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

There is a 'fair amount' of variability in shape-size of the male BG ear flap depending on where they are collected. It does depend. The key item when sexing male and female BG is to see several mature males and females and hopefully different year classes from the same body of water at any one point in the annual cycle. That will give one a good indication of the characters of each sex of mature BG for that day/month.

Based on the above picture alone that bluegill is a male and like some have aptly noted probably a young mature male maybe his first spawning season. I base my ID on 1. prominant black scale tipping on nape extending backward toward the dorsal fin; 2. burnt orange gular color which is very rare on mature females; 3. dark pigmentation on on the webbing of the rear part of the soft dorsal, although it is not prominant; 4. body hue has some purple and other colors typical of many males in it; 5. gill flap shape is well within the variation of typical mature male BG. All the above features combine to indicate male leaving very little if any doubt in my mind. To bet big money on the sex or stock it as a male in my pond, I would have to see several males and females from the same pond.

CB1 send my post or a link to this thead to the poster on the taxidermy website questioning it's a male due to the short ear tab. IMO his problem is he is using basically only one feature to recognize male BG and not considering the whole package that characterizes a mature male BG.