Pond Boss Forums FISH & FISHING Show off your catch More HBG photos.

Biggest one so far this year. Pound and a half, eleven inches. All three photos are the same fish.

Nice!

I bet on ultralight that is a fun land! Beautiful specimen.

I just have a hard time comprehending a fish like that!!!

You say biggest this year??? You have caught bigger??? What's your record?

Is that a fish or a tank?

Great job sprkplug. You are an inspiration to the rest of us with some hybrids!

I can't even begin to comprehend how you get a bluegill like that LOL.

Thanks guys, I was happy to see this fish. The current pond record stands at 1 lb, 10ozs. I want to believe there are larger fish in there, but who knows?

Looks like you blew it up with an air pump. Insanely big!

Looks like a fresh water puffer.

Very impressive Tony! That second pic really shows off the mass of that HBG. He had obviously been hanging around for second's at mealtime.

Thanks Al. I'm a long way from 2 lbs though...

Amazing T - that is a brute! GSF genetics are faint on that fish - what do you guess, how many generations of pure BG breeding after initial hybridization? Is that a F2 or F3 fish?

You get a Bluegill like that by hybridizing it with a Green Sunfish. Yes, that is a Hybrid Bluegill, the same ones recommended as a solid companion lepomis species choice for SMB fishery. HBG still get a negative rap on the forum, and I used to be part of that camp. On a lighter note, how can one dislike something one cannot identify? Not picking on anyone here, just trying to underscore my original advice which was to suspend judgment until one researches/learns more. Requires a willingness to shift paradigms which I understand is sometimes hard to do - but learning is why we're here after all.

Tony wrote some great articles for Pond Boss Magazine in 2014 I recommend to anyone who wants to learn more about HBG, their role in a fishery, and management techniques. Contact PB HQ and request the back issues, well worth the investment.

Thanks Tony for your efforts to educate us over the past few years - that right there is a remarkable fish and you're doing amazing things and creating new fishery management science with your HBG experiments.

Spark nice fish man!! Can you confirm for me that this is a hybrid? I believe it is. I caught this fish last year I do have some GSF and I think this fish was made on accident! Not complaining this fish fought man big time!!

Yep, that's a hybrid of a BG and GSF. They are battlers on light tackle, will put a similar sized northern strain right back on the trailer.

TJ, I'm ashamed to have to admit that I don't know. There have been a total of 4 stockings of HBG since the program began in 2009. I borrowed the stuff to be able to tag the fish in the first two stockings, then fin clipped the other two as a means to identify year. I'm sure there was no tag, but I didn't notice a clipped fin, either. I feel there must have been though, as there was little chance of backcrossing with a BG. Although not impossible of course.

Just one time, I would like to get over the excitement of the catch and actually do what I'm supposed to do, such as taking a scale sample, and identifying the year class of fish. One time.

The way it stands, I would classify this fish as a BG dominant HBG..I think it's an F1, but really can't say for sure.

However, I do have about a dozen <1.5" F(X) HBG in a cage, and they are finally learning to eat bloodworms.. Took weeks to capture that many, as I started last fall. Very curious to see how they perform.

Can I get an AMEN to that!?! Boy ain't that the truth.


That fish simply put....IMPRESSIVE.

As am I, but that's another story for another thread. My second electroshocking was quite eye opening in a semi-good, but unexpected way. I've got to regroup, and refocus.

But now, back to your HBG. He's just a brute.

Whatever Tony is doing, it almost seems like it could be something illicit or illegal, to grow fish like those.

Those are some real serious specimans!

I'm sure glad that Tony found us several years ago. I've learned a lot from him here on the forum and through Pond Boss Magazine, but I still can't grow fish like he does.

Thanks Tony.

Ken -- they guy with little fish!

Truly inspiring fish. I've always noted how dark your HBG are compared to mine. Mine have bright yellow bellies, and their tails are lined yellow as well. I began harvesting this year and am quite concerned as 70% of what I've cleaned have been female. So far though, I've kept less than half of what I've caught, which is good. Still, I think I may be a year late on adding HSB. However, I am pleased w/the SMB and WE growth and hope they can take care of this year's hatch.

Good idea or bad idea? I have one HBG female in a pond of BG and PS. Is it possible that I might introduce some of the desireable traits of the HBG to my pond BG and PS genetics over time?

I kind of doubt it, Bill. I'm thinking the influence of one HBG in a pond filled with BG and PS would be miniscule, and temporary.

Kinda thought you would say that Sparkie.....I already have the potential of "mutt" pond. Wonder what would happen if I throw in one GSF...I already have one warmouth in there.

Thanks again everyone. But to be honest, any credit due for these fish belongs to the members of this forum, for the knowledge and advice they have freely shared over the years. Our HBG endeavor wouldn't be where it is today without the efforts of many of those folks.

My adventure with growing bluegills started with a three part article in PondBoss magazine, co-authored by Bill Cody, Cecil Baird, and Bruce Condello. I wasn't familiar with PB when the articles were published, but I caught wind that there were back issues available and ordered them immediately. That was quite a few years ago, and I still remember how I felt when I finished reading them for the first time. I knew this was it, just like I knew these guys had it figured out....well before I came along.

Better watch out Bill ole Stickem (Charlie) loves warmouth