# Is this a cross between a Rock Bass & Bluegill???



## poisonivie

I just caught this fish this evening, in a private lake in northwestern Gladwin County. We were fishing in an area loaded with Rock Bass. I've never seen a fish like this before. He looks like he has the coloring of a Bluegill, but he has the big head and mouth of a Rock Bass. Has anyone else seen a fish like this before??? Is it possible that his could be a cross? What do you think he is????


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## thedude

warmouth/green sunfish. i've heard they are a mix between bass/bluegill


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## pikedevil

Its a Green Sunfish and thats a good sized one. Common in a few ponds and lakes in Michigan otherwise its just an occasional catch elsewhere. Its not a mix of any kind and a warmouth is a completely different fish yet but similar with its bass like mouth.


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## poisonivie

Thank you for that information. I had never heard of them before, but after doing a search on the Internet, I found all sorts of information about them. This is the first one I have caught out of this lake.... and we've caught a lot of Rock Bass and Bluegill out of there... but this is the first Warmouth.

Thanks!

*COMMON NAMES: *Warmouth sunfish, Mud bass 
*SCIENTIFIC NAME:* _Lepomis gulosus_
*IDENTIFICATION: *Warmouth look similar to rock bass and green sunfish with a thick, oblong body. The mouth is large, with the upper jaw extending to or beyond the middle of the eye. The coloration is dark olive-brown and it is mottled with dark brown blotches over the body. In addition, they have dark colored stripes extending from the eye to the opercle (ear) flap. Warmouth have only three anal fin spines while rock bass have six.
*RANGE AND HABITAT:* Warmouth sunfish are native to Ohio, but their distribution is limited to glaciated streams and lakes in the northeast part of the state. They are abundant in one of the few natural lakes in Ohio, Nettle Lake in Williams County, and in the Scioto River drainage in south-central Ohio. Warmouth prefer weedy lakes, sluggish streams, oxbows, marshes and ponds. They are a secretive fish seeking cover in rocky banks, stumps, or weed masses to avoid direct sunlight.
*LIFE HISTORY:* Warmouth are not colonial spawners like other sunfish species. However, males do fan out a nest, usually near a rock, stump, clump of vegetation, or other large object. The male guards the nest until the fry disperse. During this time the male will chase intruders off with gill covers spread wide and mouth open, to make himself appear larger. Adults eat primarily crayfish, aquatic sowbugs, aquatic insect larvae, and small fish. Warmouth can take four years to reach 6 inches in length.
*ADULT SIZE: *Adults usually range from 4 to 10 inches in length with the largest warmouth reported in Ohio measuring 11.2 inches.
*FISHING METHODS: *Warmouth will bite on both natural and artificial baits. However, because of their small size and limited distribution in Ohio, warmouth are seldom sought by anglers.


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## pikedevil

I'm sticking with Green Sunfish. I've caught my fair share of both and i'm 99.9999% sure its a Greeny.


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## Bassman Dan

I agree. It's a green sunfish or (Lepomis cyanellus).  They resemble a warmouth bass (Lepomis gulosus). The green sunfish has a gill cover lobe with a light rear margin and their sides have dark vertical bars. They are also more greenish in color then the warmouth.


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## poisonivie

I see what you mean. They are very similar. It's funny that I've never caught one before (or at least don't recall catching one). Of course, I mainly fish in only a couple of lakes around here and just never caught one. I've caught several sunfish with the bright yellow bellies... but they are usually smaller and brighter than the fish I caught last night. What are the sunfish with the bright yellow bellies called? Are they called a Pumpkinseed???

We also catch a lot of bluegills covered with black freckles on the fins and heads in this new lake that we've been fishing. They are sort of pretty compared to the "plain jane" bluegills we catch in the lake closer to home.








Even some of our avid fisher friends that we've let fish at our new cottage have commented on the bluegills in this lake. Some are still plain looking, but many of them have spots and sometimes a pretty purple color to them. They sure are a lot of fun to fish. The kids have a blast fishing at the cottage. Every evening we've gone out, we've caught 20-30 fish or more in a short period of time. 
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1538/2810/320/Chalet-bluegill-350px.jpg


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## ezyeric

I caught what seemed to me as a cross between a Sunfish and a Rockbass. It had the mouth and red eyes of a rock bass but was golden in color.

Here is pic:


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## poisonivie

Pretty fish. I see what you mean. My fish didn't have the red eyes.


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## Frozenfish

photoshop, :yikes: , J/K!!!!

That's pretty cool!


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## stormcrow

> We also catch a lot of bluegills covered with black freckles on the fins and heads


The spots are a pretty common parasite spread by the kingfisher bird. They are harmless and usually come off when you skin the fillets, but a lot of guys wont keep fish that are infested. The green sunfish you got there is a nice specimen. I used to catch them occasionally spot fishing from shore. Dont think Ive ever seen one much over five or six inches though.


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## MrBluegill

anyone who has fished gun has probly caught a few of thos..........I talk to the dnr that comes my my work(boat launch) every day he said its just a normal cross bread between a rockbass and a blue gill or sun fish in your case maby.....he went and looked it up and they both spawn at the same time and same temp of water.....soo its just a normal cross bread


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