As to the idea that sneaker male bluegill will ruin the genetics of a population with or without the presence of mature males - here again, this is simply specious reasoning. When mature males are present - as the excerpt posted above readily notes - they run off a good portion of the sneaker males and thereby greatly diminish their impact on the genetics. When the mature males are removed, the sneakers get free rein. And it's not just a matter of which males fertilize the eggs - as I noted, some biologists believe that many males in a population will delay sexual maturity when there are larger males present, but will mature at a much smaller size - as little as 3" - when said large males are absent. I have personally witnessed this, more than once, just in the past three years. But of course I know nothing at all about bluegill and all of the ones I've posted photos of were just luck; it's basic common sense that someone who only fishes for the species a handful of times a year, and has never managed it in dozens of waters, is going to know far more about said species than someone who has studied the species for over thirty years.