what type of sunfish?

Ok I don't have a pic of the fish I've been netting. I can get one this weekend. But they are some sort of sunfish. They are very light color still and have like a light violet purple and blue shines to them. I don't know what baby green sunfish look like or the others maybe someone here just knows off the top. Sorry for the crappy description. I am in massachusetts. Most likely a bluegill, green sunfish, or pumpkinseed

Ok I don't have a pic of the fish I've been netting. I can get one this weekend. But they are some sort of sunfish. They are very light color still and have like a light violet purple and blue shines to them. I don't know what baby green sunfish look like or the others maybe someone here just knows off the top. Sorry for the crappy description. I am in massachusetts. Most likely a bluegill, green sunfish, or pumpkinseed

Doing my finest Irate impression: There is a 70% chance it is a Green Sunfish.

Edited by tglassburner, 01 May 2009 - 01:13 PM.

I'm on the blackberry so I can't really help out with searching for a pic. Do u have one. Its funny how pretty green sunfish are when they are young.

Look through http://gallery.nanfa.org, especially Brian Zimmerman's gallery for juvenile sunfish.

Check your regulations as in most states you can't net game fish. But I think some of those NE states allow netting of certain species for bait.

Based on your description of violet iridescence, I would guess bluegill, as I commonly see a purple color on the young'ns moreso than any other sunfish I've seen. Greens have it too sometimes, but if they're longer than maybe an inch, the shape of the face will give it away.

Based on your description of violet iridescence, I would guess bluegill, as I commonly see a purple color on the young'ns moreso than any other sunfish I've seen. Greens have it too sometimes, but if they're longer than maybe an inch, the shape of the face will give it away.

def look like bluegills. thanks

Doing my finest Irate impression: There is a 70% chance it is a Green Sunfish.

It's actually 90%. Drew said so!

I'm in a similar situation, I netted some sunfish and can't firure out which species it is. I looked through Brian Zimmerman's Photos and I'm still not sure. I'mup in the air between red ear sunfish and bluegills. do any of you have an good guesses? Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Matt

That group of small sunfish looks to be 100% bluegill.

There's a sharpie in there, too. Looks like it's about average size using juvie bluegills for comparison. Some people call them "magic markers," too.

Cool, thanks! Just out of curiousity, how can you tell? I'll be in the same boat next time and I'd like to be able to tell on the spot which species is which. By the way, it's not every day you get a "magic marker" in a cast net- it takes some real skill.

Thanks again!
Matt

First, the opercle will be flexible at the end. Look at the pectoral fins-when you press them forward and against the eye, they should go past the eye. They are also pointed. There's a spot on posterior end of the soft dorsal fin. The gill rakers are long and thin.

What I see when I look at them is a unique body shape-a kind of pinched head. The pattern is also a give-away for bluegill. The traits above, should get you there, though.

The book Freshwater Fishes of Texas gives lists of traits to look at in fishes for quick field identification. After trudging through the Hubbs Key (Texas Fish)as an intern and student, I learned this method for quick field ID. Also, you can find a good key with illustrated traits in books like the The Fishes of Missouri (one of my favorites). While I'm at it, here's an online key for sunfish ID by the Mayden Lab http://bio.slu.edu/m.../sun_key/1.html .

After a while, it's easy to forget why you know a fish is what it is. It's like recognizing a face. You can't really explain how you know who it is, but you can just tell.

Edited by rjmtx, 22 July 2009 - 11:02 AM.

First, the opercle will be flexible at the end. Look at the pectoral fins-when you press them forward and against the eye, they should go past the eye. They are also pointed. There's a spot on posterior end of the soft dorsal fin. The gill rakers are long and thin.

What I see when I look at them is a unique body shape-a kind of pinched head. The pattern is also a give-away for bluegill. The traits above, should get you there, though.

The book Freshwater Fishes of Texas gives lists of traits to look at in fishes for quick field identification. After trudging through the Hubbs Key (Texas Fish)as an intern and student, I learned this method for quick field ID. Also, you can find a good key with illustrated traits in books like the The Fishes of Missouri (one of my favorites). While I'm at it, here's an online key for sunfish ID by the Mayden Lab http://bio.slu.edu/m.../sun_key/1.html .

After a while, it's easy to forget why you know a fish is what it is. It's like recognizing a face. You can't really explain how you know who it is, but you can just tell.

Fantastic! that'll be very helpful!

Matt