Beautifully colored bluegill!

[taxi1]

As someone who mounts and paints bluegills the colors on this fish blew me away. This is a pic of a gill that was moved from one pond to another by a friend in Nebraska. The friend is a dentist but selectively breeds bluegills for fast growth and large size. I have some of his broodstock in one of my ponds.

What do you think about these colors!

[scavengerj]

Fantastic looking specimen!!! That is one bull gill there! Nice shoulders on'em and awesome coloring. Shoot, I'd like a repro of one of those!

[sbfPA_Mike]

That is definately a pretty gill. I really get into the coloring of fish. The vibrance is really cool. Thanks for the pic.

Mike

[taxi1]

I might be going out on a limb here but I think bluegills are some of the most beautiful fish we have in North American. They are right up there with pumkinseeds and brook trout although their colors are a little more subtle.

[Townie]

That gilly is sublime-- What beautiful colors!

[taxi1]

Here's a better picture of the same fish. It had been in a dark tank for a short period of time and was being fed krill.

[tjsnipehunter]

Wow! That is a great looking fish. I've thought about trying to mount a bluegill but I don't know if I could ever do justice to a fish that pretty. I just can't get over the purple sides.

Tim

[Luffy]

Absolutely beautiful colors!

[crappie_attitude]

For all you aquarium enthusiasts, a "native species" tank full of bluegill & red ear sunnies are about the easiest to care for and prettiest fish you can find.  Just cover the tank when you're filleting their buddies. 

[taxi1]

For all you aquarium enthusiasts, a "native species" tank full of bluegill & red ear sunnies are about the easiest to care for and prettiest fish you can find.  Just cover the tank when you're filleting their buddies. 

 

When you say red ear sunnies you mean pumpkinseeds right? This one? (Lepomis gibbosus)



You want to be careful with those local names so you don't get them confused with other species as the redear sunfish (Lepomis microlophus) which is this one:

[crappie_attitude]

Yep...under an aquarium light, the blue rays on a pumpkinseed's head and sides really light up. 

[Sandbilly]

A couple of my favorites.







dc

[taxi1]

A couple of my favorites.

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(Image removed from quote.)

(Image removed from quote.)

dc

Sandbilly,

Yeah those Nebraska bluegills are something else! Do you know where Denton is? That is where the bluegill came from in the first and second pictures.

[Sandbilly]

Sandbilly,

Yeah those Nebraska bluegills are something else! Do you know where Denton is? That is where the bluegill came from in the first and second pictures.

Yes sir, Denton is 7 miles SW of Lincoln.

These gills were caught in shallow, natural Sandhill lakes, north central NE. We've been through a severe 7 year drought and lost some awesome fisheries here in the hills. Normal moisture last year and need it to continue for some time before these lakes can fully recover. Not saying there isn't still a 2 lb. gill here or there, but certainly not the way it was in the 80's - 90's.

dc

[taxi1]

Here's some gills a friend in Nebraska has in his ponds. He's grown them up to 2 lbs. and selectively breeds them for fast growth as a hobby. He's a dentist in Lincoln. Dr. Condello.

[Tomhusker]

 If I EVER caught a gill like that, I'd give up fishing because everything else would be a let down.

[crappie_attitude]

Would your friend be interested is selling a few for an aquarium or breeding purposes? 

[taxi1]

Would your friend be interested is selling a few for an aquarium or breeding purposes? 

I could do that as I will be breeding fish this spring ( I brought back 200 of them to Indiana) but the problem is doesn't your state require VHS testing for any fish coming into your state? I sell fish to Bass Pro Shops and they don't even make an exception for a closed system like an aquarium.

[Preacher_man]

 Here's one I caught last nite!!
 

[taxi1]

Here's one I caught last nite!!
  (Image removed from quote.)

Nice!

[panfishman13]

I might be going out on a limb here but I think bluegills are some of the most beautiful fish we have in North American. They are right up there with pumkinseeds and brook trout although their colors are a little more subtle.

i agree there is a bright flashy kind of beauty and then there is the subtle kind, like a large pine forest with a creek on a sunny day, that kind of beautiful.

[Spin]

   In Europe among real hardcore Aquarists several of the pygmy species of American sunfish are very sought after and command quite high prices. Expensive setups on tanks used to keep these fish usuall include chillers as well as filtration and very advanced lighting setups. The Dutch are huge enthusiasts and maintain mind blowingly beautiful aquariums.

                                                                                                                  Spin

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

[gillbuster]

So taxi when do i get to come and fish i live just down the road from you or do you need an apprentice

[taxi1]

So taxi when do i get to come and fish i live just down the road from you or do you need an apprentice

Contact me in a couple of years when they are ready to start coming out.

[Townie]

Here's one I caught last nite!!
  (Image removed from quote.)

Beautiful bull gill 

[taxi1]

Beautiful bull gill 

I love the lavender!

[bigfoot697]

on light tackle they are tough nonstop fighters and as for table fare, theyre right there with perch ,crappies and walleyes.

[taxi1]

on light tackle they are tough nonstop fighters and as for table fare, theyre right there with perch ,crappies and walleyes.

You bet!

What kills me is when some of the locals in Mass scratch their heads when they see me catching them. (Not all locals of course). I tell them how good they are too eat and they can't believe there is enough meat on them to eat. When I tell them I fillet them they are really puzzled. I almost convinced a camp owner to have some fillets I dipped in eggs and Italian bread crumbs and she chickend out at the last minute. You would have thought I was cooking snake.

Actually it's O.K. with me if they don't catch on. It's like I died and went to bluegill heaven when I'm catching them off the beds with my fly rod. In one lake they are so aggressive  I've had them come off the beds in 8 feet of water (they bed deep in that lake due to the 25 foot clarity) and shoot up and hit a popper so hard they almost swallow it.

I was trolling with a friend from Ayer, MA trolling a big black fly on lead core line. He got a bluegill on so big he was sure it was a big trout. When he saw it was a bluegill he was upset. I couldn't believe it.

[GAMBELL]

Here is a WNY gill. 

[taxi1]

Nice!