The Hybrid Bluegill/Sunfish- What You May Not Know

If you fish in Missouri, you have probably caught bluegill either on accident or on purpose.  In fact, the sunfish is the most popular species among fishermen in the United States.  This is mostly due to the fact that they can be found in waters from Florida to Minnesota and from coast to coast.  There are lots of them, their diet is diverse, and they are usually pretty east to catch.  If you add these characteristics together, then you can see why many fly fishermen target bluegill.  Bluegill will hit a wide range of flies, fight hard, and an angler can catch a lot of fish in a day.  

Well if you like bluegill, then let me introduce you to the genetically enhanced terminator-like version; the hybrid sunfish/bluegill.  This little devil is the offspring of a male bluegill and a female green sunfish.  While there are more than 20 combinations of hybrid sunfish that have been discovered in the wild and many more combinations created in hatcheries, the aforementioned combination is widely accepted as the most popular for a few reasons.  For one, the overwhelming majority of hybrid offspring are male (80-90%) which keeps ponds or lakes from being overpopulated with hybrids.  Second, hybrids are more aggressive than bluegill or green sunfish.  This means that they will grow bigger and grow faster because they eat more, and thus they are easier to catch.  Sounds like a deal too good to be true doesn't it?  The only drawback is that these fish will need to be restocked occasionally due to limited reproduction.

If you have never caught a hybrid bluegill/sunfish, then you are in for a treat.  Last weekend I had the honor to attend a graduation party of a fine young man which just happened to be located at James A. Reed Conservation Area.  An opportunity to wet a line was not only available but also encouraged.  Like I said, he's a good kid.  I had the chance to catch a few hybrids and was reminded how aggressive they are and how hard they fight.  I caught all of my fish on an olive wooly bugger but you can catch them on jigs, nymphs, dries, or poppers.  A few years ago, I even had the chance to land a hybrid that went almost a 1 and 1/2 pounds.

Finally, some anglers have a difficult time identifying the differences between a bluegill and hybrid bluegill/sunfish.  Here's a few key characteristics.

1. Hybrids have bigger mouths than bluegill.  They get the mouth of a green sunfish which helps them obtain more and larger prey, and consequently makes it easier to unhook them when caught.

2. Green sunfish have an electric or fluorescent blue around their mouths and trace amounts throughout their bodies, but hybrids seem to have more blue and more clearly defined fluorescence.

3. Hybrids seem to have the body profile of a bluegill and the marking of a green sunfish.  Specifically, they have more yellow and white trim in their tails and fins.  Bluegill don't have this characteristic, but green sunfish do.

Green Sunfish

Bluegill

As usual, the Missouri Department of Conservation has done an outstanding job putting out information about this species.  If you are interested in learning more about these hybrids, you should check out the link below.  It also offers stocking tips and information in case you have a pond/lake that would make for good hybrid habitat and different fishing opportunities.  This is also the source of much of the data and statistics that I used for this post.

http://mdc.mo.gov/sites/default/files/resources/2010/05/hybridsunfishponds_4-2012.pdf