Forums36
Topics40,900
Posts557,093
Members18,452
|
Most Online3,612 Jan 10th, 2023
|
|
17 members (Sunil, azteca, esshup, BillyE, H20fwler, FishinRod, Augie, PRCS, LeighAnn, bstone261, LANGSTER, dg84s, ewest, Fishingadventure, Shorthose, Freg, IND1371),
710
guests, and
294
robots. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 125
Lunker
|
OP
Lunker
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 125 |
I'm looking at dozens of photos on the internet and I'm at a loss to tell the difference between the three because each of the three species seem to have a wide variation in coloring and patterns that seem to overlap. Can anyone shed some light on this problem?
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 3,544
Hall of Fame Lunker
|
Hall of Fame Lunker
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 3,544 |
Identify them on this site for good answers.. People commonly call fish different names they are usually called the right name on this site..
I believe in catch and release. I catch then release to the grease.. BG. CSBG. LMB. HSB. RES.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 10,458 Likes: 2
Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
|
Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 10,458 Likes: 2 |
Pumpkinseed(PS) and Bluegill(BG) are both species of "sunfish". Sunfish is not a specific species but rather a group of closely related species. There are in fact over a dozen species of sunfish and even the black basses, crappies among others are considered to be in the sunfish family. IDing species of sunfish comes down to morphology of the fish and less with coloration. As you get better, you can use coloration, but if you use coloration alone, you will make many misidentifications. The best web site for IDing sunfish with is: http://bio.slu.edu/mayden/sunfish/sun_key/1.html Another good one is: http://www.tnfish.org/FishIdentificationID_TWRA/TWRA_Sunfish_Identification_Key.htmColoration in sunfish varies with many factors. Regional variations, water chemistry the fish is found in, the sex of the fish and the time of year it's caught all factor in. Some sunfish species even have subspecies. BG for example have 3 scientifically recognized subspecies. Each has a different coloration, hence the nickname of Coppernose BG for the subspecies of BG which was originally found in FL.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,475 Likes: 264
Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
|
Moderator Hall of Fame 2014 Lunker
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 21,475 Likes: 264 |
Last edited by ewest; 06/13/11 09:13 AM.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,110 Likes: 478
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
|
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,110 Likes: 478 |
I agree fully with CJ. Both links for sunfish ID are quite good. As noted by CJ - Beware that using coloration of sufish alone is very tenuous or risky for positive identification. Note that the first Sunfish ID link depends little on fish coloration for identification. Color of sunfish can change dramatically with primarily habitat type, maturity, and spawning season plus a few others. Hybrid sunfish can sometimes be commmon occurrences especially since hybrid sunfish are commonly stocked in ponds/lakes. Cross breeding of these introduced hybrids with other BG, GSF, or RES makes positive identification sometimes difficult in a pond or lake. Note the two bluegill are both males shown in the Tennessee link above. Female BG normally have a slightly or noticably different coloration depending on several factors.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 06/13/11 11:11 AM.
aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine - America's Journal of Pond Management
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 10,458 Likes: 2
Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
|
Ambassador Field Correspondent Hall of Fame Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 10,458 Likes: 2 |
One thing nice about a private pond is the species present are generally known. Occasionally other species find their way in, but these species are usually well known such as the GSF. If you only stocked BG and RES into your pond, you can be fairly certain what you are catching is either a BG or RES...
Now if you are fishing an open water such as a river, that is not the case. There are rivers where there may be in excess of a dozen species of sunfish to try to tell apart.
|
|
|
Moderated by Bill Cody, Bruce Condello, catmandoo, Chris Steelman, Dave Davidson1, esshup, ewest, FireIsHot, Omaha, Sunil, teehjaeh57
|
|