I was just down at a local river, testing out some tiny little hooks. They work really well. I caught a few baby sunfish, and a couple of decent-sized juveniles.
I found something I haven't seen before... a blue sunfish. And I don't mean bluegill-type blue, I mean bright blue, even brighter than in the pic. Has anyone seen a sunfish like this before? I've definitely never caught one this color, or anywhere near it. I think it might be a bluegill... I'm not sure. We only have bluegill and longear sunnies in this river, plus maybe a few Rio Grande cichlids, and I'm pretty sure this isn't a Rio Grande.
Here's a pic of the blue baby, plus another one I found in the same spot. I'm fairly sure the duller one is a longear, and I think the stripe pattern means the gorgeous one is a bluegill. I didn't want to put him back, he was so pretty, but I think he'd dull down and possibly be bullied to death in my 65g.
Baby sunfish comparison.png 530.85KB
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