Guys,

Caught this fish in the pond tonight. 8.25 inches. 1.5 inches across the back. Note the pure white fins and fin tips. Things that did not come thru well in the photo are the aquamarine coloring on the mouth and gill plates. Also had a light pink/orange band on the flap. Any thoughts? The white fins are a new thing to me but very cool to see......

Fish was returned to the pond and then I thought....Ahh heck! Would have been a cool fish to send Cecil for mounting!

Bill D.

Bill,

Hybrid bluegill dark male.

Buegill X Green Sunfish

Thanks Cecil. Is the snow white on the fins normal for HBG?

I've seen them white and yellow.

I've actually caught pure strain bluegills in New England that had partially white pelvic fins.

Thanks Buddy. I love PBF. Learn something new everyday!

Would if be fish that tend to spend their time on the bottom?

One similar to yours Bill. Size of the mouth compared to BG is one giveaway. Larger mouth than BG but smaller than GSF (in relation to body size).

Although I can not be sure, think I caught this same fish a couple weeks earlier. This time he became a very tasty supper.

Yours likely will bet a lot bigger if he has enough to eat and avoids the filet knife.

Nice catch! Feisty on the line aren't they?

snrub did you by chance see if yours was a male or female ?

No. Not sure I can tell on a hybrid. Sketchy enough on regular BG.

Looks like a young male to me.

If its a female it is a rare sight. I would guess male but the chest area looks female.

I thought so too, it doesn't have much of a "hump" like a fully mature male does, and the coloration is light.

Still, the overall patterns and markings just seem male to me.

That fish is most likely one of the originals stocked as a fingerling March 19, 2013. Was supposed to be all BG but a few hybrids slipped in. I've caught 40 or maybe 50 of the original 1500 BG that have been hybrids. Most were moved as caught to my old pond to join the GSF and other assorted mongrels there, but since have grown fond of the hybrids so actually starting to introduce some more to the main pond from my sediment pond where I have been getting some hybrid reproduction. So I would assume the fish was actually born sometime in 2012 (most 2-3" when delivered) so likely a three year old fish.

Don't think it could be from any recruitment based on its size.

I've gotten where the hybrids are actually one of my favorite fish to catch.

Yes....The sense of enjoyment is strong within this one.

Now take up your rod and reel and strike down the archaic notions of inferiority, and your journey towards the enhanced side will be complete...

Cool!

Dang! I always wanted to know what the enhanced side lived like!