Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations breeding blue gill

I live in southeast Texas and in the past few weeks we have recieved a great deal of rain in a very short amount of time (6 1/2 inches one night). Prior to this rain my pond was down approx: 12 inches and I was able to see blue gill spawning beds in the shallows. The rain brought the level of water up to the point that the pond overflowed and continued to do so for at least a twenty-four hour period.

My question is, will this change in water level destroy the spawning efforts of my bluegill? If so, is it too late in the year for another spawn? I have hungry LMB waiting!

I had the same problem earlier this spring but it appears that I still had a good spawn and have lots of 2-3 inchers. I then dropped about 2 feet and lost several of the beds but still seems I had a second spawn as I have lots of 1 inch and less fish. Just my observations. Bob

I am new to this board and I have a question about blue gills. The question that I have is what time of year do the blue gill spawn?

Thanks in advance for the response.

hhodge: Spawning Bgill - Season
Bluegill spawn is triggered by daylength and water temperature. When the water gets 67 deg with increasing day length in spring spawning begins for the bgills. Sporatic spawning will continue through most of the summer even to water temperatures of 80 deg. Spawns of bgill are noted in August in the northern states and probably in southern states. However I'm not real knowledgable of spawning activity in water above 80 deg. There are many reports of bgill spawning several times during the extended growing season in the southern states.

I saw several males defending nests last week at Bowie, Texas. That is about 75 miles North of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. Temperature of over 100 degrees. No idea what the water temp was but the nests are in less than one foot of water.

Could someone enlighten me as to what I Bluegill is. I know from reading here that they are food for Bass. How big do they grow and are they difficult to find (to buy)

Bob,

They are a member of the sunfish family which is also comprised of largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappies, rock bass, green sunfish,pumpkinseeds, warmouth etc.

They are a compressed fish and more rounded viewing from the side than largemouth bass. Colors vary, but they usually have a bluish or turquoise coloration on the lower edge of the operculum. The ear tab of the operculum is totally black with no edging. There is typically a bar pattern on the sides of the fish and the mouth is small. They are not a large fish -- anything over 8 inches is considered a good catch and anything over 10 inches and a pound a trophy.

Do you have pumpkinseeds in your area? If so, they are similar in shape but lack the vivid coloration of the pumpkinseeds.

I would do search on your computer for "bluegills" and you should find plenty of information including photos and illustrations.

I have a picture of a mounted bluegill on my website at http://www.ligtel.com/~jjbaird/bairdfish2.htm if you click on "taxidermy work." I will be adding a live picture of a bluegill soon as I have access to a digital camera for the weekend.

Since you're from Quebec, check out the brook trout I mounted also under "taxidermy work, and tell me what you think of the airbrush paint job.

Hope this helps.

Bob,

Sorry, I forgot to answer you last question. In the lower 48 here in USA they are quite common although many fish farms push hybrids (a cross between a bluegill and a green sunfish).However they can be purchased at some farms.

I would wager that they may be difficult to find for purchase in Quebec and may be even looked at with disdain by the locals. It's even possible that your government has restrictions on their import. At least from my experience, bluegills are considered trashfish in parts of Canada, and even the northeast, and sometimes ignored in parts of the south.
I don't know why as the big ones are a worth adversary, are a blast to catch with light tackle and a fly rod, and taste mighty fine.

Hey Bob,

I think Cecil is right about bluegills being difficult to find in your area. If you will recall, I have posted to you several times already. I live in the Lewiston/Auburn area of Maine. I don’t know where Waterloo is, but would be interested to hear. Reference Jackman Maine if you know the town.

Anyway, I’ve got a pond project going here in Auburn. In the process of trying to stock the pond, a State Fish and Game Official told me that Bluegill are not known to exist in Maine. That goes against the comments of some of the posters, but I have to believe the Fish and Game Guy.

I think you and I are in the same boat so to speak. I had to go out and catch wild fish to stock in the pond. I put in adult pumkinseeds and Sunny’s (red breasted sunfish), and I think I put in one green sunfish by accident.

If you will recall, I asked you to get some light tackle and worms and try to catch the sunfish in your pond. Didn’t hear back. You should still try to determine what you have already. If you live within 3 hours of me I will consider coming up and helping. The wife likes Canada anyway. Been thinking about a long weekend in Quebec City.

In the short term, your bass will be well served by the goldfish. In my project, I found that the sunfish I put in the pond and their spawn will not eat the fish food that I am providing. The shiners on the other hand love it.

Cecil’s comments that the bluegills are not well received in some places is true. The game and fish guy call them exotics in Maine. Of course, Mainers throw yellow perch on the back as trash fish as well.

Bottom Line Bob…………….sample the population. If you have sunfish, you probably have a lot already. The Bass you put in will do their job and eat ‘em up.

If you can’t catch any sunfish in your pond and all you got is goldfish, hire some kids to catch about 50-100 sunfish.

Good Luck