Bluegill ready to spawn!

[Aquaman]

[LiquidSteel]

Either that or they've been eating golf balls!

Lets hope for millions of new bluegills!

[Shorty]

Here is a picture of a male BG sitting on a nest yesterday afternoon at my favorite farm pond. I think he was watching me take this picture.

[Chad]

Two great pictures, guys!
How long are they hanging out by the nests before they start to spawn. It seems like they've been there several weeks...

[OldBaldGuy]

The males were actively guarding their nests at my favorite little pond this weekend -- fun to watch them chase off rivals. The girls seemed to be hanging out a little further from shore in somewhat deeper water.

[Shorty]

The males have been on and off the nests several times in the last few weeks, they would move up and fan some beds, a cold front would come in, then the males would back off for a few days. I finally did see one male and female swapping slime in a nest yesterday afternoon.

[LiquidSteel]

Originally Posted by Shorty

.......I finally did see one male and female swapping slime in a nest yesterday afternoon.

Im sure they were comparing stories about how to avoid OBG in the near future. "Be ware of the speedo..."

[Chad]

From Daryl...

The males come early and stay late! That is especially true when the male bluegills are the ones to establish spawning territories and construct the spawning beds. Someone already posted the observation about the males coming in early and starting to establish territories and excavate spawn beds and then moving out when a cold front blows through and the weather deteriorates. Once the weather warms up again, the males will be back and eventually once they coax a female onto the bed to spawn with they will stay.

Daryl Bauer
Lakes and Reservoirs Program Manager
Nebraska Game & Parks Commission
daryl.bauer@ngpc.ne.gov

P.S. Feel free to share this message with others.

If you were a real bull, couldn't you just let some other punk male clear a bed for you and do all that early work. Then just swoop in at the last minute with an attitude and take over his bed?

[Fish Recycler]

Watched a ton of fish on beds - including some bass still - yesterday on a pond in Iowa.

[Chad]

Words of wisdom from Daryl.

I realize your comment was just a smart alec remark, believe me I can appreciate that. But it brought a smile to my face because bluegill spawning biology is fascinating. There are bluegills that will use alternative spawning strategies. Of course the fish we all want are the big bull males--the fish that grow fast, reach large sizes and when sexually mature they establish and defend a spawn bed (parental males). You are also aware that there are noticeable morphological and physical differences between those parental male bluegills that defend spawn beds and the female bluegills. Now here is where it gets weird . . . some male bluegills will pursue an alternative spawning strategy where they will mature at a younger age and much smaller size. Those male bluegills will mimic female bluegills in appearance. Let's keep things PG-rated, but those sneaky little males will mimic a female and then sneak onto a nest when a female enters the nest to spawn with the big parental male. The "sneaky" males actually spawn with the female at the same time she is spawning with the parental male. So, the "sneaky" males deposit their milt, their DNA, fertilize those eggs and then sneak off to let the parental male guard the eggs.

Now let me ramble a little more--let's say we fish a pond and cherry-pick all those big parental males off of their nests. If we harvest those fish, which fish are left? What genetics are left in that population? Might that not only result in smaller fish, but make it more likely that you will end up with a bunch of small, slow-growing, early maturing bluegills? In other words a population of stunted bluegills? Might it be a good idea to release those big bluegills?

Do you remember the old TV show "Laugh In"?--"Mmmmm, very interesting."

Daryl B.

P.S. Please feel free to share this message with others if you wish.

[Shorty]

Thanks Daryl! Cuckholders and sneeks!

With all of this rain the BG have really pulled off the spawning beds at favorite farm pond. They males have been very absent for the last 10 days or so, and yes there is still a little visibilty left as of this morning.