Bluegill ID

I caught this from our local bass pro pond which supposively only has coppernose bluegill and redear sunfish as the only sunfish in the pond... But to me it looks like a normal bluegill (don't think I've ever caught a coppernose... Always thought they were a much darker fish)... I caught a good 40 plus of these along with redears on Monday and I'm excited by how fast they are growing... Lots of fun on ultra light fenwick 2lb line and trout magnets...

You might not have enough tanin in the water to give em the dark black coloring. The head and and coloring between head and dorsal fin look like a copperhead to me. Just not a dark one. Shoot a pm to tnpondmanager I bet he would know fer sure.

It's a pond they built last year at bass pro and it seems like the water is always dingy from runoff (not sure if that has anything to do with it)... They have fish feeders around it that feed them and they are growing super fast... Gives me something to do after wasting time at bass pro lol

Not to hijack this thread, but I was wondering if there was a thread or site with a simple bluegill ID page. I've fished for them for years and have never worried once about the specie, though now I'm curious.

Of course, out here in CA they may look different than other places, but some key features might be helpful.


-Alexander

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Originally Posted by fast14riot

Not to hijack this thread, but I was wondering if there was a thread or site with a simple bluegill ID page.

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Various links have been posted in other threads. You could do a search for them, but a Google search would probably be quicker.

Looks like a Coppernose from dirty or deep water...

Just curious ledhed do you think they will darken up much since the water is usually stained or do you think that will probably be the normal coloration?

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Originally Posted by deathb4disco

Various links have been posted in other threads. You could do a search for them, but a Google search would probably be quicker.

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Thanks, I'll have to do some more searching, many of the links I found simply list species and you click on them to see a photo. I was hoping to find one page with pics of all common specie together for quick ID.


-Alexander

It looks like the coppernose from my pond. The water in my pond has low light penetration on purpose to prevent vegetation from growing and is deep causing the lack of color. More sunlight more and darker colors, as far as I know.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fast14riot

Thanks, I'll have to do some more searching, many of the links I found simply list species and you click on them to see a photo. I was hoping to find one page with pics of all common specie together for quick ID.

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This was posted in a previous thread, but I just typed "sunfish" into Google, and it popped right up. There are loads of similar sites.

TWRA - Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency - Sunfish Identification

I have always had the impression that copperheads were older bluegills. Is this not true? Do we have copperhead bluegills and just plane ole bluegills? Inquiring minds want to know.

Here ya go Yelim
Catching giant St. Johns River "Copperheads" with Bill Byrd

VaCM - not the BG expert but I think they would color up with clearer water.....

Lot of info there. Bout what I thought. Didn't know we had our own gills. I won't catch any more bluegills, just Copperheads.