Another Stormwater Management Pond

[DanMarino]

Had about 20 minutes to fish. Went to a stormwater management pond at a local school. The habitat is poor and the pond is always very shallow. I know the pond has reproducing bluegills or sunfish. Not sure exactly the species.

Made one lap around the pond and caught nothing. Saw some fish movement near one corner of the pond and decided to downsize my fly significantly. Downsizing paid off with this heavy fish. I hope it spawns and makes more little ones that will grow up.

What species do you think it is? The water was stained, so this fish was pale.

[Mark]

I think it's a female bluegill still in her winter colors.

When the water gets close to 70 degrees she'll look for a mate or two or three...Fidelity is not an attribute in bluegills.

[bignose]

Mark hit the nail on the head, female Bluegill.
In a small pond with limited habitat, the fish will quite often be stunted, that may be one of the bigger fish in the pond.

[Mark]

Bluegills have fascinating reproduction rituals that include:

Colony mating – Bluegill males build nests in colonies.

Sometimes, threesomes mate – Two males and one female

There are three kinds of bluegill males:

1. Big colorful males with orange bellies that make nests, protect the eggs, and guard the baby bluegills until they are ready to leave the nest.
2. Small males known as “Sneakers” that join a mating couple until he is chased away by the dominant male.
3. Medium sized males called “Mimics” that have the faded colors of females and join a mating couple in the nest. The dominant male assumes the Mimic is another female and may not chase him from the nest.

Note: Sneakers and Mimics do not make nests. Also, the nest building males are not only the largest bluegills, but they are also the oldest. That stands to reason. However, in another quirk of nature, those large males were delayed in reaching sexual maturity. They may be 5 or 6 years old before they start to breed. Therefore, they are not Sneakers or Mimics that have grown up. Sneakers and Mimics will never grow as large as the dominant males. Also, Sneakers and Mimics have shorter lifespans. Dominant males may live over 10 years.

Threesomes happen about 15% of the time in a bluegill nesting colony.

Therefore, most of the pairings are one male and one female at a time. However, when that pair completes their sex act, the male will chase the female from the nest. She will visit another male’s nest and lay more eggs -- thousands of eggs. Males will stay on their nests and try to attract additional females to visit to add more eggs to the nest.

And yes, size matters to a female bluegill. She is attracted to the largest and most colorful bluegills in the colony.

Finally, colony mating usually begins and is completed in one day. But not all male bluegills in a body of water create colonies at the same time. So, while water temperatures near 70 degrees trigger reproductive activity, it may continue throughout the summer in a body of water with several bluegill colonies being created in a season.

Eggs usually hatch in 2 days. Babies swim from the nest in about a week. Then the male will abandon the nest.

Sorry for the long post. This info was fresh in my mind. I covered it in my bluegill presentation a week or so ago.

[DanMarino]

Fun information Mark. I know a shopping center storm water management pond that has nothing but green sunfish. This school pond seems to have nothing but bluegills. Another one close by has largemouth bass and bluegills, but I've wondered if there are crappie or catfish in any of these ponds. I can't remember if any of these ponds have both bluegills and green sunfish? Kinda seems like they have one or the other.

I'm pretty sure I catch red breasted sunfish in the rivers and streams, with some bluegills and green sunfish mixed in. I'll have to go back and look at my photos.

[Mark]

Tom,

I'd like to know how fish become established in shopping center drainage ponds.

Indeed you catch redbreast sunfish in moving water. Note that their bodies are more streamlined and suitable for faster moving waters than bluegills. I catch small ones in the upper Patapsco and larger redbreasts in the upper Potomac while fishing for smallmouth.

Bluegills are members of the Genus Lepomis. It includes 13 distinct sunfish species including green sunfish, redbreast sunfish, pumpkinseeds, readear sunfish, longear sunfish, etc. Seven of the 13 species are found in Maryland.

The Genus can hybridize in nature although it does not happen not frequently. Hybrids can be difficult to identify but twenty-two different Lepomis hybrids have been observed in nature. Note that there are 78 Lepomis hybrid possibilities given that there 13 members of the Genus.

Here's a fish that I'm pretty sure is a Lepomis hybrid. I caught it last May in Delaware Millpond:

IMG_5310.jpg

I do not believe it's a bluegill, redear, or redbreast and it's certainly not a pumkinseed. I cannot specifically identify it so I assume it is a hybrid.

The most common Lepomis hybrid occurs in hatcheries, not nature, where the offspring of a male bluegill and female green sunfish are created. The resulting fish grows faster, gets larger and is more agressive than either parent. Also, 80 to 90 percent of them are males. That gender imbalance prevents them from overrunning a pond where they are introduced. When you see fishing derbys for kids held in ponds around the state, most likely those ponds have been stocked with bluegill x green sunfish crosses.

If you do find a pond with green sunfish and bluegills in it, visit it often. Maybe in such a small body of water, those large aggressive hybrids will result.

[bignose]

Mark, I think that is a just a honking big Bluegill, not a hybrid. 91/4 inches is chunk and probably a blast on the fly rod.
The color makes me think that it is a female, the males have bolder colors on their breasts.

Green Sunfish and Pumkinseeds are like the Jack Russel Terriers or Chihuahua's of the fish world.
They are pugnacious, aggressive and don't know they are small.
They are also among the prettiest non-trout native freshwater fish.

I introduced some Patapsco Red Breasted Sunfish into a small farm pond, and they interbred with the resident bluegills.
They nested in slightly deeper water.
Within 3 generations they had pretty much reverted back to looking like normal bluegills.

[dsaavedra]

Mark, that fish is a bluegill. I have spent a lot of time studying Leopmis species and fish ID in general is a minor hobby of mine - I don't see any characteristics that would indicate it's a hybrid. I think it's a female bluegill, specifically. I kept one in an aquarium for 12-13 years (well over their expected lifespan) and at times she would take on a dark purple hue with a dusky, pale golden chest like your fish. That fish grew to enormous size, it was about 12 inches when it died, maybe a little larger. I've also kept a breeding pair of pumpkinseeds (I never made an effort to raise the fry, but they'd spawn once or twice a year), a terribly aggressive redbreast sunfish, and a terribly aggressive green sunfish. Sunfish make entertaining pets - sometimes I miss keeping fish then I remember what a hassle aquarium maintenance is and I'm glad I no longer have any aquariums.

Tom - when I was in school I would fish one of the stormwater management ponds on campus and all that I would catch were small crappie. It was weird, that's not a fish I'd expect to find in a 200ft long stormwater pond.

[DanMarino]

Spring has sprung. Here's a different stormwater management pond.https://youtube.com/shorts/g-wSMAaZyaE?feature=share

[Mark]

Stu, Dave,

Thank you for your fish ID help. The other thing that threw me about that fish was its elongated shape. It's not a roundshaped big male like this guy:



And yes Stu, I thought that purple fish was a bass after it hit. It put up a respectable fight on a 5 wt. rod.

Interesting info about your aquarium sunfish, Dave. Fisheries scientists believe one of the roles of the Sneakers and Mimics in the spawning process is to distract the alpha males just enough during spawning so they do not harm the females. The males are hyper aggressive during spawning and also afterward in defending their nests.

Tom -- Good job catching those bluegills through the pond slime.

[DanMarino]

Tom -- Good job catching those bluegills through the pond slime.

Mark, the slime is pretty gross and a pain at that one pond. I felt bad for the bluegill that came up in a wad of green stuff. haha.