
9 hours ago
Bruce Tomaselli commented on Jeffrey D. Abney's photo
Thumbnail

Pleasant Surprise Today….5/29/2025

"Great crappie. I'm hoping to hook up with a few. I'm on the mend and expect to be able to…"
19 hours ago
Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
yesterday
Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
yesterday
Jeffrey D. Abney posted a photo

My Biggest Bass Today Was Three Pound Class…..5/29/2025

Plenty bass this morning…….I caught nine guarding Frye…
yesterday
Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
yesterday
Jeffrey D. Abney posted photos
yesterday
Jeffrey D. Abney posted a status
"We have been entrenched in a stalled frontal boundary all week….finally got a window this morning…mixed six species for a nice bounty.."
yesterday
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on Troy Dorman's photo
Thumbnail

1000004031

"Nice mix ……great tablefare Troy"
yesterday
Bruce Tomaselli commented on Troy Dorman's photo
Thumbnail

1000004031

"Nice batch of fish!"
yesterday
Troy Dorman posted a photo
Thursday
John Sheehan commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

Clinton Reservoir Smallie 2

"Thats great, Bruce! 1Big strong Freshwater Smallies, good going! Didn't get on them today.…"
Tuesday
Bruce Tomaselli commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

Clinton Reservoir Smallie 2

"I've landed 2 over 20" in the past several years. One just made 20" and the other a…"
Tuesday
John Sheehan commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

Clinton Reservoir Smallie 2

"Thanks Bruce, we got them 12-15".Going here again today to fish deeper and explore the…"
Tuesday
Bruce Tomaselli commented on John Sheehan's photo
Thumbnail

Clinton Reservoir Smallie 2

"Great smallmouth."
Monday
John Sheehan commented on Jeffrey D. Abney's photo
Sunday
John Sheehan commented on John Sheehan's album
Thumbnail

Watershed Fishing 2025

"Thanks Dick, hoping for bigger Smallmouths after we get used to this 425 acre body of water, with a…"
Sunday
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on Jeffrey D. Abney's photo
Thumbnail

Love This Netted Coppernose……Best of 2025

"Thanks Dick…..my favorite picture of 2025…..loved the markings"
May 24
Jeffrey D. Abney commented on Jeffrey D. Abney's photo
Thumbnail

More From Great Fishing on 5/18 & 5/19…….

"We are very fortunate to have an abundant supply of fliers Dick…..I’ve made a lot of…"
May 24
dick tabbert commented on John Sheehan's album
Thumbnail

Watershed Fishing 2025

"Lookin good John,."
May 24

© 2025   Created by Bluegill.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service