A dozen short 6 to 7 inch gills today..

Comment

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on March 13, 2012 at 6:53pm

Thanks Jim...as you suggested, this fish has several indicators that lean hybrid....the red eye, the striped cheeks like a Seed, and the body coloring like a bluegill....no telling!

Comment by jim cosgrove on March 13, 2012 at 6:45pm

cool fish jeffrey-has the color and markings of a small mouth bass.we get rock bass warmouth croosses and other weird fish up here.especially the nuke lakes where they stock heavily and the year round warm water screws up the spawning cycle.a lot more hybridization than we think.the illinois river is full of hybrid stripers 8-12 pounders.they do not naturally reproduce and they were never stocked there.no one seems to know where they came from.

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on March 13, 2012 at 6:20pm

Hmmm, the ones I see are paler, with almost a blue tint. That may be due to the tannic waters we have up here in this part of the river.

I does have the long body form of the redbreast (compressed), but it lacks the elongated gill flap and the red eye is not a trademark of the species. Im saying its not a redbreast, but may be a localized hybrid.

Im not good at this identification stuff, anyway... its all pretty much a crap shoot with me.

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on March 13, 2012 at 6:02pm

Thanks David....you fish the Edisto pretty often so do you think redbreast?

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on March 13, 2012 at 5:55pm

Tis a handsome fish, eh?

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on March 13, 2012 at 5:24pm

Thanks Guys....I've read alot of articles talking about redbreasts in the Edisto River  Mark.....I just don't catch enough of them to pinpoint them....It was interesting that each one I caught today was just about the same size.......

Comment by Tony Livingston on March 13, 2012 at 4:36pm

I'm with Mark, looks a lot like a redbreast.

Comment by Greg McWilliams on March 13, 2012 at 4:02pm

PRETTY FISH!!!!! Eyes are almost RED!!!!!!

Comment by Mark Stine on March 13, 2012 at 3:54pm

The Edisto is known for it's redbreast which is what this appears to be. 

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on March 13, 2012 at 2:16pm

Any ideas on this fish from the Sunfish Identification Gurus?