Pond Boss Forums FISH & FISHING Sunfish-Including Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass Sex of this bluegill?

I feel that way with my trout. I plant them at 8 to 10 inches and in a couple of years they are 5 to 7 lbs. Trolling at the local lake where they average 15 inches and a couple of pounds is a real let down.

Bruce,
Why do you say non-parental? Because he looks happy? hehe

Not a spawning male yet based on size and features. Most likely due to there being dominant spawning males who suppress spawing in young male BG. Thus young and non-parental. If this is a southern pond then likely approaching 1 year old - first spawn if not suppressed.

Cecil I would expect you to say basically the same things about sexing this 'unknown fish' since you, Bruce and I were co-authors on or Sexy BG articles in PBoss Mag.
My experience in working with spawning male bluegill indicates that as males go through successive spawning seasons the forehead or nape becomes enlarged with age,, none, minimal or slight for young mature males, and extreme nape hump in old large males of the population.

Agreed.

One thing that always sticks in my mind, which Bobby Glennon a biologist for JM Malone and Sons said about sexing bluegills for hybrid bluegill production: He said he if he wants to be 100 percent he's only certain if he sees the sex products as in milt and eggs. All other methods are just a guide.

This is why you and I and Bruce and others when in doubt do not put a bluegill into an all male pond.

And of course we know some cuckholds males (sneakers) mimic females in appearance, but since we only plant definte males that doesn't matter.

You guys should get PB mag if you don't. Here is a part from a prior Cutting Edge article on BG adaptation. Never underestimate the effect of local adaptation on a population.

In the Shoup et al study eight experimental 0.4-ha ponds (one acre with a mean depth of 1m) were used to evaluate the effects of habitat complexity on growth of small bluegill. Each pond was stocked with 15 kg of young-of-year bluegills (30–50 mm total length, approximately 20,000 fish per pond) to produce a realistic density for small ponds. The ponds contained varying amounts of vegetation (plants) and no predators.


The result was - by the end of the experiment, bluegill from the low vegetation treatment ponds were significantly longer – twenty (20%) percent than bluegill from the high vegetation treatment ponds.


..... addressed in more detail is phenotypic plasticity. That is the ability of an individual or population to change due to environmental influences. Can environmental conditions during early development shape individuals’ phenotypes so they become more adaptive to the conditions they encounter? Were the long bluegill that fed in open water that way because longer fish can swim better in open water and were the shorter bluegill that way because being short allows them to maneuver around the weeds better? Plasticity has been shown to effect sunfish (Lepomis) shape, feeding and behavior in some cases.

Plasticity rules! Mine have adapted to living off welfare and getting fat and lazy because of.

Egg-zackly!

Bullhead,

What do you mean by brow ridge?

I think he means fore-head "helmet" maybe..

Pellets = welfare !!!

You got it !

Plasticity, variation, and adaptability of species promotes success and survial.

That's about the most complex 10 word sentence I've seen.

One of the best articles about this was by our good fish voyeur friend Dr. Dave Willis The Secret Life of Bluegill way back in 2005 in Pond Boss Magazine.