The beautiful bluegill

Comment

Comment by Zig on October 9, 2008 at 8:26am

To be honest Bruce, I thought I had a grasp on it before I found this site.
That's a good thing though, as I look at it as the crest of the learning curve.

At first look, I was going to say male - based soley on the black tipped scales in the nape area. Thinking back to previous discussions, I took the coloration of the breast and rounded gill flap as being female.............

I'll get it, at some point. Until then, I'll continue to presume my role as town idiot.

Comment by Bruce Condello on October 9, 2008 at 8:18am

This is an immature male.

A friend of mine, and BigBluegill member Bill Cody often states that it's easiest to tell the difference between males and females when you can hold both from the same pond, side by side. Just looking at a picture like this can be tricky.

The last three bluegill I caught before this one were girls, and you could really see the difference when this little guy popped up through the clear water.

You've motivated me to try to post more "side-by-side" pictures in the future to assist people who are learning the difference between male and female bluegill. It can be a very useful management tool.

Comment by Zig on October 9, 2008 at 6:08am

Beauty is certainly in the eye of the beholder.......................and I'm seeing it!!
Great pic!
Female?
(I see a touch of Black Spot too)