Hi all, I stocked hybrid Bgills, regular bgills and bass about 3 years ago, and have been removing all hybrids caught (Based on what I read here, I don't want green sunfish). How do I recognize any fish that may be from the few Hybrids that did spawn or breed with regular bgills? I have been looking for the ones with larger mouths,and remove them but I also catch some bgills that have bright orange/yellow bellies and seem more colorful than regular bgills but they seem to have the smaller mouth that I associate with regular bgills. Is there a better way for me to identify fish that may revert back to green sunfish? I appreciate all help!

Look for yellow fringes on the fins, particularly the anal fin. You can sometimes still see the blue, iridescent markings on the cheek. Not even 2 hours ago, I shocked a pond that had regular bgills, hybrids, and just a few back-crosses. For me, the back-crosses can be tough to pick out, but one of the two characters I mentioned are usually evident. I knew I should have taken a picture!

thanks Shawn, I'll keep an eye out for those markings, and probably take any questionable ones out as a precaution. I appreciate your help!

It is tough. Shwan is right, but also look for the green strations on the nose as well. The bluegill should have a dot on the end of the soft dorsal fin as well. You can have soem that are 75% bluegill and 25% green. This is when it gets tough. You will start to see less by your methods. I also recommend stocking intermediate size bluegill in the system to help out compete the green sunfish.

Thanks Greg, I've been wanting to stock some redears to eat the snails that are in the pond, would they do? Also, will 4-6" stock be OK? I have bass that are up to 13 in. My pond is in south west Ohio and is ~16 ft deep, so the redears should be OK, I think.
Thanks for your help!