Wow this guy Tony did a great job on my bluegill. Forgot how big this one actually was. He has had it for a little while but worth the wait! Here it is with him putting a tape to it and on the wall. 1 pound 8oz Blue

RC

That looks great!! Is it a replica or your fish?

No its the real deal. I caught it this last may and tried my best to revive it. I spent 15 mins plus trying to get it to swim away but it just wouldn't then it quit moving all together so I just took her in to the shop. It's still the biggest one I've caught so far on the pond!

RC

Very nice RC51!

Would definitely like to see something like that come out of my pond.

Thanks snrub I believe this one had to be right around 4 to 5 years old. It took a little time but you can get them there!

RC

Very nice!

Nice fish and work !!

Beautiful fish and mount, RC!

Congrats on getting them to that size!

Thanks guys... That size is not my norm of course but I believe I do have a few in there that may be bigger... That fish right there is a direct result of this forum and good folks here helping me with my stupid questions all the time!!

Thanks everyone for the help!!

RC

RC I just have to stop and remind all of us that there are no stupid questions. We all start at ground O with no knowledge. You certanially did not ask any stupid questions.

Thanks Eric you and to many others to list have been a great help! I always try to pay that part forward to whoever I can that asks me for help! I even sometimes catch myself grinning thinking hmmmm that was me about 6 years ago asking that very same thing. lol

RC

Female NBG? What was official length? What feed? Age 4-5 yrs, right?

Well done...when you land a fish of a lifetime, you feel you share it with the forum community...I feel the same way...uber grateful.

OK since ewest said there are no stupid questions......is there an easy way to tell the sex of a bluegill? And that is a really nice mount RC...would look great on the office wall (or on any wall to be honest). BM61

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=258505#Post258505

Rc, that is a beautiful mount and fish. Did you take a picture of it when it was fresh and have the taxidermist paint it the way it looked or do they just have a standard bluegill "look" that they paint? I spoke with a taxidermist once and he said " oh yea, i can mount those bg. I have the paint colors for it. When i mentioned coppernose, he was lost. Your bg doesn't look like the ones from our area. it is nice looking though.

IMO the mount was a female fish painted to resemble more a male rather than female. Female BG gular area is usually a shade of yellow. Especially during spring-summer the male gular area is some shade of rust, orange, red. See the pair of BG in the link, but note the author in the link calls the upper fish of the pair a hybrid which is incorrect. The upper fish in the picture is a female BG and note its small mouth & also the female's fins show no evidence of any colored margins that are very characteristic of HBG. If you really know the features of BG this error is readily apparent. The male in the 2nd picture is the color of a non-breeding color of a male BG. Be leary and double check of what you read in print, even from me.
http://extension.missouri.edu/p/G9473

The larger females I was catching tonight were BRIGHT yellow. Very colorful.

Confused here. I thought that was the fish not a replica.

Looks like a male CNBG assuming the fish was the real thing.

Nice work fish n chips !

uh.oh..... Bill Cody, 1 vote for Female, ewest 1 vote for Male. Not sure if appearance can be trusted as it may or may not be the original skin...

This gets complicated.. So taxidermists actually take a live fish that they are asked to do a 'live mount' on and then change the sex or change the colors (paint a female like a male?) and the client is not supposed to notice?

this is sounding like some of my customers where they were born a male on the inside but now are a female (or are attempting to appear female) on the outside but still dress like a male because they are either currently conflicted or aren't quite sure if they have the money to complete the body transformation procedures.

Always wondered about this myself. Seems a taxi can paint a fish to resemble whatever.

Didn't see RC'S original catch, but I think it appears female in the mount we see here, as far as color and opercular. General dynamics of the fish look male to me, however.

There's one positive way to tell the sex of BG. When you take one off the hook, put it back in the water. If he swims off, it is a male. If she swims off, it is a female.

Canyoncreek, with customers like you describe, you must have one "interesting" business.

RC51, do you have a picture of the fish before it went to the taxidermist? Is it a Northern Bluegill or a Coppernose?

Wide band spacing -- a CNBG

Plus look at the dark scales/bar just above the eyes . That is a CNBG male trait.

What I don't know is if they are real or painted on.

Here are a couple of pictures showing the gular area colors Bill is talking about........... I think

I have a lot to learn about CNBG...hard because we have limited exposure to them up here.

This sure turned into an interesting thread.

Hey guys it's the real fish. It is a CNBG. I have a pic now it's not very good I'll try to find it. I wrapped it and took it straight to him the next day. It was caught in the mid March, but here in Arkansas that's 60's weather already.

RC

RC51, don't keep us in suspense Was it a momma or poppa fish?

Nice fish.. Brought me out of retirement to comment..


well done sir..

BGK

It's a beauty, RC51....hopefully, mine will get there one day.

Ok guys here it is... The pic is terrible of all pics... Not sure why we only have one, and my mom took it quick so it really doesn't do it justice. I believe it was a female, but I am no expert. I am just by the ear tab. Most if not all my males that are close to this size have a very large ear tab.... Sorry pic is so bad...

RC

That sad pic doesn't do that fish justice... ughh I wanted to get her back in the water asap and then she would not swim away. After 15 minutes I called it. Then we totally forgot to take anymore pics..

Cant tell anything from that pic. Did the taxidermist change things on the fish (color , pattern , ear tab etc.) ?

RC you might want to ask the guy that did it for you. If he knows much about fish he might well have noticed when he skinned it if it had eggs or other characteristics. He may know exactly what it was.

I have the same problem when I catch a nice fish that I want to make sure continues to grow. Excited to get it back in the water then sometimes later think of what I should have looked at closer.

No the ear tab was not changed I do distinctly remember some barring and it was light in color as the pic. It was not dark as a lot of my males seem to be. I am sure is was spawning time for some it was warmer then. Or it could have been pre spawn.

Snrub,

That's a good idea I will ask him and see what he says... If he can remember I know he's busy but I'll try.


Sorry guys wish I had a better pic... ugh

Here is what my typical male looks like in my pond. Darker and the ear tabs are quite large.

true true, they can repaint the ear tab but the taxi folk don't change the size of the ear tab right? That would lean us back towards female fish then...?

I do believe it was female. I will ask the Tax. if he remembers if it had eggs in it our not? That may clear this up real quick.... lol

RC

This thread got me thinking. Are there any other male/female fish species that have the more obvious visual and physical markings like BG and HBG?

Maybe redears?

Whatever, that's a beautiful mount RC51.

Tilapia males can have very noticeable differences. You see them in the tank, glance away for a few minutes, and you look back and think it's a completely different fish. Flips like a light switch.

FnC, thanks. I guess part of my question was if the male and female where both solid gray, what other species have physical traits that help determine the sex of the fish without a hand held evaluation.

Just more curious than anything else. It seems like there are more BG/CNBG/HBG questioned than any other species.

I agree it's very hard to tell apart to me if at all SMB/LMB or Pike? Or WE??? I know there are very slight differences unlike the BG which seem pretty easy to spot most of the time. Thanks fire by the way the mount is unreal!! I can't wait till I get the ever elusive 2 pounder one day maybe...... At least I hope I can...

RC

Yes, California Sheephead comes to mind because of the great difference between males and females:

Male:


Female:


But then just to throw a monkey wrench in things, you have this:

California sheephead can transition from a reproductively functional female to a functional male during the course of a lifespan in response to social factors. Protogynous sex change typically follows the size-advantage model, where gonadal transformation occurs once the reproductive potential of an individual would be greater as a male than as a female. The transitional phase takes between two weeks and several months, and steroid hormone concentrations are thought to be related to sex change due to the total degradation of the ovaries and the appearance of testes. The exact timing of the sexual morphogenesis is suppressed by aggressive interactions with dominant males and triggered by the removal of alpha males. There is a period of reproductive inactivity during gonadal remodeling, and the sex change in this species is unidirectional. In later stages of the transition, fish possibly are functionally male, but maintain an intersexual gonadal appearance.

Based on the ear I'd say Female.. based on overall shape Male.. Any pics of it before tax

sorry just seen you had a pic.. It's Female I'd say

Another shot me holding it. This guy Tony did a sweet job!!

I really like that pic RC.

Yes he did do a great job. Wonderful fish.