What Kind of SunFish is this?!?!?

[drolfson]

Thanks for the input!!

[Bluegill222]

Looks to me like you might just have a bluegill/green sunfish hybrid. The two hybridize pretty readily in water where they are both present. They tend to have the shape of the bluegill, but the growth rate and pugnacity of the green. This one's looks like it has some of the coloring typical of greens as well. I could of course be wrong, but it looks like the hybrids we get around here. The state fishery guys I know say you can count on about 2% of the overall population of these guys to be hybrids when they are both present.

[Buddy Sanders]

I agree.

There is definitely some greeney in that one, but it's a hybrid of some sort...

Buddy

[SKershaw]

10 inches, eh? That's pretty sweet. Did you have another RickZ lunch?

Dang, it's rough being back in school!

Pretty looking fish!

[Greg Hunsicker]

How was the mouth? Was it larger than normal? Might be a Warmouth.

Greg

PS: Nice Fish!!!

[BassYakker]

"Green Sunfish" (?)


http://www.ngpc.state.ne.us/fishing/....asp?FishID=50

Nebraska has a great fish and game page.

[Bluegill222]

BassYakker--
Nebraska does indeed have a great site for fish ID. I've used it on several occasions. The problem that can sometimes occur is that almost every species of sunfish can and often will hybridize with any other in the same watershed. We had a heck of a time last summer classifying a critter we found here in one of our city ponds that turned out to be a green sunfish/longear cross. Didn't really look like either of it's parents and definitely wasn't in the guide book. Go figure.

[drolfson]

Thanks! I'll bet you guys are correct, that it is a bluegill/green sunfish hybrid.

No, I did not catch it. I just saw someone else's post of it and wondered what flavor it is. Now I gotta follow that guy and find out where he fishes. . . . . . .

[mashtom]

It can get confusing sometimes with all the different hybrid and mixes, and all the regional names for them. I have a pond I fish that has only Pumpkinseeds in it and there are times they look like 2-3 of the others. In the spring there is no mistaking them, they are very colorful.

[PanFisher]

Our local Game and Fish will stock the Bluegill/Green Sunfish Hybrid into our Urban System lakes with the idea they will not over populate. This does look like one of them.

Interesting is that with this hybrid will breed but the output is 99% female so only a few generations can survive. I'm not sure I understand the advantage of stocking something that does not survive but I suppose that is the wisdom of government.

If you look at http://flyanglersonline.com/features/re ... rc319.html you will find my article about Urban Fishing where I refer to these fish with a bit of over dramatization but not far off from the truth.