Pond Boss Forums FISH & FISHING Sunfish-Including Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass Unidentified Sunfish

I've been lurking for a while, learning lots of valuable information. I've recently starting working on an older pond we purchased and it's full of these sunfish. Most are about the size of these two. We can catch 100 of them in no time with any kind of little shiny hook, Power bait, worms, or grasshoppers.

The problem is I can't seem to identify what they are. My first assumption is some kind of Hybrid Bluegill, but I can't decide what is causing the coloration (orange) on the fins. Some are very orange.

Thank you,
Clayton

[img:center]http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/DLBn97-SG8eWmVDunCdlzW6sBXptVk3NOrHu4Th9Z1M?feat=directlink[/img]

[img:center]http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/M-jcYpA9E7w5v7XSeX5AmW6sBXptVk3NOrHu4Th9Z1M?feat=directlink[/img]

[img:center]http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/poH2-y1TlhEY1iaspYLspW6sBXptVk3NOrHu4Th9Z1M?feat=directlink[/img]

All three are nice sized green sunfish.

I feel so silly, having looked at many a GSF on here. My pond is absolutely overrun with stunted ones, no insult to GSF fans.

Hi Clayton, welcome to the forum.

Tell us about your pond - we love all the details, and photos! What are your goals for your pond? How close are you to getting there? We're eager to learn about the current condition of your pond, and want to help you achieve your management goals.

Don't worry about offending anyone in the GSA. They are a nocturnal group anyway, so they should never, ever, feel offended!

Some adult LMB will do wonders on the GSF population. So will a seine or traps.

Now that it's confirmed they are GSF, and I do want them out of there... Since I have other plans (longer message to follow)

Right now my GSF plan is this:
1. Immediately get the wife/kids out fishing every day. In just 45 minutes today we caught a large amount of 2-4" GSF that we could have culled. I realize this won't make a huge dent, but it will get some of the bigger ones out of there. Plus, it keeps everyone happy because they are catching fish.

2. Use a net to catch as many as possible from the shoreline. I'm seeing lots of them and I don't think this will be difficult. Other than a good amount of Water Hyacinth (which I'm working to kill back), there is little vegitation.

3. My mother has a 1 acre pond full of stunted LMB, approx 10-12" I've transplanted 10 from her place in total, some of the 10" ones and a few 12-14" from another pond. I caught about a dozen LMB there this Sunday, so I can easily repeat and transport to my pond.

Overrun with stunted ones, who would have thunk? More LMB in, selective harvest as many 3" and below out. Repeat for eternity.

I don't know Pond Frog, the GSF in his photos don't look very stunted to me... Actually pretty nice sized with healthy RW. Remember, GSF are a smaller species than BG to begin with.

All I know is the guy said his pond was completely overrun with stunts. Why would you take a photo of 2-3" GSF. I actually planted a couple of dozen today. And will probably put in a couple dozen more. Just need something to knockdown out of control bg. Put in 100 RES, 200 hybrid carp, 2 dozen crawdads and 1,500 bullfrog polliwogs. There is a place for GSF in many of my ponds. They fit my bg/sf triple header. This customer actually asked for them. I did not say oh God no!!!

Where can you get GSF in Oklahoma?

It has been hard to find them lately?

You can probably catch them in some back alley house of ill repute, along with other invasive species!

Not sure why people do not like these fish, but they make great bait fish, since they are so hardy.

I like Green Sunfish. They don't have a rolling spawn like Bg so, in my area, don't really overpopulate when bass are present.

I think of them as mini bass, because their food requirements are about the same as LMB their size. They need to be accounted for when figuring your pond's LMB carrying capacity.

There are many healthy ones, but it seems like the shallow waters by the shore are swarming with the small ones... I can cast a net out and fill a bucket with < 3" GSF. I really don't mind keeping the big ones in there, but that will mean I probably need a regular campaign of culling out the little guys somehow, right?

To top things off, the BG I put in this spring are no where to be found. I suspect they are being starved by the GSF consuming everything in sight.

Are these all GSF? Any Hybrids ? I bought what were supposed to be true BG a couple years ago and this is all I catch. Keeps the boy happy but I wanted some big BG.

Bottom photo is tough, but those top three all look like hybrids with a touch of GSF. Some of them almost look like three species in one. None are purebreads, I doubt even the 4th photo is.

I don't see a lot of naturally occuring hybrids in the ponds I manage, and I usually plant or have 2-3 species, never start with hybrids, pumpkinseeds or cnb.

Current pond overrun with bg I planted 280 RES, 160 gsf. There was one oddball in the gsf, I had to seperate and then individually inspect every fish. Could have been a mutant more chance than a hybrid. The fish source was a pond gone to polliwogs, so I got everything. Now I take 100 3" and below bg out every chance I get, and they are up in the shallows spawning, so I need to get started ASAP. Next Spring, maybe even this Fall I start planting 10" and over FLA LMB. Need to backfill for 2 year ago die off. Going to attempt to establish balanced fishery, self sustaining for a few years. Going to keep culling bg, until I make a dent.

So why do you not use hybrids, pumpkinseeds, or Coppernose?

4th pic was more of a "why I have my pond" kinda picture. My son loves catching grasshoppers and fishing in the pond. Sometimes we even catch them with no bait on the hooks. Even thought about putting a hook directly on the bobber because they kill it too.

Hybrid sunfish from the hatchery are usually male BG x female GSF. Its been my experience they look very different from the reciprocal cross of male GSF x female BG. I seem to see far more wild born BGxGSF hybrids be the latter of the two crosses for whatever reason. Hybrid sunfish sure are aggressive buggers!

I've only been raising HBG for a little over a year now, so I'm certainly no expert, but I'll weigh in on mike's photos.
Numbers 1 and 4 appear to me to be HBG, no question. Number 2 looks like a mature, male BG. It has the vertical bars, the black tipped 'shoulder scales", a pronounced opercular flap, and a distinct black spot near the end of it's dorsal fin. The only concern I have with it's identification is that it seems to have a rather large mouth. Hmmm... Number 3 seems to give me the most trouble..., the markings say HBG, but it seems to be more "slender", like a GSF. Nah, I'm gonna go with HBG on this one too.....