Ahhh, but the gill raker exam concluded it was likely a male GSF X female BG cross, the pumkinseed or pumkinseed x BG gill raker charateristics were not present. Now, could the introduced GSF male have actually been a hybrid with some BG charateristics instead of a pure strain GSF? I do know that I was also told by the specialists that they rarely see this type of hybrid, most of what they see are male BG x female GSF cross which is your standard hatchery cross. I used to catch bait down in the same spot long ago and can say with confidence that they are GSF or possibly GSF hybrids in the creek. I do know that pumkinseeds are not common in the southern part of NE, they are so uncommon that I have never seen one in person. GSF on the otherhand are everywhere and quite common in our area. My brother did catch and remove this rouge male within a year or two of its introduction. We may have had 2-3 dozen of these hybrids in the pond at one point, most of them have disappeared over the years but my brother in law did say that he caught a 11-1/4" "pumkinseed" last summer, he did give me a funny look when I told him it was a hybrid and not really a true pumkinseed.
