Pond Boss Forums FISH & FISHING Sunfish-Including Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass Albino Bluegill

Is there such a thing as an albino bluegill? I have been working on managing and have started feeding the BG. I feed daily around an hour before sunset. I throw some feed out in deeper water and throw some only a few feet from the bank. I can see the BG pretty well near the bank. Yesterday I saw a white fish. It is hard to see detail but there is no doubt this fish was not normally colored. They move fast but as far as I could tell it was shaped like a bluegill and was the same size. I have been feeding about a 6 weeks and this is the first time I've seen it. My wife also saw it.

Is there such a thing or is it possible I have some kind of invasive species somehow. I have LMB, BG, and recently stalked some CC. I have never seen nor caught anything but LMB and BG.

BG can change color rapidly from dark to light and back (colors change also). There can be light (whitish) BG but not true albinos. You are likely seeing BG.

Thanks - that is interesting. I was pretty confident that what I saw was a BG. Can they change back and forth or is their coloring pretty well fixed for each individual fish?

They'll change color. I have noticed this most catching dark colored fish and then keeping them in a white bucket - they lighten way up.

I have also caught BG that were blind in one eye (had a big nematode inside it) that were completely different colors on the right and left sides of their body - I assume due to the partial blindness.

Someone posted on here a while back, about a golden colored bluegill that would visit the fish feeder often.

I recently caught a BG that had the coloration of a black crappie. Neat fish.