I catch several different species of perch in local ponds. I would like to verify each of the species. Instead of doing my research I figured it would be more fun to throw it out to you guys. Can you name these perch?

Picture 1


Picture 2


Picture 3


Picture 4


Picture 5

Bluegill, male bluegill, longear, redear, and green sunfish. In order 1-5

Thanks Fishwfly

I agree with the exception of pic4.

I want to say its a Warmouth, they have the red on the opercular flap too and I have seen them in that color. If it had a large mouth then Warmouth if it had a BG size mouth then redear. Hard to tell from that pic.

My $.02

I don't recall the mouth size. Good information, thanks.

I would say #1. Bluegill. #2.Bluegill. #3.Longear.#4. Hybrid Green. #5. Green.

The predominate species in this particular pond is a green sunfish. So a hybrid is also very possible. I need to go out and catch another one and take some better pictures.

Plus #1.

number 4 is somewhat difficult to tell for certain
the rest are like they posted though
girl bluegill
boy bluegill
longear sunfish
and number 4,,,,looks a lot like a redear or redear cross to me
green sunfish

Now that you know the names it is time to stop calling them perch and call them sunfish. Perch are an entirely different family most often represented by the yellow perch and walleye and found in Northern waters.

The only perch found in Texas are small, which the unlearned usually call "minners".

Happy Holidays.

Thanks Smithhaven, Lesson learned!!!

as a kid I moved back to texas from up north
I was born here and went up north a few years as a kid
anyway I had no idea where to start to try to ketch a fish in dfw when we got here
so my dad took me down to the trinity river
a man down there told me I could ketch a lot of "perch" in there
not knowing the local terminology I was stoked up thinkin I was about to ketch me a bunch a yella perch
I then proceeded to ketch the heck out of all kinds of sunfish
asked that man again about the "perch" and he said you are ketchn them
KABOOM

we all can be techinical or spell prefectly, but the local names add color to life. I have BS in wildlife and can use most of the true names and alot of latin ones. One of the cool things in life is traveling and enjoying the local nuances. So many of us grew up being told that this one thing and that is another by someone that had it passed on to them. But unless we are writing a thesis or education articule a sunfish,brem,perch, or panfish is good fish to catch. If the unlearned did not read the textbook,google it online,Pay to become educated,or scholarships; they communicate the way the region has educated them that had favor the south, west or where ever. Then enjoy the differances in a local area. It would boring to sit around with county of people speaking the same. There is someone out there that in ten year say there all hybirds and we call the sunfishperchbasspanfishminners.

I was looking on the TPWD website and I saw both Hybrid Sunfish and Hybrid Green Sunfish listed. So I sent the picture to the TPWD for identification.

This was the response for Picture 4:

This is a bluegill x redear mix so it would be listed as a hybrid sunfish.

I was wondering how many post it would take before someone made the correction of perch vs. sunfish. It took longer than i thought.
I tend to lean more toward shat's way of looking at it.
I don't know it for a fact but I suspect there are more people than just me who actually do know the difference between perch and sunfish but usually go with whatever the people I'm talking with are calling them at the time.

I caught this fish today in another pond. What species is it?

Looks like a Warmouth to me!

not a perch

Looks like a bluegill

I use call them perch, til some one from michigan corrected and showed me a real perch.

That subject was already addressed on page 1 of the thread. Since that time when people come up to me and ask me what I'm fishing for I say "Bluegill and Sunfish". Every one of them looks at me and says "Perch"? LOL, it is what it is.

Looking at the Freshwater Aquatic Species section of the TPW Web site I would say the fish resembles the Warmouth the most. Just my opinion.




Side Note: Nice fish.

Thanks for the response guys. My thoughts were Warmouth as well. It has a mouth the size of a Warmouth and the color pattern. But there are so many hybrid species out there I will often send the picture to TPWD to confirm.

You may catch a new breed, one of these days.

Not a perch

Is this a Bluegill and Longear hybrid? Aweful long ear on this fish but it has the bluegill color pattern.

Jamie the more I look at it I would go with a Longear. As we talked about the other night It could also be a Hybrid between Bluegill/Longear however I am leaning more towards a Longear.

[quote=J-Moe]Not a perch

Is this a Bluegill and Longear hybrid? Aweful long ear on this fish but it has the bluegill color pattern.

J-Moe, I believe Banker is right, I think it is a Longear as well. Longear have many variations in color. I have seen pictures of Longears like this but never caught one, my usual spots have different looking Longear than this one. And honestly it lacks several bluegill characteristics.
I caught a couple today that are Bluegill x Longear Hybrids Ill share the pics along with a couple of Green Sunfish and Native Bluegill that I thought was pretty.

By the way, very pretty fish, nice catch!

Also: I read the rest of this forum and wanted to throw my in the literal name subject. I call all the sunfish by their literal names and nicknames, its not a crime. I call them perch when Im talking about them in a group all the time. Constantly as a matter of fact. I was raised that way. While it is nice to know the actual names, there is nothing at all wrong with a nickname. There are several nicknames to EVERY fish and tpwd acknowledges them too. I would gladly take anyone on in a fish naming constest, literal and nickname because I know my fish. And yet I still call them perch. My point is its not bad to use nicknames like perch.

Ok now that I got that out here are the pics!

I am responding for free that another name might be good tasting panfish candy .

Warmouth- awesome fish with an attitude

[/quote]

I like that name too!!!

"Fishing_4_Life": Those top three fish look like hybrid for sure. It could also be the type of water they are located in causing a color change. Just my opinion only. The do have some Longear traits. I would guess Hybrid Longear! Fish 4 and 5 are Greens and six looks like a Bluegill.

That is a bluegill, Jamie, not a longear. A longear has a white edge on the ear opercule and is also quite a bit more colorful than that. The size of the ear opercule can be misleading, but that one is pure bluegill.

Confirmed by Texas Parks&Wildlife as a Longear. Caught on the West Nueces River last year. (Note) No white edge on the ear. I was told that in certain areas of the State Sunfish can be different on some of their obvious characteristics. Also several Biologist have said that over the past several years Sunfish have been inner mixing with other species in the sunfish family more than ever. They are becoming harder to identify for anglers like myself.

Side Note: My guess Jamie after looking at your fish and comparing it to ones I have caught I would say it is a hybrid and would agree with Anthony that it has more more Bluegill traits than Longear. Again just my best guess. Got to love it.

Yeah some of the Longears here have white edges on the ear and sometimes even a redish tint. Water and location play a big part Banker, you are correct.

Side note: what Bluegill traits do you see? Just curious.

Color pattern and some black coloring on the upper fin.

Not a Perch

OK, Here is another one I caught yesterday out of the same pond.

Looks like a Hybrid Green Sunfish to me. Thoughts?

Longear.

this is a perch:

Banker is right, Longear.




Its actually a Yellow Perch.

Thanks Chuck and Fishing_4_Life

Cliff, I do see the white outer edge on the second picture. There is also and upward angle of the ear, as compared to laying straight back. Thanks for the input.

LOL, Thanks Bass Bug, I actually never saw one.

It is actually more complicated, the nomenclature, that is.

Largemouth and smallmouth and other North American basses are actually sunfish.

And, the word 'bass' came to us from an English term, 'bars.'

And, 'bars' means 'perch.'

And, among the Perciformes (perch-like fish), one member is the bluegill.

So, a bluegill is a perch . . . and so is a largemouth bass.

Perch likely finds its roots with a meaning related to ray finned fish.

More tangled that a wind knot!

Brad

Awesome information Brad! I have always called Sunfish as according to the Parks&Wildlife. The basic six are 1. Bluegill. 2.Redbreast. #3.Green. #4.Redear. #5.Longear. #6.Warmouth.

Side Note: You can really complicate things up by adding in the hybrids.

There are several types of perch such as silver, american silver, white, ect.
And Crappie are freshwater sunfish family as well.

Tangled tangled tangled, I know thats right!

Response from TPWD - Looks like a Hybrid

Repsonse from TPWD was this one is a hybrid as well

Yep, but also,

We have in Texas two other "perches" "perch" a name that is widely misused in all fish circles. The above reference to "sunfish" for all the fish in the sunfish family (Centrarchidae) belonging to the Genus Lepomis is correct.

Two more "perch" in Texas freshwaters includes the logperch (Percina caprodes) and Pirate perch (Aphredoderus sayanus). Both of these are diminutive fishes (minners) not commonly seen unless being looked for.

Oh the fish pics, I'm with the first guy that answered, he got it right.

Lesson in fish taxonomy done for today, I'm going back to bass, ponds and OT.

PS, yall got the smart folks here in this group.

Absolutely 100% bluegill, a male and has a lot of the "coppernose" sub variety of bluegill in it, hence the long opercular flap.

Then again, looking close it does have some resemblance in the face to a longear, but its a bluegill.

Looks more like a punkinseed to me.....maybe a hybrid bluegill longear but I doubt it.

Just a note, just because somebody works for TPWD as a biologist does not mean they know what kind of fish they are looking at. Same for me. Only a taxonomist would truly be an expert.

I have seen TPWD biologist make some pretty stupid calls. Its been years, but for quite awhile a blue tilapia was "Certified" by a TPWD biologist as the "State Record Rio Grande Perch" (what? another perch?) AKA Texas cichlid, also not a perch, not a sunfish, a cichlid.

Yall are more fun than the bass folks....

Great stuff Fishbreeder!!! Thanks for adding your input to the conversation.

And yes this is the greatest group on any forum. Not only are they extremely knowledgeable, but better yet, there ain't an elitist in the bunch.

This has been a great thread. Thanks for sharing all the knowledge.

Whoever confirmed that as a longear didn't know what he was talking about. It is very clearly not a longear. It is a hybrid fo some sort. Just because someone works for TP&WD, or is even a biologist with them, doesn't mean they know everything about fish. TP&WD has books that tell you step-by-step how to distinguish between different species of fish, and it is a rather involved process, including counting each scale on the lateral line. I know because I have taken more than one to them for this type of confirmation.

I will simply consider your source. Have a nice day!

Just by looking through some of these threads I learned a few things, that, yes I'll say it....even I did not know. I am almost 60 year old fisheries biologist with a lot of mileage. Sometimes I can't figure out if I didn't know something or just forgot...

I've always loved sunfish, especially the more obscure species. I do a lot of electrofishing in bass lakes, and most are really boring....bass, bluegill, shad, maybe some tilapia. Its fun the first time, but real quick its just another job. When we get to do an oxbow, creek or river and catch all manner of species, its tons of more fun.

This groups enthusiasm for multiple species, rather than just one species and all that matters is size (ie. bass) is much more attractive to me in my "off time." I should drop by more regular....

Anybody ever catch a flier (Centrarchus macropterus)?

I agree with the other guys in that TPWD doesnt always know what they are talking about. They dont actually have the fish in their possession as none of us do except the angler who caught it. that being said Im gonna stick to my guns on this one as a Longear. It looks very similar to some of the Longear that I catch often.

This last fish is a Longear! The fish in question was the one "Banker" posted saying that it was identified by Parks&Wildlife as a Longear. That is the fish in question. I think Parks&Wildlife are right on the money as for that I.D. I can also agree that the sunfish are inner spawning with other species in their family. Just saying!

Plus #1. Defiantly a Longear!


Side Note: Despite the differences of opinions this thread is AWESOME! When you can learn about fish that is what a forum is all about. We all are going to have different opinions. Keep sharing em!

Am I the only one who uses the term "bream"?

Around here you may be. Most folks here are pretty species specific. I have a bad habit of calling them all Bluegill so don't feel left out.

To the Texas Fishing Forum. Glad to have you on board.



Side Note: I usually call em "Sunnies"!

Just by looking through some of these threads I learned a few things, that, yes I'll say it....even I did not know. I am almost 60 year old fisheries biologist with a lot of mileage. Sometimes I can't figure out if I didn't know something or just forgot...

I've always loved sunfish, especially the more obscure species. I do a lot of electrofishing in bass lakes, and most are really boring....bass, bluegill, shad, maybe some tilapia. Its fun the first time, but real quick its just another job. When we get to do an oxbow, creek or river and catch all manner of species, its tons of more fun.

This groups enthusiasm for multiple species, rather than just one species and all that matters is size (ie. bass) is much more attractive to me in my "off time." I should drop by more regular....

Anybody ever catch a flier (Centrarchus macropterus)? [/quote]

I wish I knew where to catch flier! Got in places you know of?

The first time I caught a flier was in EasTex. They disn't seem to school and I may have caught a handful over three summers of fishing pretty regularly. Last time I caught some was in an oxbow in West TN. I caught more of them but I think that was because they were cut off from the main water body. They are a sunfish that don't cooperate in my limited experience.

P.S. My family called them "perch" all my life cause that's what small fish were called. Whether they were freshwater or saltwater. I called them "bream" from a young age because that's what a den leader in my Cub Scout days called them. Go figure!

Not a perch

I caught a couple of these fish today. Can you name this one?

Yes, I call them Bream as well, just not on the forum. By the way, every one of these fish were caught on a fly called the "Briminator"

Looks like a Golden Shiner to me.

+1

Yall are friggin' awesome! I shoulda came by here a long time ago.

That is the VERY FIRST story about catching a flier I ever heard. I threw it in at the last in my comment.

That big gold colored fish above is as mentioned earlier, a golden shiner. They get pretty big and will bite a small piece of worm or other bait fairly readily.

Working on a fish hatchery in East Texas (long gone was called "D&B Fish Farm") I heard some crazy names for different kinds of fish. some of the sunfish were called...

Warmouth- stumpknocker
Red ear- cherry gill, shellcracker
Green sunfish- slick, slick perch, rice field slick
Bluegill- bream, perch
Hybrid sunfish(usually Bluegill male x Green female and hatchery bought)- Georgia Giant, high-bird sunfish, hyberd, hi-bred

some of the others

Blue catfish- guvment, fulton, high-fin, blue, bluecat
Bullhead catfish- mudcat, pollywog, mudpolly, chou-pic
Channel catfish- willow cat, chughead

Crappie- white perch, sac-au-lait, slab

Largemouth bass- black bass, green trout

Bowfin- grinnel, cypress trout
a buncha others...

Jagg, you are one of the very few people I've seen on here who have reported catching a flier. Few of us even know what one is. I've never seen one in person that i know of. The only other person I can think of was a guy who went by Starless Dragon who later changed to just Starless. He hasn't posted in a good while and I know he had some health problems. My memory is not very good these days, and I'm not certain if he caught it or just commented on the post. Heck maybe it was your flier and he just responded about it. Anyway, Justin was a very cool guy and there is a thread on here somewhere way back that he posted to that had a picture of a flier that was caught somewhere in a little bog pond over in east texas.

Was that your Flier?

Another Flier question for anyone who knows - someone said something once about them not being in the same group as the rest of our typical sunfish - bluegill, red ear, long ear, etc. I'm thinking maybe cichlid family or something like that. Any info about who fliers are related to?

I found this at TPWD that has some flier info. TPWD-Flier

Here's some pics i snagged off the net


I don't know, they look like perch to me.

Perch, indeed! What else could it be?

Basically if its bigger'n a minner, and isn't sumptin' else, then it must be a perch.


The flier (Centrarchus macropterus) is a bit unique because it belongs to a monospecific genus. It is the only fish in the Genus Centrarchus (most of) the rest of the sunfish are in the Genus Lepomis.

We get a lot of bantam sunfish at my farm, but they hardly get big enough to fish for. Pretty little fish though.

What about this one?

Blurry but looks like a Native.Bluegill. I caught 20 yesterday.

The eyes seemed to be more set on top, the nose sharper and the ear flap shorter than I had seen with other bluegills, so I was confused. Thanks Fishing_4_Life.

Yes sir Jamie. Its just my though. Maybe someone else can weight in on it too. The fish that I caught, with the exception of the middle pic, were too small to have big ears. The females have lighter colored and smaller ears while have males dark and larger ears. I caught two decent sized Coppernose Bluegill last year and thought they were both female because of how big they were they shouldve been filled out (or so I though). I brought them home and put the in my aquarium and then out of no one of them developed a larger ear and completely different colors. So now there one male and one female and the male has made 4 nests in the tank, pretty cool!

Side note: I fish 7 ponds at one place that I fish and the one were I caught these is the only one that I know for a fact has only Pure strain Bluegill in it. The rest consist of a variety.

They all look Bluegill to me also.

Dang F4L you are hooked up! I feel pretty fortunate I have the pond I get to fish.

BG

Thanks for all the replies, more great information. I'll keep posting them. I'm learning an enormous amount by doing so. Obviously, pure strain native Bluegill are a much smaller species of fish.

Lol yes sir ck. Those seven are all next to eachother and the lake right next to them. I guess I am pretty lucky. Some are scattered around but in all Im able to fish quite a few private ponds . You should post pics from the one you fish! Its not the amount of places you have to fish that mattters, just how much you get out fish what youve got!

Thanks Jamie for posting all the fish in question, I enjoy this thread very much!

Not a Perch

OK, I caught this one today. Is this a Green X Red Ear Hybrid? It has the blue lines on the face, dark top and yellow bottom. The second picture is a confirmed red ear.

Man, really wish the picture was a little clearer. It looks like a Green except that it looks like it has the ear of a Red Ear. Greens typically have a purplish ear but this one appears red and white. I want to say that its a Hybrid because of that ear but due to photo clarity, I cant give a 100 percent answer.

Greens have orange tipped pelvic fins. I don't see that in the top pic. Looks like a weird Warmouth to me.

Bottom is a RE

Coppernose BG have the genetics to grow larger, and generally they do, but a lot if it has to do with the nutrients and food sources available. Our pure strain natives can get huge all on their own given the right conditions.

Somewhere if i can find it, I've got a picture of 2 fish from Fairfield - one CNBG and one native BG. Both are huge, but from the size of that native, you'd never know they were supposed to be smaller than their clown faced cousins from Alabama and Florida.

Not all Greens have orange tipped pelvics. Some have orange, white, yellow or a combination and in most cases its on the pelvics, anal, caudal, and dorsal fins. But sometimes they have no color on their fins. I believe they are female when they lack the coloring on their fins but Im not sure. I have one in my tank. Definately not a Warmouth though.

Thanks, that was my thought as well. Most of the greenies I catch in the golf course ponds don't have that coloring. The blue striations on the face are usually a tell for me. When it was in the water I could see it had a lot of greenie in it but new something was a miss. I have also caught confirmed red ear X bluegill mix in this pond.

Sorry for the picture, my lens on my camera phone was stained for some reason.

Its alright, about the lens. But seeing a picture with good clarity is needed for the best possible identification. I actually posted a picture of a Green without the colorful fins in my "Pond Bite Has Been Hot" thread. Keep em comin Jamie!

You're right, I should not have been specific to just orange, but I have never caught one that didn't some color mentioned above on the fins to ID part or whole green.
They could be out there but I have never seen or caught one, was just going off my experience.

Yes sir. Your experience is very much appreciated! We have to share our experience with one another so as to help each other out! ....I think Ill go fishing now lol!

Lucky you! Im having surgery in the morning and missing the bite

Best of luck and prayers for you on your surgery.

+1 and a quick recovery

This is a really cool discussion thread. I will throw in my $0.02. I grew up on both sides of the Mississippi River between Vicksburg and Baton Rouge fishing in oxbows and barrow (bar) pits. Here is the key to our fish:

Largemouth=bass or green trout
Crappie=sac-a-lait or white perch (regardless of whether they were white crappie or black crappie)
Anything looking like a bluegill=brim
Redear=chinquapin
Bowfin=grinnel or cypress trout or choupique
Drum=gaspergou
Yellow bass or white bass=barfish

I never saw or caught a flier until graduate school. My only encounter was in ichthyology class. As I recall we remembered it by the anal fin being about the same size as the dorsal fin. I've had to adjust to the local names since being in Texas - crappie, black bass, and perch. Like others, I enjoy learning about the regional names of the fish I catch (or see on this thread). Well done everybody.

Good information Choupique!!! Thanks for sharing

OK, I am confused by the fish in the top picture. I catch both fish in the same location. I have caught bluegill, redear and BG X Red Hybrid in this location. Is the top fish a native bluegill, red ear or BG x Red Hybrid?

awesome thread, I've enjoyed reading through and learning quite a bit. That flier resembles a ciclid/crappie mix.

I took a look at my Bible for freshwater fishes, "How to Know the Freshwater Fishes", by Samuel Eddy. It was our field guide in ichthyology class. For the bluegill is says 10-12 soft rays on the anal fin. Spines are the hard ones that will stick you - rays are the soft ones. My book doesn't say how many the redear ought to have.

Any idea on this fish guys???

Looks Bluegill to me. The ear on the fish is not totally round like on pure Gills. Good chance it is a hybridized fish. I am leaning more Bluegill. Just my opinion.

Looks like a coppernose or coppernose x bluegill intergrade.

Very pretty fish.

Thanks banker-always fishing, and fishbreeder!!!
Did learn today that a few coppernose may have been introduced into this pond!!

Man, that is one beautiful fish. Don't believe I've ever seen that coloration before with the vertical greenish bars.

I did discover one other bluegill characteristic from my ichthyology class notes - a dark spot at the base and rear of the dorsal fin - you can see it pretty plainly in the pics on page 5 of this thread. Thanks for the picture...that is a beaut.

Not a Perch

When I started this thread back in December I only had a vague understanding of the different types of sunfish, bluegill and hybrids of each. But with the help and input of all you TFFers and some internet research I can now quickly identify all the different species I catch. During review of the TPWD private water body records I noticed that there was no fly fishing record established for Hybrid Green Sunfish. I also noted that the current rod & reel record, established in 1994, was 0.54 lbs and 9 inches.

I caught one over .5 lb. but it lost to much weight before I got it weighed.

Since the top water bite returned early this month I started fly fishing with Betts Fancy poppers that I purchase at Walmart. What I found is that the red and white popper was not only catching the biggest bass in the ponds, but also some really big sunfish and bluegill. For all you guys who fish with conventional gear, these poppers can be used with a float. Give them a try, they are lots of fun to fish with.

I was out fly fishing a pond for bass with the white popper. Mainly because I had only caught small red ear and a few greenies in this pond. As fate would have it, I caught a big hybrid green sunfish.

The red ear x green sunfish was 10 inches long and weighed 0.70 lbs.

One word "FANTASTIC"!






Side Note: Congratulations on yet another State record.

This is sooo AWESOME!!! Congrats

Thanks Chuck & Coolshot

FYI, I was texting Chuck pictures for weeks so he could identify each species for me. I'm kind of slow for being an Aggie Cajun Engineer, LOL!!!

I was fishing with my nephew the other day and he held up a big sunfish and said it was greenie. I could see the vertical bluegill bars from a distance. I looked at it and it was a bluegill x green sunfish hybrid. He said he didn't even know they hybridized. I suspect that is story for quite a few people, which included me, not to long ago.

Congrats on the record and thanks for this thread on species identification. Very helpful info.

Thanks Wadefishing

That fish is a hog. Great catch on the fly and CONGRATULATIONS on the State Record!

Thanks Laker One, I appreciate the kind words.

big ole Georgia Giant. There are probably bigger ones than that in that pond depending on its age and when they were stocked! Very cool to get the state record! Congrats, Jamie!

I thought Georgia Giants were a green sunfish x Bluegill hybrid. This one is red ear X green hybrid. I don't think these were stocked, I think they hybridized naturally. Although I have caught bluegill X green sunfish in a different pond on a different piece of property. I'll have to check it out more closely.

Thanks for the congrats

Awesome fish! Way to go!

Nice fish and Congratulations "J-Moe" on your State Record Fish.

Thanks CK and Gitter Done

LOOK AT THOSE EARS!

Fatso Green/Bluegill cross. probably the heaviest sunfish I've ever caught.

That fish is HUGE! Nice catch. Would have loved to have seen the fight on the fly!

Since the gentleman who first tagged the name and breed the fish never released the details on the hybridization has passed, I guess we'll never know. But, there has been a healthy discussion from the pond management folks about it. Some say bluegill/greenie; some say redear/greenie. Some say other.

Looks like a pure green sunfish to me. I have pond which I catch them even bigger than this one. I'll take you there sometime. I might just turn you into a "Perch" fisherman like me, LOL!!!

Incredible fins and color. That fish is liven large!

Got out for an hr this evening with the fly rod and the fishing was on fire. Probably caught 40 (greens, hybrids, BG's) & 1 bass.

Here are a few pics. No monsters but some cool colors.

Bump since we are in the season