Pond Boss Forums FISH & FISHING Sunfish-Including Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass Bluegill or redear?

When I feed my HBG I have a few 3 1/2" sunfish that I think might be BG.They have more of a blue-green color tail and fins.They also have a distinctive black spot on the back of their dorsal fin.Are these acidental BG or the RES I stocked?..Thanks Joe.

Boy, Joe, I'm not sure if it will be possible to tell you what you've got without a picture, though some of the ID gurus here may be able to give you some better input. Since both are sunfish, they have a lot of similarities so things like coloration and the spot are often common traits among them. It's when you get a closer look that even those common traits do show the variation that makes each species unique. RES and BG both have that spot on the ear tab, but with RES, there's usually a touch of red, hence the name.

I could be way off base on this, but since I'm the first one to reply, I guess I get to take the credit for either giving you a reasonably accurate tidbit of info, or for leading you down the primrose path! We'll find out which one it is before long, I'm sure!

Short answer, BG. That's my WAG anyway without a picture, but from the description I'll make that my final answer.

Keys - Blue Green Fins, Spot on rear of dorsal fin.

You know, I misread the spot on the dorsal fin as meaning the spot on the ear tab. Careless reading on my part. Not that I've ever paid attention enough to realize BG had a black spot at the rear of their dorsal fins, but now that I've heard that I'll have to give a closer look next time I catch one.

You see now why I said my answer could be completely errant?!

I have thought they were BG for a while now.They don't look like the HBG that are the same size.They must of got mixed in at the hatchery.The first batch of HBG I purchased were 1"-3",I think that is where they came from.Since then I have bought bigger fish and inspected them at release.I will just have to wait and see how everything turns out.I really didn't want BG.....Joe

bowjo, a small piece of worm on a #10 short shank hook thrown in the water in front of them will catch them easily. No weight or bobber.

I was under the impression that RES wouldn't feed on pellets, was I misinformed??

I've found in dealing with ponds, never say never. While they don't normally feed on pellets, they will, at least in my pond. Not to the extent that BG do, but they DO feed on them.

If they have a distinctive black spot at the back of their dorsal fin, they are either pure BG, pure GSF or a hybrid of them. They are the only two common pond sunfish with that characteristic. RES do not have that...

RES can be trained to eat pellets. A few can also do so based on acquired behavior (watching BG). No hatcheries that I know of feed train RES.

I can't say I have seen any info on whether BG X RES or GSF X RES males have a black spot on the dorasl fin. Pure RES don't.

I am sure now that they are BG.I don't know how many are there,but I have seen 5.Should I try to get them out now?I have not tried to catch them yet.It might be tough to get these few that are among all the HBG and HSB.....Joe

It depends on your pond goals. If you don't want BG in the pond, the quicker you get them out, the better.

Sight fishing for them should be pretty easy. Just toss that worm/hook combo about 1' in front of them.

Made a few discoveries this evening while trying to catch bluegill.
1.Caught a perch that was growing and doing well
2.My HBG are growing quite fast,and I allready got some big ones.
3.Bluegill are smarter than all my other fish
4.I saw a whole school of BG in the shallow water
It was really tough to sight cast these BG.I managed to get three out.The BG caught on pretty quick and ignored me.Every other species in the pond just kept biting.
I cant believe that I have only had a pond for 5 months and got unwanted fish allready.I hope they don't get to out of control.Here is a pic of one of the bad guys....

While trying to catch BG I caught alot of HBG.There were a couple that had all the HBG markings,but had little BG mouths.

So what is wrong with either fish you caught?

Did you get these from a fish farm, if so what one, and what were you supposed to get?

Please continue to take pics to keep us informed as to what you have in your pond.

Thanks

The first pic is a BG,which I did not want in my pond.I think the second is a Hybrid,but still different from the others.

So you got a little bonus with your order?

What were you supposed to get?



Also you said you caught a perch and some HBG that were looking good. If you would could you post pics of them, I would like to see if they are similar to what I have. As my HBG do not look like what I was expecting either.

Thanks

Is that the HBG, if so what is the cross supposed to be to make that look?

Where did you get your fish?

What did the Perch look like do you have a pic?

When did you stock these and how big were they?

How big is your pond?

That thing sure looks mostly like a green sunfish. Its mouth just doesn't look big enough.

The first picture is probably a bluegill, but I don't know what that fish is in the second picture.

It looks like these things are the second or third generation of parental hybrid bluegills.

Those things might be hybrids -- but they ain't pure hybrid bluegills.

I'd take these pictures to the supplier and ask for an explanation.

Ken

They were sold to me as HBG...Do you guys got any pics of HBG,so I can see what they are supposed to look like?...Anymoe suggestions on what these fish are?..Thanks for any help

Wow, that's quite a variance among your fish, even for HBG. the first pic looks like a female BG to me, while the second one shows some characteristics of HBG, but I agree with Ken, I believe it's one or two generations removed from the original cross. That last pic intrigues me... it's a lighter shade than my HBG, although colored very similar. The vertical bars on it's side are different, much like a regular BG. Pretty good looking fish though. Makes me wonder if your hatchery properly drained, or seined their pond between seasons. I think they might of missed a few.

Sorry Bowjo, I haven't tried my hand at posting photos yet. There are some great pics of HBG already posted on here, I know Nate and Rainman have shown some real beauties. Gives me something to shoot for!

What should a pure HBG look like?

I thought since they are HBG you could get some variations.

Could the second pic be a RES cross or maybe pumpkinseed cross?

The first pic looks like the CNBG I received.

This is becoming a wonderful topic.

Keep the info comming.

Thanks

I will try to get more fish pics taken this week.I will post some for you guys to help identify.....