Lepomis cross id is very hard and not at all accurate especially from just a pic. Why do I say this ? We don't know (little research) on how the genetic traits of lepomis are exhibited in crosses. There is a lot more involved than just how they look. For example Dave Willis and I were talking about the subject (we did some common joint research on the subject)and he told me the story below. He had a group of students out on the lake catching fish and having a hands on show and tell. He picked up a fish and said students this is a good example of a bluegill. Then he looked closer , checked the gill rakers and said my bad this is a HBG. Then he picked up a near by fish (same shock sequence)and started to say here is another HBG but paused. Checked closely and it was a plain BG. Two fish , 2 wrong initial ids by IMO one of the top lepomis experts ever. Second example several lepomis studies were written with highly different results. A few years passed and more genetic info started to develop with the writers starting to wonder even more. The conclusion in the studies showing a lower % of male offspring in the GSF crosses was attributable to the experts not starting with 100% pure GSF genetics (missed id on GSF crosses by experts). More looking and the experts started realizing it was not easy to find pure GSF stock. Much more but enough for now. We just don't have the answers yet - and it depends. The more we look the more we realize we don't know.

Last edited by ewest; 05/16/16 01:37 PM.