Home Back	Bluegill & Readear Sunfish
Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) Redear Sunfish (Pomoxis anularis) The bluegill has a dark spot on the rear base of the dorsal fin. Each ear flap (opercle) is black with no red on the edge. There will be blue along the jaw line and lower rear edges of the gill covers. The breast will usually be white when they are young, yellow on older females, and orange to rusty red on breeding males. The TWRA recently stocked 34,000 coppernose bluegill. The coppernose is a bluegill subspecies that grows faster and larger than the common bluegill. It has a copper/beige band across the head/nose and fewer but wider vertical bars across its body. The redear sunfish (sometimes called shellcracker) does not have a dark spot on the rear of the dorsal fin. Each black ear flap has red or orange on the edge. Tennessee record Bluegill: 3 lbs 6/27/1977 and 3 lbs 12/19/1987 Tennessee record Redear Sunfish: 3 lbs 6 oz 9/1/1979
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