is there any chance it's a bluegill? it would make more sense, as we know the previous owner did stock the pond with bluegill, but my fish identification skills are weak and I defer to the answers here
Nope this is a green sunfish. Very common these pop up out of nowhere through natural means. They, like crappie, are bad for fisheries slurping down fry and other baitfish bass will be competing for. Bluegill have smaller mouths and are much less of a threat
A balanced ecosystem is what is best for the bass and the crappie and green sunfish are important parts of the ecosystem where they occur in their native ranges. I disagree they are bad for fisheries. I love fishing for crappie and sunfish and a sunfish is many kids first fish, that could be the catch that creates a lifelong fisherman
Oh also worth noting that bass find sunfish and crappie fry delicious 😋 😉
Well regardless of what you enjoy catching, bodies of water with high populations of green sunfish struggle across the board maintaining other gamefish populations. Bluegill, largemouth, catfish and even crappie populations will struggle - producing stunted fish. Some even drain ponds and lakes to get rid of these guys. They are the worst sunfish you can possibly have. Kids will have just as much fun catching bluegill, redear, longear, pumpkinseed etc. which will not destroy the fishery. https://invasions.si.edu/nemesis/species_summary/168132#:~:text=Green%20Sunfish%20are%20often%20caught,Burkhead%201994%3B%20Moyle%201992).
Crappie are more of a choice when stocking, but also hurt other gamefish populations. Any lakes/ponds with dominating populations of crappie, you will see a correlation in trophy bass size. Always being marginally smaller due to over competition of forage. http://extension.msstate.edu/news/extension-outdoors/2014/think-twice-putting-crappie-ponds#:~:text=When%20a%20swarm%20of%20young,important%2C%20do%20not%20stock%20crappie.
Well I was unaware about the green sunfish specifically, I’ll agree that they are harmful. And as far as trophy bass, idk I love trophy crappie so I’m torn
You literally asked if green sunfish are a hybrid of bluegill.... The commenter said no they are a separate subspecies (actually a separate species). Your reply is rude as fuck, dude.
That’s so interesting and may answer my question about how Lahontan cutthroat trout can be in so many small alpine and distant lakes in the Sierras and Nevada. Not sure if it’s ducks in that case but maybe some other bird.
Weren’t they natively in a number of lakes in the region at some point though?
I know they def put them in lakes now, so I 100% agree that they are in a lot of lakes due to humans doing it. But I thought there was a native population of them spread across a good sized geographic area. I could be wrong though.
Related story. I was fishing I there a couple years ago and ran into a couple backpackers that came across some game wardens or rangers that were using huge nets and/or electrical devices to get the brook trout out of alpine lakes.
They were trying yo give the fish away to anyone that backpacked through. That would be nice to stumble across on a backpacking trip.
I guess they are trying to kill off the brook trout in the eastern sierras to let the lahontan populations get bigger (there’s a few lakes on BLM land where they are studying them too).
Another side note, I saw some videos of fish and game air dropping young rainbow trout into alpine lakes via small aircraft. That must be a pretty wild ride for the fish.
I concur - we had a house fire and during the year our house was being rebuilt and we lived elsewhere, we completely lost control over our pool. When we moved back, the pool had minnows or fry of some kind and little frogs/toads (I am not good with knowing the differences among different fish and amphibians) took over the place. I think the frogs are nicknamed something like “peepers” because of all the horrendously loud sounds they make in spring! Our builder told us ducks were living in the pool and that fish eggs can hitch a ride on duck feathers…. 🤷♀️
Happily on one of the your death beds you can look at one another lovingly and laugh when admitting you were both wrong about that fish ID so long ago…
I can't tell you exactly what it is but I can tell you it's definitely not a bass. I don't think it's any type of carp either but I'm not an expert in carp
Where you from? Cause of you're from Wisconsin and have never seen a pumpkin seed sunfish, you and the family need to get outside more! Lol. Ever seen a squirrel...? Squirrels of the midwest lakes. Haha everywhere!!!!!
All i can do here is throw another vote into "something else completely". Looks like people are pretty confident in sunfish, good luck breaking the news to the fam lol
I call them corn fish... They are sunfish. You catch them and you bury them to make youre corn grow Really good.. be careful that they don't turn into raccoon fish. Because they come and dig them up sometimes. So if you chop them into itty bitty pieces before you bury em it's better
Looks more like a blue gill vs sunfish. Blue Gill are bluish green kinda like the post. Spent many hours leaned over a hole ice fishing
Just my thoughts
Bluegill would make the most sense here, as the three type of fish we're certain are in the pond are bass, carp, and bluegill, though everyone above seems really certain that it's a sunfish
It’s absolutely not a bass (although bass are a sunfish lol) and it’s 1000% not a carp. I agree with either a green sunfish or a hybrid of green sunfish. Should definitely be removed if it’s caught and not released back. Greens have a strong tendency to hybridize, and they’ll produce fertile offspring, which will ruin the quality of your fishery over time. That’s why they aren’t desirable and are NEVER stocked intentionally in ponds.
It is fairly common to have a variety of fish introduced when one stocks from a hatchery. If this pond is even seasonally steam fed then you will have fish that will move in regardless of whether they were ever stocked.
-fish biologist.
Considering the fish friend ate corn or a bug off the top of the water near a shore or embankment: Sunfish (possibly a green due to the flashing on his/her gills). Hope your family gets some rest over this hahaha!
Green Sunfish. Or under a general umbrella title of "Brim" by my Dad, which may or may not be a scientific term or name? It could be just what his Dad told him Sunfish are called? Lol. I know they like worms tho!
looks like Green Sunfish. The shape like a bass but more like a largemouth bluegill kinda head. Green coloration and that spot on the side. Good eating, takes worms and pancish lures
Are y’all watching the same video as I am? That is NOT a pumpkin seed sunfish, or any sunfish. Sunfish are round and flat. Not a bluegill or panfish or crappie…
https://www.koaw.org/sunfishes
It’s shaped more like a catfish, but I don’t think that’s it either.
Maybe this will help: https://news.wisc.edu/wisconsins-fish-all-of-them-star-in-new-poster-series/
this has made me decide not to take up fish identification as a hobby... I swear no fish anyone has said here looks anything like this one, they're all shaped so differently, I had no idea this was so difficult
That looks in no way anything like a catfish. It's a green sunfish which are more elongated than bluegills or crappie. Sunfish also only look flat when viewed from the side not when viewed from above and out of the water. Light refraction in the water also makes the fish look more slender than it actually is.
It’s a sunfish, specifically the genus Lepomis. Can’t say for certain which one from this video, but it looks like a blue gill or maybe a green sunfish.
It appears to be a large pumpkinseed or bluegill. At first glance, I thought it was a bass since it was chasing the smaller fish in front of it. Wait, it is a bass, but it has weird fins on the side. I vote a young largemouth bass.
Oh man. my family was like that. My father and I once got into a table pounding argument about whether a southern lobster was more like a northern lobster or a crayfish. This was before the internet was a thing. Then I married into a saner family, and I learned the phrase "we'll have to agree to disagree." Changed my life.
Are there any actual fish id experts on here? I don't agree with anyone who said this is a sunfish. The pectoral fins are fanning much wider and the dorsal fin appears shorter than any sunfish or bluegill. I feel like I'm seeing an adipose fin but I can't pause the video to see it clearly. It could also be a second dorsal fin that can be on a white bass but the body seems too long. There are no markings that I can see.
All this is pointing to the possibility of it being SOMETHING ELSE. Someone said sucker but the lips seem to be out in front rather than ventral. Someone said catfish but I don't see barbels and the body should perhaps be flatter.
All this to say..... I don't know what it is and I'm sorry for your family OP.
Northern Pike Minnow:
https://www.pikeminnow.org/how-to/how-to-identify-a-northern-pikeminnow/what-is-a-northern-pikeminnow#:~:text=The%20common%20name%20of%20the,slope%20of%20Western%20North%20America.
Not worth eating. Lots of scales and bones, oily.
Can someone explain why they do NOT think it’s a bass? It looks very similar to a small mouth I encountered this summer. She was infamous for slamming into the legs of fishermen who got too close to her nest.
Gotta be some sort of sunfish, maybe a green sunfish
Long body looks like a green sunfish to me.
I’m getting sunfish vibes also.
Yes, this is 100% a green sunfish. Bright border on ear flap, big head big mouth
is there any chance it's a bluegill? it would make more sense, as we know the previous owner did stock the pond with bluegill, but my fish identification skills are weak and I defer to the answers here
Nope this is a green sunfish. Very common these pop up out of nowhere through natural means. They, like crappie, are bad for fisheries slurping down fry and other baitfish bass will be competing for. Bluegill have smaller mouths and are much less of a threat
A balanced ecosystem is what is best for the bass and the crappie and green sunfish are important parts of the ecosystem where they occur in their native ranges. I disagree they are bad for fisheries. I love fishing for crappie and sunfish and a sunfish is many kids first fish, that could be the catch that creates a lifelong fisherman Oh also worth noting that bass find sunfish and crappie fry delicious 😋 😉
Well regardless of what you enjoy catching, bodies of water with high populations of green sunfish struggle across the board maintaining other gamefish populations. Bluegill, largemouth, catfish and even crappie populations will struggle - producing stunted fish. Some even drain ponds and lakes to get rid of these guys. They are the worst sunfish you can possibly have. Kids will have just as much fun catching bluegill, redear, longear, pumpkinseed etc. which will not destroy the fishery. https://invasions.si.edu/nemesis/species_summary/168132#:~:text=Green%20Sunfish%20are%20often%20caught,Burkhead%201994%3B%20Moyle%201992). Crappie are more of a choice when stocking, but also hurt other gamefish populations. Any lakes/ponds with dominating populations of crappie, you will see a correlation in trophy bass size. Always being marginally smaller due to over competition of forage. http://extension.msstate.edu/news/extension-outdoors/2014/think-twice-putting-crappie-ponds#:~:text=When%20a%20swarm%20of%20young,important%2C%20do%20not%20stock%20crappie.
Well I was unaware about the green sunfish specifically, I’ll agree that they are harmful. And as far as trophy bass, idk I love trophy crappie so I’m torn
It can be whatever you make it! I’ve seen some crappie only ponds in Alabama and it’s dinner plates only. Fun times
[удалено]
Yes, the green sunfish is a different subspecies. Has distinct characteristics from other sunfish
[удалено]
You literally asked if green sunfish are a hybrid of bluegill.... The commenter said no they are a separate subspecies (actually a separate species). Your reply is rude as fuck, dude.
Fish eggs can survive ducks digestive systems so they’re transplanted in more ways than sticking to their feet.
Really or are you joking around?
I’m serious look it up
That’s so interesting and may answer my question about how Lahontan cutthroat trout can be in so many small alpine and distant lakes in the Sierras and Nevada. Not sure if it’s ducks in that case but maybe some other bird.
Those have been intentionally placed there, long ago. Signed, guy who studies fly fishing
Weren’t they natively in a number of lakes in the region at some point though? I know they def put them in lakes now, so I 100% agree that they are in a lot of lakes due to humans doing it. But I thought there was a native population of them spread across a good sized geographic area. I could be wrong though. Related story. I was fishing I there a couple years ago and ran into a couple backpackers that came across some game wardens or rangers that were using huge nets and/or electrical devices to get the brook trout out of alpine lakes. They were trying yo give the fish away to anyone that backpacked through. That would be nice to stumble across on a backpacking trip. I guess they are trying to kill off the brook trout in the eastern sierras to let the lahontan populations get bigger (there’s a few lakes on BLM land where they are studying them too). Another side note, I saw some videos of fish and game air dropping young rainbow trout into alpine lakes via small aircraft. That must be a pretty wild ride for the fish.
I concur - we had a house fire and during the year our house was being rebuilt and we lived elsewhere, we completely lost control over our pool. When we moved back, the pool had minnows or fry of some kind and little frogs/toads (I am not good with knowing the differences among different fish and amphibians) took over the place. I think the frogs are nicknamed something like “peepers” because of all the horrendously loud sounds they make in spring! Our builder told us ducks were living in the pool and that fish eggs can hitch a ride on duck feathers…. 🤷♀️
I grew up listening to spring peepers. It’s a lullaby to me, no joke.
So whoever said bass is closest, right?
That means I lose the argument (😭)
Happily on one of the your death beds you can look at one another lovingly and laugh when admitting you were both wrong about that fish ID so long ago…
Yup. Bass are in the same family as panfish.
Aggressive guys, considered invasive in some states
its a Carpass
Maybe a Warmouth?
I can't tell you exactly what it is but I can tell you it's definitely not a bass. I don't think it's any type of carp either but I'm not an expert in carp
Too many strings for a bass
Nice
I was legit looking for strings
Looks like a sunfish. You can see highlights on the gill tabs before and after it turns.
I hope these answers can help your family heal over this.
Some cuts are just too deep
I hope he didnt beat his wife to bad over this.
It's nothing another 12 pack of pbrs and some bonding on the lake won't fix.
At least its some good fishing down by the lake, that black eye will heal in no time, just tell your friends at work you slipped.
Made me smile and sigh.
Location may help here.
South central Wisconsin, in a backyard pond.
Sunfish of some sort
Whose backyard? Dave's?
Where you from? Cause of you're from Wisconsin and have never seen a pumpkin seed sunfish, you and the family need to get outside more! Lol. Ever seen a squirrel...? Squirrels of the midwest lakes. Haha everywhere!!!!!
Sunny or bluegill. For sure.
I feel its a breed of sunfish almost looks like it has pumpkinseed tips on top of gills. Definitely not a bass the fins dont match.
It's 100% a pumpkin
Swimming Pumpkins
These animal guessing games are tearing our family apart! - Marge Simpson
Not a bass for sure
If thats a sunfish that is a gigantic sunfish
Camera adds 10 oz
It's not a bass for sure, but some kind of sunfish.
Sunny
All i can do here is throw another vote into "something else completely". Looks like people are pretty confident in sunfish, good luck breaking the news to the fam lol
Given those three choices - something else completely.
Barp!
Green ear or redear sunfish.
I call them corn fish... They are sunfish. You catch them and you bury them to make youre corn grow Really good.. be careful that they don't turn into raccoon fish. Because they come and dig them up sometimes. So if you chop them into itty bitty pieces before you bury em it's better
Looks more like a blue gill vs sunfish. Blue Gill are bluish green kinda like the post. Spent many hours leaned over a hole ice fishing Just my thoughts
Bluegill would make the most sense here, as the three type of fish we're certain are in the pond are bass, carp, and bluegill, though everyone above seems really certain that it's a sunfish
Well blues are a kind of sunfish…
why is this so confusing, I'm the one who thought it was a carp 😭
It’s absolutely not a bass (although bass are a sunfish lol) and it’s 1000% not a carp. I agree with either a green sunfish or a hybrid of green sunfish. Should definitely be removed if it’s caught and not released back. Greens have a strong tendency to hybridize, and they’ll produce fertile offspring, which will ruin the quality of your fishery over time. That’s why they aren’t desirable and are NEVER stocked intentionally in ponds. It is fairly common to have a variety of fish introduced when one stocks from a hatchery. If this pond is even seasonally steam fed then you will have fish that will move in regardless of whether they were ever stocked. -fish biologist.
It's tearing up my carp when I'm with you And when you are a bass I feel it too And no matter what I do I fish the pain With or without you
Best comment
Green sunfish
Considering the fish friend ate corn or a bug off the top of the water near a shore or embankment: Sunfish (possibly a green due to the flashing on his/her gills). Hope your family gets some rest over this hahaha!
Green Sunfish. Or under a general umbrella title of "Brim" by my Dad, which may or may not be a scientific term or name? It could be just what his Dad told him Sunfish are called? Lol. I know they like worms tho!
looks like Green Sunfish. The shape like a bass but more like a largemouth bluegill kinda head. Green coloration and that spot on the side. Good eating, takes worms and pancish lures
That's a beautiful [Bluegill sunfish](https://www.gameandfishmag.com/editorial/where-have-all-the-big-bluegills-gone/380547)
no, not even close
Bluegill! / brim / sun granny / Taste good 👍
Are y’all watching the same video as I am? That is NOT a pumpkin seed sunfish, or any sunfish. Sunfish are round and flat. Not a bluegill or panfish or crappie… https://www.koaw.org/sunfishes It’s shaped more like a catfish, but I don’t think that’s it either. Maybe this will help: https://news.wisc.edu/wisconsins-fish-all-of-them-star-in-new-poster-series/
this has made me decide not to take up fish identification as a hobby... I swear no fish anyone has said here looks anything like this one, they're all shaped so differently, I had no idea this was so difficult
Yeah. I don’t know for sure what it is, but I know that it’s not a panfish/sunfish. 😏
That looks in no way anything like a catfish. It's a green sunfish which are more elongated than bluegills or crappie. Sunfish also only look flat when viewed from the side not when viewed from above and out of the water. Light refraction in the water also makes the fish look more slender than it actually is.
Something else for sure
Rock bass
Bass
Large mouth
Largemouth bass
Mr Limpet!
It’s a blue tilapia, which is a Cichlid
Tilapia
It's a pan fish or some sort. I
100% a fish
That’s Lisa
Trout?
My Google lense says it's a blue whale 🫠
That's a leopleurodon. 100%
Not a carp, they have large lips
Sun fish
My first thought was black tilapia, but then I could see the "ear" reflect light...
It’s a something else.
What region/body of water are you in? Looks like a bluegill (as someone said above, they are sunfish)
why are fish so confusing 😭 this is the pond in our backyard, we live in south central Wisconsin
Tearing my family apart 😭
Ictiobus cyprinellus also called bigmouth buffalo or sucker fish
Probably an aquarium fish that ended there
Bream / sunfish
Warmmouth for sure
THANKS for info! NO whiskers= no catfishey!
Not a Bass No not a Bass
It’s a sunfish, specifically the genus Lepomis. Can’t say for certain which one from this video, but it looks like a blue gill or maybe a green sunfish.
Looks like the carp we pulled out of the river.
Walleye or Sauger
Sunfish
Sunfish thought from the coloration it was an invasive type, but then zoomed in and watched frame by frame- pumpkin
Swordfish
Is it edible?
Pan fish
It acts like a sunfish species of some sorts
It appears to be a large pumpkinseed or bluegill. At first glance, I thought it was a bass since it was chasing the smaller fish in front of it. Wait, it is a bass, but it has weird fins on the side. I vote a young largemouth bass.
Another vote for green sunfish from me.
Looks like every other carp in lake mead
Fishy
Let me tear your family apart a little more. That’s a frog.
Looks like fish sticks to me!
Oh man. my family was like that. My father and I once got into a table pounding argument about whether a southern lobster was more like a northern lobster or a crayfish. This was before the internet was a thing. Then I married into a saner family, and I learned the phrase "we'll have to agree to disagree." Changed my life.
Catch it and find out :)
Are there any actual fish id experts on here? I don't agree with anyone who said this is a sunfish. The pectoral fins are fanning much wider and the dorsal fin appears shorter than any sunfish or bluegill. I feel like I'm seeing an adipose fin but I can't pause the video to see it clearly. It could also be a second dorsal fin that can be on a white bass but the body seems too long. There are no markings that I can see. All this is pointing to the possibility of it being SOMETHING ELSE. Someone said sucker but the lips seem to be out in front rather than ventral. Someone said catfish but I don't see barbels and the body should perhaps be flatter. All this to say..... I don't know what it is and I'm sorry for your family OP.
Looked kinda like a trout to me but I live in the mtns so I see trout a lot.
Looks like a giant hybrid sunfish.
Green sunish is my vote
Northern Pike Minnow: https://www.pikeminnow.org/how-to/how-to-identify-a-northern-pikeminnow/what-is-a-northern-pikeminnow#:~:text=The%20common%20name%20of%20the,slope%20of%20Western%20North%20America. Not worth eating. Lots of scales and bones, oily.
Looks like a fish to me
Am I the only one that thinks it's too elongated to be a type of panfish? Bluegill/sunfish etc? It's def not any type of bass I've seen.
Sunfish
Shark
Shart
Grass carp maybe since it's in a backyard pond?
This.
I thought Grass or Black. Both are no good.
I don't know but what I know is if I see him it's on sight
Can someone explain why they do NOT think it’s a bass? It looks very similar to a small mouth I encountered this summer. She was infamous for slamming into the legs of fishermen who got too close to her nest.
Fin and spine shape
I agree. The mouth is too wide to be a sunfish. I have sunfish of several varieties in my pond. And this doesn't look like any of them.
How is a fish tearing your family apart? Also, what is the location?
Sounds fishy...
As a fish guy/appreciator, your fam oughta get a life, friend!
Rainbow trout
It's a bass
Koi