Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Green Sunfish/Warmouth pond

I was being a bit tricky with that last post guys. It's likely that both fish are Warmouth. I read that the eye turns red on Warmouth when they're spawning which would fit the season. There's the web page where I got the bottom photo from:

http://www.biosurvey.ou.edu/okwild/misc/warmouth.html

I took the top photo and posted it on the North American Native Fishes website and two members had no doubt that it was a Warmouth. They seem to know their fish.

Apparently GSF aren't indigenous here, but WM are. It's been my goal from early on to stock local fish so........................

does this mean I'm out of the club? Oh the pain and embarrassment!

Time to research Warmouths I guess. Can anyone offer comparisons to GSF?

That bottom picture looks green sunfishy to me.

In a post at NANFA I said:

"daveneely, no offense but how sure are of this ID? Since you brought up Warmouth I'm doing comparisons between them and GSF. Can you offer any major differences?"


daveneely said:

"No offense taken, but I'm quite sure on this ID.

While there's some variation across the range (and especially across different size classes) of green sunfish, in the southeastern US they'll nearly always have a large black spot at the insertion of both the dorsal and anal fins, and usually a yellowish or white margin on all median fins. Rather than the dark-striped cheek of a warmouth (often with three dark brown lines radiating posteriorly from the eye), greens will have bluish wavy streaks under the eye and onto the cheek. If you're still not sure, crank the mouth open and look at the tongue; warmouth have a patch of teeth on the anterior part of the tongue, that greens lack. You could also count the number of scales along the lateral line (36-44 in warmouth, 43-52 in greens), etc., etc...

Hope this helps.
Dave"

Hmmmmm.

Bruce, you wouldn't believe that website! It's a bunch of nerds who talk about and play with fish all the time.

Can you believe it?! :rolleyes:

When I do a google search, then press "images" for a particular lepomid, there probably a solid 25% of the fish that are clear misidentifications.

I ain't no warmouth expert, so that top photo could be anything and I'd believe it, but that bottom photo is questionable to say the least. We've got to get Cody to weigh in.

I think I will never stop being amazed and delighted by the astounding color and pattern variations in all the assorted Lepomis.

I posted the photo of the bottom fish on the NANFA board. Let's see what they have to say about too.

I will be constructing my holding net at Mr. H's big pond tomorrow, so I will soon be collecting these big mouth lepomis in earnest. That should at least make it easy to pin down what he's got.

i'm amazed too. i'm still not convinced on the bottom fish......i'm w/ bruce til the data is in....maybe its a warmouth GSF hybrid? GSF are not indigenous in CA either.....they were brought here during the gold rush era by covered wagon.....seriously....them GSF pioneers were some tough guys.

o and BTW g-dub.....the GSFA (GSF Association) is in shock....wait til jeffhasapond learns of the crimes committed herein. i know that one of the punishments for heresy is a long walk off a short dock in a FA infested pond

OK, yeah, well, when they tell you that's a creek chub you can come back to us and get the real scoop.

Did I say Green Sunfish? Eh, I meant WARMOUTH. Yeah, that's right, I thought we were talking about Waaaaarmouth. I hate Green Sunfish, always have.

Btw, there's a debate started at the other forum over the bottom fish photo also.

Well anywho, I care mostly about what the local fish is, and if that's what I'm catching in the big pond...

Will there be many changes in switching from trophy GSF to trophy Warmouth management?

NAFTA, NANFA......ross perot......you can just hear that huge sucking sound........

Haha! When I mentioned the Pond Boss forum at the NANFA forum and included a link, someone indicated concern. Apparently they had a run in with another forum that got out of control. I told them that couldn't happen here.

....of course you can read it for yourself...

http://forum.nanfa.org/index.php?showtopic=2027

On that forum my name is "fish for brains"

"It's also a fairly mature forum, age-wise".

Who are you calling "mature"!!!

GANG WAR!!!!!!!

Thought you might like that.

When fish enthusiasts clash .

Go to your room, GeeDub. :p

i just read that thread.....wow what a difference. funny. further supports why i only spend my time here.

warmouths get bigger than GSF?
i'm supposin mr. neely nary saw one of these:



tell me when i can quit showing off........... i really liked that fish.

World record Warmouth - 2lb 7 oz Guess Lake, Holt, FL

Still love the Greens though.

No membership for you! Thankfully, due to work constraints I had not sent your membership package. You are quite fortunate. Had I mailed out your membership package and had you received one of our decoder rings or the secret hand shake instructional DVD I would have had no alternative but to enter into a "Terminate with Extreme Prejudice" contract to remedy the situation. Consider yourself lucky.


Up until this statement I assumed that you made an innocent misidentification. The GSFA may give you one final benefit of the doubt and assume that you made this statement out of false bravado however I will make no assurances. Your fate will be discussed at a secret meeting of a portion of the GSFA that will be held sometime within the next 10 days at an undisclosed location somewhere in the Sierra Nevada Foothills.

Just remember GW, we are watching, we are always watching.......


"non scompigli appena con noi"

I never said I hated Green Sunfish. I love them, always have.


We have always been at war with Eurasia.

I never said I hated Green Sunfish. I love them, always have.


We have always been at war with Eurasia.

This declaration may result in some leniency. More so sense you posted it twice.

Originally posted by GW:

Of course we have, Winston, they're well known haters of green sunfish, I've heard that the savages actually EAT them.