but I've also seen 3-1/4 lb native fish....The current Indiana state record.
If you saw that Indiana state record then you know it was a hybrid. At least that's what a local biologist told me that witnessed it.I don't think it's fair to compare a hybrid to a regular strain bluegill. I know ponds where I can catch 1 lb. hybrids all day but you rarely see that with regular strain bluegills. Not sure we know where it originally came from do we? For all we know it was one of those hybrids from Arkansas.
I've fished for northern strain regular bluegills all my life up here in Indiana and mounted some big ones for customers. Can's say I've ever seen or mounted one bigger than 11 1/2 inches or 1 lb. 7 1/2 oz. which was the weight of one from my pond just a few weeks ago.
I've seen the mount, last year I interviewed the angler who caught it back in 1972, talked to two state biologists about it, have copies of all the information the state has on file regarding this fish, and have seen unpublished photos taken right after it was caught... it looks like the real deal. (non hybrid) It was also caught in a location different from the official DNR account: LOTS of mis-information where this fish is concerned.
It's easy to make a hybrid look like a regular bluegill sprkplug considering a taxidermist has to paint the colors back into the fish. I've done it on a occasion although the mouth size tends to a give away.
I tend to believe it's a hybrid especially since a biologist I know witnessed the live fish vs. the mounted version.
If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.
