# Fish I.d. please



## musclebeach22 (Feb 15, 2012)

I fish a ton and I feel like I should know what this is but I can't make a definite i.d. what do you guys think it is? This is the biggest one I could catch. It was about 4 inches long. The color on the fins was a lot more vivid in real life.


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## musclebeach22 (Feb 15, 2012)

Is it just a regular pumpkinseed with breeding colors?


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## jake222 (Dec 26, 2014)

It's a war mouth im pretty sure that they are a bluegill hybrid.


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## koonzie99 (Apr 25, 2012)

I think its a green sunfish.


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## ButtaYak (Mar 2, 2015)

I would say you are correct


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## BIGFISH1985 (Apr 4, 2008)

Looks like a little rock bass


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## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

Mouth is bigger-Warmouth Sunfish.


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## buckzye11 (Jul 16, 2009)

koonzie99 said:


> I think its a green sunfish.


yep.. fins give it away. Typically they are more yellow edged fins... Never seen one with that bright of orange. But green sunfish nonetheless.


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## snappedLine (Oct 9, 2013)

Its edible i know that


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## WISH IT WAS YOU (Jul 25, 2006)

100% green sunfish


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## fishinnick (Feb 19, 2011)

WISH IT WAS YOU said:


> 100% green sunfish


Yep.......


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## partlyable (Mar 2, 2005)

Green sunfish!!!


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## Salmonid (Apr 14, 2004)

100% green sunfish

Salmonid


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## creekcrawler (Oct 5, 2004)

Man, that dude has his spawn on!
Awesome colors!
Got some in a CVNRA pond last year, were almost jet black with yellow-orange fins.


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## EB1221 (May 24, 2012)

Warmouth...too dark for green sunfish.
EB


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## jonnythfisherteen2 (Mar 5, 2011)

Green sunfish. It cant be a warmouth because they have red eyes and lack the bluish-green patterning on their bodies. Green sunfish are typically pretty small, I have never caught one over 4 or 5 inches.
I typically get quite irritated when people get the identity of a fish wrong or mixed up. I have seen too many dead bowfin on the shore that people say are snakeheads and the state wants them dead. I think the odnr should put that CLEARLY inside the rules and regulations booklet. And fish id for every commonly caught species.


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## laynhardwood (Dec 27, 2009)

Green sunfish they are cool looking in the water with the fluorescent outlined fins


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## FAB (May 26, 2013)

Green sunfish


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## Mushijobah (May 4, 2004)

You now know that it is a green sunfish! A pretty one at that.


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## fishinnick (Feb 19, 2011)

jonnythfisherteen2 said:


> I typically get quite irritated when people get the identity of a fish wrong or mixed up. *I have seen too many dead bowfin on the shore that people say are snakeheads and the state wants them dead. I think the odnr should put that CLEARLY inside the rules and regulations booklet. And fish id for every commonly caught species.*


AMEN!!!

The thing with bowfin is that a lot of the people who are killing them know that they aren't snakeheads, but think they're just as harmful. I have lots of experience with bowfin in PA and am somewhat knowledgeable of them here in Ohio as well. Some people make honest mistakes, but in the case with bowfin most people just don't have enough brain capabilities to be educated. Seeing a pile of dead 'fins on the bank gets my blood boiling 

I can go on a huge rant but I'll try to stay calm



jonnythfisherteen2 said:


> I think the odnr should put that CLEARLY inside the rules and regulations booklet.


Yes they should. PA does......but from my experiences it isn't helping much. There are even SIGNS at some waterways and people are STILL killing bowfin!! Like I said, some people aren't capable of being educated. I've even suggested to the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission that they put up a couple more signs at some high traffic areas.....and they actually listened to my request. Did it help much......yeah, a little.....but not much.

I've heard of people killing them at Mogadore and the Tusc. Contact the ODNR if you see these idiots in action


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## guppygill (May 8, 2004)

Green sunfish , the end


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## JimmyMac (Feb 18, 2011)

I'd say its a black rat snake.


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## CudaJohn (Aug 26, 2014)

I found this online and thougt I'd pass it along.

Ohio Sportfish ID
http://www.flipseekllc.com/wildohio2009sportfish.pdf


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## RiverRunner88 (Jun 15, 2006)

Looks like a green sunfish to me...very aggressive little guys


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## heron153 (Apr 30, 2008)

jake222 said:


> It's a war mouth im pretty sure that they are a bluegill hybrid.


Sunfish are a diverse group with many members, and they hybridize to boot, and they vary a lot within each species, AND they have seasonal color changes. It can be tricky! I agree with the green sunfish ID for this specimen. I quoted you since I wanted to let you know that warmouth are their own species - they are not a hybrid of a bluegill. However, there are hybrid bluegills that are stocked sometimes. I am not sure what they are crossed with - perhaps warmouth.


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## koonzie99 (Apr 25, 2012)

heron153 said:


> Sunfish are a diverse group with many members, and they hybridize to boot, and they vary a lot within each species, AND they have seasonal color changes. It can be tricky! I agree with the green sunfish ID for this specimen. I quoted you since I wanted to let you know that warmouth are their own species - they are not a hybrid of a bluegill. However, there are hybrid bluegills that are stocked sometimes. I am not sure what they are crossed with - perhaps warmouth.


A hybrid blue gill is a cross between blue gill and green sunfish. We have them in are farm pond.


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## MassillonBuckeye (May 3, 2010)

BIGFISH1985 said:


> Looks like a little rock bass


Rock bass have red eyes.

Beauty of a fish eh OP?


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## jake222 (Dec 26, 2014)

heron153 said:


> Sunfish are a diverse group with many members, and they hybridize to boot, and they vary a lot within each species, AND they have seasonal color changes. It can be tricky! I agree with the green sunfish ID for this specimen. I quoted you since I wanted to let you know that warmouth are their own species - they are not a hybrid of a bluegill. However, there are hybrid bluegills that are stocked sometimes. I am not sure what they are crossed with - perhaps warmouth.



Thank you I was told from a fellow fishermen that a fish like this is a warmouth a few years ago vary fun on the fly


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## MassillonBuckeye (May 3, 2010)

koonzie99 said:


> A hybrid blue gill is a cross between blue gill and green sunfish. We have them in are farm pond.


Yep. And they can get GINORMOUS!!


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## Cleveland Metroparks (Dec 14, 2005)

Fisheries biologist says green sunfish for certain.


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## Lucky Touch Charters (Jun 19, 2011)

good to see that this fish is ready to spawn!! come on spring


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## MassillonBuckeye (May 3, 2010)

creekcrawler said:


> Man, that dude has his spawn on!
> Awesome colors!
> Got some in a CVNRA pond last year, were almost jet black with yellow-orange fins.


Not saying you are wrong as I was thinking the same thing, but the wiki article says they spawn in the summer.. This guy maybe jumping the gun a little bit!

www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_sunfish


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## NCbassattack (May 5, 2014)

Green sunfish.
https://sp.yimg.com/ib/th?id=HN.608023067296795932&pid=15.1&w=185&h=99&p=0


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## laynhardwood (Dec 27, 2009)

Wiki can be altered by anybody if you use that website as a credible source you shouldn't. It may have some factual information,but It does not constitute a reliable source IMO


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## paddlejunkie1977 (Sep 19, 2014)

Here is some information I found on the Ohio Department of Natural Resources website. 
Warmouth http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/species-and-habitats/species-guide-index/fish/warmouth

Green Sunfish http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/species-and-habitats/species-guide-index/fish/green-sunfish


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## fishnguy (Apr 14, 2004)




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## musclebeach22 (Feb 15, 2012)

Wow, thanks for all the responses and the positive i.d. we had a debate at work all day about it. I always know I can count on my ogf buddies when I have a question about something.


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## fishnguy (Apr 14, 2004)

Those are two Warmouth


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## EB1221 (May 24, 2012)

Ok, I looked it up on odnr and I stand corrected...green sunfish. 69 still not too old to learn. 
EB


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## Lucky Touch Charters (Jun 19, 2011)

MassillonBuckeye said:


> Not saying you are wrong as I was thinking the same thing, but the wiki article says they spawn in the summer.. This guy maybe jumping the gun a little bit!
> 
> www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_sunfish


Any fish that is part of the bluegill family can spawn more than once per year given certain conditions. The op's pic is of a fish that is in a prespawn stage.


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## ezbite (May 25, 2006)

swamp mans spawn... and im gonna kill him this year....


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## winguy7 (Mar 12, 2014)

Green sunfish


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## winguy7 (Mar 12, 2014)

9 and a half inch green sunfish


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## winguy7 (Mar 12, 2014)

If I could go back to being a teenager, I'd get a tape measure tattooed on my arm


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## LilSiman/Medina (Nov 30, 2010)

I've always thought those were war mouths.. catch em all the time in the black river.


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## percidaeben (Jan 15, 2010)

Winguy that is a nice hybrid.


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## monte39 (Nov 24, 2011)

winguy7 said:


> If I could go back to being a teenager, I'd get a tape measure tattooed on my arm


Thats funny I thought about that 20 years ago never did it and being in my forties now I'm glad I didn't.


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## Iowa Dave (Sep 27, 2009)

jake222 said:


> It's a war mouth im pretty sure that they are a bluegill hybrid.


Yep agree it's a warmouth!


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## mastercatman (Jan 30, 2005)

winguy7 said:


> 9 and a half inch green sunfish


That fish appears more likely to be bluegill x green sunfish hybrid. Commonly stocked in ponds....

As mentioned many times before...
OPs fish is without any doubt, a green sunfish.


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## winguy7 (Mar 12, 2014)

Maybe, although it was caught out of a stream, not a pond. And while the pic doesn't show it, the mouth on that fish was huge. I could have easily fit my thumb down it. Plus that spot produces green sunfish all summer


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## mastercatman (Jan 30, 2005)

winguy7 said:


> Maybe, although it was caught out of a stream, not a pond. And while the pic doesn't show it, the mouth on that fish was huge. I could have easily fit my thumb down it. Plus that spot produces green sunfish all summer


Yeah, the larger mouth of the green sunfish is carried into the hybrid offspring. The hybrid can and does occur naturally where both species occur, though not desirable.
Remember, a first generation hybrid will grow larger or larger faster than their parents. To catch a true green sunfish at 9.5" would be quite a nice greenie!


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## mick4 (Jun 29, 2013)

Looks like BAIT!!


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## Mallardsmasher (Feb 24, 2014)

Definitely a baby shark...


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## BassSlayerChris (Aug 9, 2010)

Mallardsmasher said:


> Definitely a baby shark...


Not far from it. Green sunfish are very vicious for their size.


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## Snyd (May 5, 2004)

Looks more like a green sunfish then a war mouth.


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## 4dabucks (Jun 22, 2008)

Green Sunfish. check out the ODNR website. they have some great pictures on there


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## MassillonBuckeye (May 3, 2010)

definitely not a black crappie.


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## joerisner2014 (Mar 29, 2014)

I always thought it was a war mouth Findlay Res is full of them. My buddy says they look like a baby grouper because of the large mouth.

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