Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Evaluating and adjusting fish populations Male BG: Mature?

That looks like a really nice, healthy immature male. I am, however, going mostly by color, and it seems like the color in that image isn't coming through quite right.

Male. Real nice fish, btw. The kind I'd like to catch.

David, are those reddish spots on the tail reflections or some kind of sores?

Male BG . Washed out colors happen a lot .

Thanks for the quick responses, guys. I was thinking male as well, so I'm glad to know I'm at least on the right path to making semi-accurate guesses.

Bruce and Eric- I am glad you both mentioned color. First, the camera used is actually a video camera that also takes still pictures. The video footage is great, but still pictures can be a bit fuzzy and are not the camera's strongest feature. I think part of the washed-out color is due to this. I also remember that fish being a bit more washed-out than the other males I caught. The others had the beautiful yellow belly and were much darker bodied.

Bruce- I most definitely defer to your expertise, but I am curious as to why you think the fish is immature. I thought b/c of size alone it should be a mature fish, but then again I noticed that you thought one of Eric's BG on the previous page of this thread was immature, despite its being 9". What features alert you to immaturity? A lack of stark coloration or girth?

Theo- Thanks for the compliment. The pond that this BG came from is actually BG-heavy, so we will be harvesting fish of this size in the fall. Yum yum. I remember those red spots, so they are not reflections. They could very well be sores, but I was hoping they might also be the result of spawning activity. I suppose they are too far forward and high on the fish's tail to be from fanning, or could that still be a possibility? The fish seem to be healthy, and I don't recall noticeable sores on other fish from that pond.

Thanks for the help guys, I'm still learning a ton.

That's the same thought I had when I asked about the sores - that they might be spawning induced. I would score this BG as immature if he was from my pond at this time of year, but as Bruce has pointed out, there is a lot of local variation in appearance.

I would LOVE to have immature BG that nice looking already. Still working on it.

You notice I did not say it was immature. The red spots could be from spawning. That is common but I can't see them well enough to see if it looks like scrapes or red bumps/sores (red sore disease). We all know that BG males can spawn early in life/size in BG heavy ponds. Also that will occur in newly stocked ponds ( those stocked with small BG 1 year ago). I think I knew the ponds status via prior conversations. Is that fish representative of the year class of biggest BG in the pond and is it over 1 year old? If so then in the deep south under those conditions that BG would be a spawner. Also if it is representative and you have BG yoy present then I would also guess it spawned this summer.

Eric, the more I study the picture, the more I am sure that BG was stocked last fall at 4-5". The fish is representative of the year class of the second biggest BG in the pond, since we stocked BG about 6-8 mos. ahead of that class as the first class. I believe that fish should be right at 1 y/o. We definitely have BG yoy present in that pond...too many, in fact, for the LMB to keep up.

The age makes me think it may not have spawned, and it may indeed be immature. On the other hand, the abundance of yoy and the fact that it is a BG-heavy pond makes me think it might have spawned, as you indicated. Very interesting.

A 4-5 in BG from last fall would be capable of spawning this summer (it would be a year old) unless it was suppressed by one or more factors such as lack of spawning areas or many larger male BG or poor condition due to lack of food.

WRT the BG stocked 6 mths earlier what size were those BG when they were stocked? If they were 2in when stocked then they are all the same year class. BG grow quickly , mature and grow old in a hurry down here. A 5 year old BG is old in a southern location while it is just reaching its prime up north. From a 2006 study :


Differences in Population Metrics between Bluegill and Redear

Sunfish: Implications for the Effectiveness of Harvest Restrictions

STEVE M. SAMMONS*

Department of Fisheries, Auburn University, 203 Swingle Hall, Auburn, Alabama 36849, USA

DAVID G. PARTRIDGE

Georgia Department of Natural Resources, 109 Hatchery Access Road, Dawson, Georgia 39842, USA

MICHAEL J. MACEINA

Department of Fisheries, Auburn University, 203 Swingle Hall, Auburn, Alabama 36849, USA

North American Journal of Fisheries Management 26:777–787, 2006


Copyright by the American Fisheries Society 2006

DOI: 10.1577/M05-159.1


Many studies from northern systems have collected

bluegills as old as age 10–12 (Goedde and Coble 1981;

Otis et al. 1998; Schneider 1999); however, we rarely

collected bluegills older than age 5 in our reservoirs.

Ott et al. (2003) found few bluegills older than age 2 in

a Texas impoundment and attributed this to fast growth

rates and associated high mortality rates. Bluegill

harvest was assumed to be moderate because only 10–

12% of annual effort was directed at bluegills (Ott et al.

2003). However, Belk and Hales (1993) found bluegills

as old as age 9 in a South Carolina power plant

cooling lake where no fishing was allowed, so angling

may affect longevity of bluegills, even at moderate

rates of exploitation (Goedde and Coble 1981). In

contrast to bluegills, redear sunfish older than age 5

were common in our study reservoirs, and fish as old as

age 9 were collected in each reservoir.

Fish longevity has been linked to natural mortality

rates (Hoenig 1983), and the estimated natural

mortality of bluegills was generally greater than that

of redear sunfish in all three reservoirs.

Thanks for the info, Eric. That is an interesting study, seeing as how we have BG, RES, and CNBG in that pond. I wonder what the average age of CNBG in those same study lakes would be. I was surprised by the "few bluegills older than age 2 in a Texas impoundment..."--Wow! Without regard to population dynamics, angling, or predation, I'm guessing that I can expect the RES to live longest, followed by CNBG and BG.

I haven't been present for all stockings (will check with the 'ol man), but to my knowledge all BG were 3-5" with possibly a few 6-7" at the time of their respective stockings. The RES were only 3-4" and have been stocked twice, both times with BG. The CNBG were stocked first at 1-3" along with FH in March of 2006 after pond had been drained, dredged, and refilled, and then CNBG were stocked again between two BG RES/stockings (all rotated in spring/fall). I hope that makes sense.

I "caught" a few RES yoy during primrose raking, so I know they spawned. Given the abundance of BG yoy, it seems like the original BG stockers and the ones stocked with the pictured BG spawned. Interestingly, I have yet to sample CNBG from that pond, but I'd bet they're there. I'd love to sample the BG, RES, and CNBG in one outing someday, if the RES cooperate.

Sorry for the long-winded post...I never imagined our little BG pond would be such a blast!

We think a lot alike. I love those multispecies/same day things.

Last week I fished my pond and caught a 22 inch HSB, 7 inch RES (my first at my pond thanks to Yolkie), 7 inch black crappie, 11 inch yellow perch and 5 bluegill from 9-10 inches as well as a 14 inch smallmouth. I had another day similar to that but now quite as good. That really turns my crank!