Skinny Bluegill

[Joe B]

Just got home from a family pond and had some pretty good success. I have a picture of a really nice gill I caught but this thing was paper thin? Does anyone have any idea why this fish would be so thin? I have fished this pond for 35 years and have never seen a fish so unhealthy looking? The fish measured 10.5" and as you can see in the photo attached there were some nice bass and crappie that looked great. ????????????

[Bruce Condello]

Just speculating, but sometimes older bluegill become "geriatric" in their last year or two of life and begin losing weight. I've seen this phenomenon in bluegill, crappie and largemouth bass. Fish like that aren't long for this world.

[Joe B]

take a look at the anal area of this fish it appears swollen or inverted

[Joe B]

I noticed its condition once I had it on the board to clean or I would have probably threw it back as well. I believe the anal area being distorted is a reflection of the weight that this fish has lost..... in other words I dont think it has swollen or inverted but the flesh around it has reduced!!!!!

If you look closely you can see a distinction where the tail meets the body.

[Bruce Condello]

Am I looking at the same picture as you? I can't see what you're referring to on the photo.

[Joe B]

Sorry..... take a look at this shot!

[gillhunter]

maybe theres a large population of small gills and crappie that are eating all the food. nice gill

[Farm Hunter]

They don't look too terribly skinny to me. They don't look slob-fat, but I'd surmise, there just isn't a lot of extra food around for these BG.

FH