Beautiful Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus): North America's Year-round Bounteous, Bountiful, Brave Freshwater Fish

The bluegill always appears high on any list relating to fish. Some devotees in fact consider the bluegill as a model of fish beauty. Others describe it as a participant in the best fishing experiences. Still others respect it as a source of healthy, tasty fish dishes. Which if any of these statements is true?

Where does the bluegill get its name? There is no record of the individual who first thought up bluegill as a common name in English for the fish. Nor is there any information on the place of the naming. But the reason for the name clearly relates to the blue scales at the bottom of the fish’s gills.

There nevertheless is a record of the scientific naming of the fish. Turkish-born biologist, lecturer and publisher Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz (October 22, 1783-September 18, 1840) permanently moved from Europe to the United States of America in 1815. In 1819, he received a professorship in botany from Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky. From the very beginning of his seven-year-tenure, he set aside time for collecting and recording the state’s animal and plant life. It was in the course of such travels that he named the bluegill in 1819.

Where is the bluegill’s homeland? The bluegill is a North American native. It may be found from coastal Virginia south to Florida and west to Texas and into northeastern Mexico. It also may be found from western Minnesota northeasterly to Maine and Canada as well as southeasterly to Arkansas. In fact, transporting and stocking during the 19^th and 20^th centuries mean that the bluegill also can be found throughout the lower 48 U.S. states.

Within its homeland, the bluegill looks for the following living conditions:

· Comfort zone of about 320 square feet (30 square meters) - outside of spawning time – for bluegill schools of 10 to 20 members which also may include other fish species;

· Cover among aquatic plants and weed beds;

· Coves, open water 12 to 20 feet (3.66 to 6 meters) deep, and undercut banks during hot summer months;

· Filtered or indirect sunlight, such as in deeper water and under overhanging vegetation;

· Mixed fresh and sea waters, such as those of the Chesapeake Bay;

· Shallow waters of sluggish creeks, lakes and ponds as well as slow-moving backwaters and pools in quiet, small rivers and streams during spawning;

· Water temperatures ranging between 60 and 80 °Fahrenheit (16 and 27 °Celsius).

How do you know that it is a bluegill? The bluegill exhibits the following characteristics:

Head:

Dark blue shading of the chin and both sides of the head;

Inner ears;

Large eyes conducive to good day and light vision;

Small mouth with small teeth for ingesting food after being suctioned in by the throat and filtered by gill rakers;

Body:

Flat, laterally compressed, slender body;

Lateral line running lengthwise from the gill covers to the tail base, for detecting movement, pressure changes, and vibrations;

Mature body length of 4 to 12 inches (10.16 to 30.48 centimeters), with a known maximum of just over 16 inches (40.64 centimeters);

Mature body weight of ½ to 1 or 2 pounds (0.23 to 0.45 or 0.91 kilograms), with a known maximum of 4 pounds 12 ounces (2.15 kilograms);

Reddish-orange or yellow belly, with brown, copper, lavender or orange sides and dark olive green back and upper sides;

Rough scales due to toothed margins;

5 to 9 vertical bars on the sides;

Yellow abdomen and breast, the latter of which turns bright orange on breeding males;

Fins, Rays and Spines:

10 to 12 anal fin rays and 3 anal spines;

6 to 13 dorsal fin spines with a dark spot at the base and 11 to 12 dorsal rays;

Flexible, large pectoral fins for rapid deceleration;

Notched caudal fin for fast forward movement, directional change, and acceleration;

12 to 13 pectoral rays.

What is the bluegill’s diet? The bluegill fry, or newly hatched fish, begin their first few days of feeding by consuming the yolk sac of their own eggs. They then feed on plankton (Greek: πλαγκτός, planktos, “errant” and therefore “drifter”), rotifers and water fleas (order Cladocera). They progress to aquatic insects and midge (suborder Nematocera) larvae.

The adult bluegill eats in the morning and evening. It feeds on the aquatic insect larvae of caddisflies (order Trichoptera), dragonflies (infraorder Anisoptera) and mayflies (order Ephemeroptera) as well as crayfish (superfamilies Astacoidea, Parastacoidea), leeches (subclass Hirudinea), small fish, and snails (class Gastropoda). During lean years, the bluegill includes in its diet aquatic vegetation as well as bluegill eggs and young.

Additionally, the benevolent bluegill includes among its regular food sources irritants to its fellow freshwater inhabitants. For example, it is a consumer of external parasites. In fact, the bounteous bluegill may ingest edible parasites from willing fish, manatees (Trichechus spp), and turtles (order Testudines).

When does the bluegill spawn? Bluegill spawning begins when water temperatures warm to around 70 °F (21.1 °C). For example, it therefore begins in May and ends in August or September in Virginia. It can end earlier in the cooler north. It may run longer in the warmer south, such as from February to October in Florida.

But bluegill males first build nests, in communal series of 40 to 50, on the gravelly or sandy bottoms of the water 1 to 6 feet (0.30 to 1.83 meters) deep. They create the nests by fanning their fins until a rounded depression 6 to 12 inches (15.25 to 30.48 centimeters) is formed. The nest is where the spawning takes place and from which the male chases the female once the greyish, sticky eggs, which measure 0.04 to 0.06 inches (1.09 to 1.40 millimeters) in diameter, are fertilized and laid. The spawning, which is possible as early as the fourth to the twelfth months in a bluegill’s life, may produce 1,000 to 100,000 eggs at a time.

The male bluegill becomes a stay-at-home-dad. He fans and guards the eggs until they hatch in 2 to 5 days. He remains at the nest until the transparent larvae, each of which measures about 0.79 inches (20 millimeters), can swim to nearby feeding grounds about a week after hatching. Once there, the bluegill young may count on 2 to 3 years for maturing and another 3 to 6 or even 9 years before dying. But at the same time, the bountiful bluegill young may not make even the lower limits of that life expectancy in the face of overpopulation and predation.

What preys on a bluegill? Birds, fish, mammals, people, and turtles can be predators of the numerous bluegill young as well as of the small adult bluegill. Birds include herons (family Ardeidae) when the bluegill is in shallow water. Fish include largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), muskellunge (Esox masquinongy), northern pike (Esox lucius), yellow perch (Perca flavescens), and walleye (Sander vitreus) as well as other, larger bluegill. Mammals may include otters (subfamily Lutrinae).

Anglers as well as fly and ice fishers are the main predators of the large adult bluegill. They easily get the attention of the bluegill under the following conditions:

Times:

Morning and evening in spring, summer and winter;

Morning, mid-day and evening in fall;

Places:

Deep and shallow water in fall;

Deep water in winter;

Shallow water in spring and early summer;

Water 10+ feet (3.05 meters) deep in late summer;

Methods:

Lightweight gear (rod, reel, line, hook) for the lightly nibbling bluegill;

Lures of minimal movement and in the form of artificial bait (colored bright green, orange, red, yellow); human food (cheese, corn, white bread); or live bait (crickets, flies, grasshoppers, maggots, minnow, redworms and waxworms).

The bountiful bluegill bravely fights for its life. But ultimately and ironically, it also is uniquely benevolent in cooperating with human predators. Specifically, the bounteous bluegill is completely indiscriminate in responding to the range of angling and fishing methods, from the simplest to the most sophisticated. Bob Gooch in fact observes: “A cane pole and bobber and a can of garden worms can be just as productive as the most expensive fly-fishing tackle.” (p. 168)

What are the uses of a bluegill? Environmental research, fishing and food are the main uses of the bluegill. In terms of environmental education and scientific research, the bluegill is a popular subject for classroom study, field trips, and science experiments. In fact, Eric Dibble of the Mississippi State University Department of Wildlife and Fisheries notes that “The bluegill is the most intensely studied freshwater fish in the US and is considered to be a ‘lab rat’ by fish biologists.” (p. 9)

In terms of fishing and food, the vitamin D-rich, year-round available bluegill often is the first fish which is caught, prepared and tasted. The memory of the brave bluegill’s passionate resistance to capture usually lasts a lifetime. The same may be said of the tender ease of the bluegill’s subsequent scaling, gutting, filleting and consuming as long as the fish is kept in cold water or on ice between the catching and the processing.

What is the bluegill’s future? The bluegill achieves name recognition throughout North America. Indeed, the bluegill has a pivotal role in the personal and professional lives of many of its human predators. That role increasingly is challenged by overfishing and waste; overpopulation, reduced food, and stunted growth; and pollution of water bodies.

The future nevertheless beckons the bluegill. The challenge to the bluegill lifestyle and lifespan is taking place during a time of growing environmental awareness, scientific advancement and technological achievement. No one is going to let go of the iconic bluegill: epitome of the outdoors, example of healthy delicacies, and source of scientific progress.

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the Internet; as well as to Stessily for the original artwork included below.

My special thanks to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and U.S. Department of Agriculture for the professionalism which is evinced in the high-caliber data and images which they make available in print and on the internet.

My special thanks also to Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Texas State University-San Marcos, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, and Fairfax County Public Schools of Northern Virginia for the high caliber of their online resources.

"Bluegill Lepomis macrochirus." EFISH: The Virtual Aquarium of The Department of Fisheries & Wildlife Sciences of Virginia Tech. http://cnre.vt.edu/efish/families/bluegill.html (Last accessed November 9, 2011)

"Bluegill Lepomis macrochirus." Fairfax County Public Schools Study of Northern Virginia Ecology: Organism Menu. http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/bluegill.htm (Last accessed November 9, 2011)

"Bluegill Lepomis macrochirus." Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission (PFBC) Gallery of Pennsylvania Fishes Chapter 22: Sunfishes, Family Centrarchidae. http://www.fish.state.pa.us/pafish/fishhtms/chap22.htm (Last accessed November 9, 2011)

Dibble, Eric. “Impact of Invasive Aquatic Plants on Fish.” In: Gettys, Lyn A., William T. Haller and Marc Bellaud. (Eds.). A Best Management Practices Handbook. Marietta, GA: Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Foundation, 2009. http://osceola.ifas.ufl.edu/pdfs/Natural Resources/Biology and Control of Aquatic Plants.pdf (Last accessed November 9, 2011)

Gooch, Bob. Virginia Fishing Guide. Revised Edition. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1992.

Hart, David. Flyfisher’s Guide to Virginia Including West Virginia’s Best Fly Fishing Waters. Belgrade, MT: Wilderness Adventures Press, Inc., 2006.

Hassan-Williams, Carla, and Timothy H. Bonner. “Lepomis macrochirus bluegill.” Texas State University-San Marcos Department of Biology: Texas Freshwater Fishes. http://www.bio.txstate.edu/~tbonner/txfishes/index.htm (Last accessed November 9, 2011)

Jenkins, Robert E. and Noel M. Burkhead. Freshwater Fishes of Virginia. Bethesda, MD: American Fisheries Society, 1994.

Rohde, Fred C., Rudolf G. Arndt, David G. Lindquist, and James F. Parnell. Freshwater Fishes of the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. Chapel Hill and London: The University of North Carolina Press, 1994.

Schwartz, Joe. “Fishing for bluegill.” Iowa Department of Natural Resources. http://www.iowadnr.gov/Fishing/FishingTipsHowTos/HowtoFishFor/BluegillFishing.aspx (Last accessed November 9, 2011)

“Sunfishes: Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus).” Austin: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/bgl/ (Last accessed November 9, 2011)

Copyright Wednesday, November 9, 2011 by Derdriu