Thank you for making this channel! This is the first video that appeared in my feed and it just happens to be one of my main interests. Now my kids can enjoy too. Getting Magic School bus vibes as well with the playful production 😊 Keep growing!
Up until the mid 70"s Toronto's annual Royal Winter Fair had tropical fish competitions. One year a renowned South American aquarist was a guest judge and voted a bluegill, that had been entered as a joke, best in show. It's often too easy to forget the beauty of something so common to us. Thanks for the great video!
The combination of the iridescent blue gill plates, and bright yellow bellies, make for a visually stunning fish. I used to exclusively catch these little guys to use as bait, but more and more I find myself catching them for fun.
I brought a 5 inch blue gill home and put him in a tank. I didn’t have any other pets at the time and I wanted something starter level for kids and an apartment. This fish - “Gill” and I, became pretty good friends. He trusted me and was really smart. He knew schedules, like meals and sleep/ waking. He would watch me come down the hallway in the mornings and you could watch him get physically excited. He knew mornings were feeding and he knew if I had nightcrawlers in the fridge. I put minnows and crayfish in there sometimes too. He would take worms from my fingers. The fish could tell if you had been to certain stores or what you had in which bags. He would eat leftovers or other stuff if I didn’t have worms. I would tear slices of ham or other lunch meat and he would slam them. He was my buddy and I released him into the river when I moved. He went from about 5 inches to over 8 in about two years he was with us. As far as aggression and predictability it was like having a piranha. My kids still bring him up and it’s been almost 10 years.
Do you live in a region where it snows and lakes freeze over winter? I want to take some home as pets for my 150 gallon aquarium but I don't want to have to simulate winter for them. Wondering if they adjust well
@@VanillaCoke64oz yes I’m in northern Indiana, so it gets cold here. I would imagine it’s overall a bit stressful for the fish but as long as there are never any quick changes to temperature they would do ok.
Hi, thanks for watching the video and telling me about your experiences. What a great story! These fish really are very intelligent, and you're right they do have quite an appetite!!! I used to live in Merrillville Indiana for about a year. I'm now in Western Massachusetts.
@@TheDave333, There is a TH-cam channel called New England Forests that is put out by a guy who lives in Western Massachusetts; he has a 5-part series on his channel about beaver ponds. You would like it for certain!
Many scuba divers call these things "Quarry Sharks". This is mostly due to how they will devour hotdog (weinersl or fish pellets. At the end of a dive, your are required to make a "safety stop" at 15 feet. This is to let excess nitrogen leave your system. During this stop you will often get surrounded by quarry sharks. Looking for food. This is a learned habit as almost every diver brings something to feed the sharks while on the safety stop. There was one gal that brought 2 packs of hotdogs with her. Having that much food, word got around, and at one point, she was surrounded by so many fish that only her fins could be seen sticking out of this massive ball of quarry sharks. It looked kinda like how the movies show piranha attacking. Not to worry though. The quarry sharks show no interest in human flesh. But it is kinda creepy to be surrounded by fish that are in a feeding frenzy, even if it is directed towards the hotdogs and not you.
Wow! What an amazing experience! I'm so jealous! These fish really do have an appetite. Thanks for watching the video, and taking the time to leave such an interesting comment. Great stuff.
You have, yet again, captured achingly beautiful footage, and edited it superbly into into a compelling whole. These males are so bold in defence of their nests and young, they are committed to producing and protecting the future. I love that you have names for old friends under the water’s surface, and that you don’t distress them for long in your filming. Your lake is perfect for the filming you do there, and your commentary is always insightful and educational. Thanks again Dave.🖤🇨🇦
I used to practice SCUBA in a flooded rock quarry. There were tons of bluegills around a building down there. Those little suckers had no qualms about biting the human invaders. Most of the time it was just annoying and kind of funny, but now and then a bigger bluegill would manage a good chomp. I never saw anyone with actual broken skin, but they would definitely get your attention. Good times. 🙂
Beautiful my dude. Awesome job. I remember when I was a kid at my grandparents had 2 massive community ponds and you could see the blue gills nesting in the shallows.
I worked at an American summer camp 20 plus years ago, the camp had a huge lake with huge horseflies to go with it! I swatted and killed plenty of those flies and dropped them to a fish that I was told was a blue gill. It took about 3 days for the fish to catch on. After that it would patrol up and down the floating dock waiting for me to drop the tasty corpses in. It had plenty of character and was a great ally that summer. I’m from the U.K so didn’t know the local wildlife but the memory of that blue gill has stuck with me.
How have I never seen this before I wanna learn more about the ecosystems! I feel like I’ve taken these “ordinary” things for granted. It’s not until you really follow around these animals that you notice how beautiful and actually smart they really are.
I had a rough day at work and this video took me back to when I was a school aged kid and used to go fishing to let off steam whenever I was in a mental funk. My buddies always hated catching bluegills but for me when I couldn’t get a bass to bite I knew I could always toss out a small lure on the ultralight and I’d be able to snag a bluegill or other little panfish any day of the year and in any conditions. They’ve kept me from getting ‘skunked’ more times than I could count and even if they’re not the most exciting sport fish in the world, catching something is always better than nothing! They were the reliable friend you could always count on to be there when the going gets tough. Thanks for the video, glad to see these little guys get the recognition and appreciation they deserve!
I have very similar feelings about them. They're like a reliable friend that's always willing to hang out with you when you need them. These fish should be the official ambassadors for the fishing hobby. 🐠🦈🐟
I grew up bluegill fishing with my grandpa, and a bluegill was my first catch. Always gonna have a soft spot for em. Nice video, fellow bluegill appreciator
It's May the 19th, 2024 and as a child, I used to fish for bluegills/sunnies. At that time, I never respected these fish and regarded them as trash. Now that I'm older and coincidentally educated in biology with an an associates degree, I have to come respect them more especially knowing that they are vital in the niche that they play for the ecosystem. You video further reinforced this stance and appreciation for these fish. Excellent narration and footage by the way.. 🤝👌
@Hmongboi228 Thank you! These fish do serve a very important role in the lake, and they're definitely an underappreciated species. I really hope that this video brings people to have a greater respect for these beautiful little fish. I have lots of videos that go into depth on all sorts of aquatic creatures. Some are on the freshwater aquarium fish that I keep and breed, and others are on the wild creatures that we find outdoors. And since you're interested in biology, there are a lot of videos on this channel that you'll love. 🦈🐟🦐🦠 🐠🐝
me and my siblings would use butterfly nets to catch the tiny bluegills and sunnies in the shallows at my grandparents’ home. my grandpa especially taught me so much about them, like how they build circular nests out of pebbles and sand and to avoid stepping on the nests during breeding season. they’re incredibly underrated fish, and have such silly personalities. I could watch them chase each other around all day long.
Thanks for watching the video. They're an amazing fish, and they deserve much more respect and appreciation than they get. They should be the ambassadors for the sport.
I've caught a bulegill on a folded piece of dead grass. Bluegill is my second favorite fish to eat, they're great with a good breading and garlic salt.
Love garlic salt with fish! That's creative thinking with the grass. I had a friend use the filter from a cigarette to make a small streamer to catch bluegill.
I once broke off a piece of pussy willow growing on the bank, and fluffed it up a little bit, hooked it, and threw it out and slowly trolled it back, and it works. I bagged four of them that day. Three of them were keepers.
I showed my 3 year old this, and he was completely enamored. Afterward he continued to give me the recap repeatedly. Thank you for the quality. (I also loved it)
Very nice video. I am in fisheries management and they are a very important part of the ecosystem. Not often you see such good footage of their nests. Thank you for mentioning to leave the bluegill nest alone. Kinda goes for all sunfish but its better for the populations to leave them to their buisness.
Thanks for watching the video and for taking the time to leave a comment. . . I agree 100% they are an important part of freshwater ecosystems. A key link in the food chain for many species.
I'm from South East Asia, & the most common 'first catch' species here is the climbing perch/Anabas testudineus. I've seen bluegill only in fishing simulators/v'games, so I really enjoyed watching this documentary about it. Thumbs up! 👍🏼😁
I discovered this world as a young teen in the marinas of the colorado river in the suny arizona desert. I bought goggles and flippers from walmart, and they may have as well been my rocketship and space suit woth the world i discovered. So amazing. Need to get back into free diving
Wow. Thank you for that informational video. We have an outdoor water garden and decided to put a bluegill we caught fishing in it. He's quite a character.
its bluegill season and the youtube algorithm never fails. Love your videos! They are amazing when you descale, gut, and defin them. Once you finish that you shallow fry in some oil and theyre like chips!!! delicious to eat with just seasoning salt, pepper, and rice.
My sons grew up fishing in the creek behind our house. They both still fish and enjoy the outdoors. We kept several small Bluegills and small Bass for a time. Even when accidentally injured, they recovered quickly and we never lost one, so it’s always good to toss them back. Like “Slackjaw”, they can recover!
For some reason or another, many anglers overlook the bluegill/sunfish as worthless or annoyance. I love this fish. Pumpkinseed fish are some of the most beautiful fish in freshwater NA.
I agree 100% I think bluegill are thought of as a beginner fish, they strike at anything, so they're easy to catch, and they tend to steal the bait intended for larger species. But in my opinion those are all good qualities! They're brave little fish and they're beautiful. Pumpkinseed are especially pretty.
Fascinating video and very well filmed. As a lifelong freshwater fisherman, I have caught many hundreds of Bluegill while fishing for Bass and Pike. Even though they are a bit of a nuisance they are fun and feisty little guys.
Thanks for watching the video, and taking the time to leave a comment! Be sure to watch my videos on the Chain Pickerel and the largemouth bass as well.
I have an extra soft spot in my heart for injured/disabled animals. There is a tailess squirrel in the neighborhood. Still living the good life. Just like those strong, handsome Bluegill!
Can't tell you how many times that i have waited to fish gills on their beds. When they bite, they turn that slab of a body sideways and fight with all of the protective aggression that you have just showed us all. Enjoyed this battle on ultra light gear, but after watching your fine presentation, feeling kind of guilty for my interruption of their dedication! But golly, there isn't much of any other fishes that beat the flavor of pan fried bluegill fillets! Even though knowing all that you showed us before watching, it's a great treasure watching these brave fathers challenge something many times larger than themselves!!
Bluegills really are such cool fish, brave, protective, great fighters, always biting, and they taste great too. Fish responsibly and we'll always have them to enjoy.
@stevehill6062 you damn well got that right, bluegills are delicious and IMO comparable to bread grown catfish or stocked river trout, absolutely fun as hell 🥰
We used to feed the bluegills at my grandma's lake place. They liked Wonder bread. We could catch them with our bare hands! Your video is beautiful and informative!
My wife, daughter and I feed bread and cooked oatmeal to bluegill in a pond near our house almost every day. They’re so conditioned to this feeding that they swarm to the shore as we approach, spotting us when we’re still 20-30 ft away. Easily 500-600 bluegill feeding!
I worked at a pet store where the feeder goldfish and minnows would accidentally sometimes have baby bluegill or similar mixed in and I took one of them home and it turned out to be a pumpkin seed bluegill and he was so freaking awesome he grew from a little half inch indistinguishable fish to about a foot-long chonk of a beauty, I had him about 3-4 years but he mysteriously died and I was absolutely devastated because he made me so happy he would go ape s*** every time I got home from work or from a walk or whatever he would be so excited literally splashing water out of his tank
I'm always been endeared by fish that are personable. One of my friends in college had a mbu puffer that was like a puppy, he would always be as close to people as his tank would let him. I went up to his tank once and he went to the surface and rolled over, belly up. Looked almost like he was playing dead. "What is he doing?" I asked my friend. "Oh, he wants you to pet him." "Seriously?" "Yeah, give his belly a little rub. He'll like it." So I did. Only fish I've ever seen that wanted me to pet him.
@snakehandler87 @NikeaTiber I love how some fish have a real personality, people don't give them enough credit. I had an Electric Blue Jack Dempsey that recognized me and only responded when I entered the room. He would ignore everyone else but me. And when I entered the room he would rise to the top and beg for food. Fish are much smarter than we give them credit for. 🐠🦈🐟
I used to have a pet bluegill. He was so friendly... by himself that is. He would greet me and follow me around the tank. Too bad he got a fungal disease and passed😢
We had some too when I was a kid. We had one larger sized one (compared to the rest) that ate or killed most of the others in the tank. He/she was eventually the lone survivor and later wound up dying.
Sorry to hear about your friend the fish. . . They're such beautiful fish, but they can be very aggressive, get big, and they have a huge appetite. A large tank (55 + gallons+), regular water changes, and good filtration really help to keep them healthy. After a while, they start to recognize you and respond when you enter the room. It's awesome.
I spent my whole 24 years of life thinking that the term "blue gill" came from the black spot. Also as a note for anyone wanting to keep them, the minimum recommended tank size is 100 gallons. I was thinking of getting some but after learning how big they got I realized I couldn't keep them.
They are boney but they do have a great taste and texture in my opinion. Better than large mouth bass. Great pets if you have a 120 gallon tank and aren't to focused on keeping live plants apart from floaters like water lettuce or frog bit. They're a lot like oscars in behavior but don't require tropical temperatures, which saves on the electric bill.
Totally agree! Way better tasting than bass. And they eat like little water pigs, so it's good to get them used to taking prepared food like cichlid pellets early on. Not having to heat them is also a real plus!
This was so interesting. Bluegill have always been interesting to me. creek wading for bluegill is still my favorite way to fish. An ultralight, pack of trout magnets and a good creek makes for an awesome day.
I love bluegill not for just fishing, but also they make really good aquarium fish. I built a 200 gallon North American River biotope with a buddy and it has some really nice bluegill from our local creek. Such an underappreciated fish
As a casual angler here in central Minnesota - seeing these freshwater fish and learning about them is so fascinating! Thank you for all the info. Videos are insanely relaxing, also.
There was a pond in my neighbor's yard I'd fish in when I was a kid. Well, he was a older guy and after he passed another person in the neighborhood took all of the sport fish from that pond and brought it to theirs. The bluegill had no natural predators and they got HUGE. Like dinner plate size huge.
That's awesome. I love big bluegills. Too bad about the neighborhood thief taking all of the sportfish from the pond and bringing them to his own place. Not cool!
This showed up in my feed today, nothing like I usually watch but I'm glad it appeared. I live in California and although not native to these parts, bluegill thrive. First fish I caught was a bluegill, like all fish I catch I threw him back. I mostly fish for largemouth bass (also not native but prevalent here) when they're not biting I'll play with the bluegill, they always seem to be hungry. I subscribed to your channel and am looking forward to going through your library, off to watch your video on largemouth now, thanks!
Where I live in CT they were always considered a junk fish. The out breed most species and would be considered evasive except they are one of our only naturally local breeds. Once you get past that, they are fun to catch, plentiful, and as tasty as game fish if your ever in need - imho :)
Baby bluegills and sunfish are food for Yellow Perch and Crappie; I've caught Perch that were stuffed to the gills with small bluegills. I'm in CT as well and our most "invasive" freshwater fish are landlocked populations of White Perch (a relative of the Striped Bass), alewives and gizzard shad, all of which disrupt the ecology of lakes and ponds.
It was very hot one day, so I took a dip & sat on a submerged rock. It didn't take much time (They were already there) for the bluegills to discover me. I sat still to watch them, no ear display or anything like that, one got brave enough and tried to take a bite out of my leg. I thought it was isolated behavior and that one would give up when it figured out I wasn't food. Nope! A few more joined in. Lesson: Don't sit still in fresh water. All it took to keep them from biting me was a little movement. But sit yoga still, and I was considered fair game within 60 seconds. Pawtuxet River, Rhode Island. It's the same place where I think our common snapping turtles are ankylosauruses.
Wow, what a great experience. I lover quiet times down by the water. You may want to watch my video on the snapping turtle! th-cam.com/video/cy6TEzb9-0I/w-d-xo.html
@@TheDave333 Those - I'm not afraid of, in the least. One of my fishing rocks is also a turtle rock. They pick the next one if they see me. Not the bluegills! "Is it dead yet? Does it matter? What does it taste like? Bring out your inner piranha!"
My wife and I love fishing Bluegills, the meat is mild yet sweet. They are easy to filet. Cut a shallow slit behind the gill and another just in front of the tail. At a very slight angle slide the blade towards the gill between the meat and the bones. Try not to dislodge any bone, takes a little practice. Flip the meat over so it is up and slide the blade between the meat and skin. There’s your filet. Flip the fish over and repeat. When you get good at it you can clean a lot of fish quickly and cleanly. This technique works on any number of fish.
I have a giant green sunfish the size of my hand living with a slightly smaller hybrid (a green sunfish + bluegill ) and a juvenile jack Dempsey cichlid. I have them trained so well, they’re giant water puppies always lining up together for food. Water pigs more like 😅
In the intro you’re absolutely right, my BF never went fishing before and I took him to a pond stocked with bluegills because I knew he’d be able to catch ‘em 😅
I caught about 18 little bluegill fry in a net almost 2 years ago. One was an older fry than the others who [the others] were only a couple days old and the bigger one may have been a week or two. Almost two years later, I only have one left. The biggest one lived up to 1 1/2 year and grew to 6 inches. He died last week and it’s definitely different to wake up and looking into my aquarium without the big guy. I got teary-eyed about this and not when my dad and brother died a few years ago (don’t get me wrong I loved my dad and my brother but for whatever reason I didn’t cry about it). I have one more now and he was one of the smaller ones but he is now the big guy’s size. Bluegill really are amazing little fish.
Hello again. I'm really sorry to hear about you dad and your brother. And, I'm sorry to hear about you losing your friend the big bluegill. We all grieve in our own way. The important thing is to keep moving forward in a positive direction. And yes, bluegills are amazing little fish! They're much easier to keep than bass, but they do get territorial as they age.
Thank you, I really appreciate it. In my other comment about Meathead the Bass, he is in the same aquarium as my bluegill. They do get territorial as they get older, but all he really does is swim over to Meathead and and nudges him away. But overall, the two get along very well and don’t mind each other’s company as long as they still have their own areas. Nice video, I really enjoyed watching 👍🐟
One time me and my friend stopped at an unknown pond by the highway and caught some HUGE bluegill, about a foot long and fat. Some of them had such beautiful colors, purple, blue, and super bright deep orange. Pretty sure one of them was a state record but we didn’t want it to die so we released it.
That's awesome! Bluegills are beautiful fish, and they deserve way more appreciation. They're always biting, they can get pretty big, and they put up a great fight. Lots of fun on light tackle.
I had one in a 20 gallon aquarium and fed it mosquito larvae. It went crazy for them. It grew so much that I put it back in the small creek where I caught it.
I fish for everything here in the PNW, but crappie and bluegill is still one of my favorites. No stress about tackle or strategy or any of that, just easy fun on the lake.
These are also awesome fish, I had a group of 6 in a 120 gallon that I trained to jump on command. Intelligent, but don't play well with non native tank mates, I've seen bluegills send cichlids renowned for their temper fleeing in terror. And as stated by others in the comments 90 to 120 gallons are the preferred tank sizes for this fish, that does to best in small groups
You know your stuff my friend! (btw. spent this much of this spring filming sea lamprey! and I'm still working on the common snapping turtle.) Thanks for watching. :-D
@@TheDave333 Hey since your documenting native fish do you have the warmouth sunfish (Lepomis gulosus) and the Rock bass (Ambloplites rupestris) in your area? Both are perfect native fish for the aquarium due to their smaller overall size than more widely known native species.
@Periplaneta Missionary Rock bass yes, warmouth no. Great suggestions! My favorite local fish for the aquarium is the tessellated darter (Etheostoma olmstedi). I've been filming them in a local river for the last 2 years, and I used to keep them in an aquarium many years ago. They're super interesting, they stay small, and they're pretty hardy. Films from local rivers coming soon. :-D
I've seen a lot of different shots of fish growing up and playing in lakes and ponds, but I have never seen bluegill eggs before. Thank you for capturing this unique shot!
I have kept and raised bluegiils, green sunfish, hybrid green-gills, Northern long ears (reclassified now as just "long ears") and orange spotted sunnies in my aquarium and they're wonderful to keep and are beautiful fish that are intelligent enough to interact and recognize you. However, they are hard to take flaked food once older. You must acclimate them in their young stage and experiment with what they like best when older. My best experiences are with flakes when very young and then frozen/fresh blood worms and red worms / small cut up pieces of night crawlers. They also like tiny YOTY baby fish as well. Green sunfish, like creek chubs are NOT a community tank species and have huge appetites. If it fits their mouth, it's chow. They ARE, however, a beautiful and interactive fish once they associate you with food. One per tank unless it's over 60 gallons with good cover. Bluegills are nice, but like all sunfish, need a large tank for territory, or will kill other sunfish without remorse in too small of a tank, and yes, if it fits, they'll eat it. Don't be fooled. Bluegills are savages! Again, one gill per tank unless it's over 60 gallons with good cover. Orange spotted sunfish are a much smaller wild breed and do well in a tank. However, like all wild sunfish breeds, they prefer fresh foods rather than frozen and flaked, and they are more peaceful. I suggest, like before, only 1 orange spot sunny per 30 gallons. Space is needed with these fish despite them being smaller. Regardless, sunfish AREN'T a pet store fish and you had better be well versed in tank water Ph parameters, the Ph of the water they came from, and have a big enough tank. Even though my tank is 29 gallons, that's still not big enough except for one small sunnie of any species. If you're already collecting your fish from the wild, BE SURE that you are legally allowed to take these fish, they're not endangered, you have permission to take them, AND... that you can accurately identify the fish. If you cannot 100% confirm what the fish species is, TURN IT LOOSE! As a NANFA member myself, we must always respect and protect our fish and waters, and we must ALWAYS be SURE of the fish species before keeping it. Lastly. If you want the BEST information on how to begin, start and keep native fish, look up NANFA. North American Native Fishes Association. Absolutely the BEST resources for keeping wild fish.
Thank you so much for sharing all of this valuable information. I learned a lot from your comment! I've never kept any of these sunfish before, and now I would really think twice before doing so. Please keep coming back to my channel because I'm working on a video about the Tessellated Darter that you and the other NANFA members will appreciate. I've been filming them in the wild for a couple years now, and the video should be awesome when it's done. Thanks again for taking the time to leave such a helpful comment.
@@TheDave333 You're very welcome! Thank you for doing these videos! Currently at this time I am keeping in my tank 4 banded darters, 1 rainbow darter, a brindled madtom catfish, 4 spotfin shiners and 4 blunt nose minnows. All have adapted very well to tank life and while the darters refuse flake food, the minnows and shiners eat it well. The darters eat frozen blood worms with gusto. At this time the male banded darters are in breeding colors of bright emerald green and gold bars. Rainbow darters WILL eat tiny fry fish as well. They're micro-predators. The madtom catfish are a very fascinating type of fish. They typically grow between 4" to a bit over a foot long. The brindled cat that I have is about 5" long. A fascinating fact about the madtom species is that they're venomous. Their sting is mildly venomous and feels like a wasp sting. My madtom eats flakes that the other fish don't eat, small fry fish when I get them and blood worms. They really aren't too fussy when it comes to eating, but they're nocturnal. So mine comes out only at night or when the lights are down very low. Don't give up on sunfish! If you have a big enough tank and get them when they're very small, they adapt well to tank life and live and frozen foods that aren't flake. The long ear sunfish are absolutely beautiful with their green and electric blue chains and gill plates. Orange spotted sunnies are just as beautiful, but a smaller species.
Of all of the native fish my favorites are the Darters, and I wish I lived in a place like Tennessee where there are so many different species of darters. Rainbow darters are amazing!!! I'd love to film them in the wild. We are the only place in the world where darters are a native species. I love them. Where I live, in Western Massachusetts, there's only one species of darter and it's fairly dull looking, but it does get a bit more colorful when it's spawning. I'm waiting for the water to warm up a bit so I can get to the river and film them again in spawning mode. Hopefully, I'll get all of the footage I need to make a full length documentary about them. I've never kept them in an aquarium, so everything will be from the wild. I knew about the madtoms, they're really neat fish as well. Your tank must be really fun to watch. Lastly, I hope to buy and breed rainbow shiners in the near future. Their spawning colors are amazing! I knew about the madtoms, they're really neat fish as well.
@@TheDave333 Darters are amazing fish and are the smallest members of the perch (Percidae) family. Here in central Ohio we have quite a few darter species. We have banded darters, rainbows, orange throats, Johnny, fantails, blue breast darter(rare), green side and several other species. We have a very good selection of darters here. If you're wanting to keep darters, blood worms are what I feed mine. Very rare is the day that you'll get a darter of any kind to take flake food. I have some pictures on Nanfa of one of my rainbow darters actually eating shiner fry. When getting darters adjusted to tank life, it takes about 3-4 days before they'll eat blood worms. They have to get good and hungry. Now mine actually swim to the top of the tank and wait for me to feed them. Another spectacular fish we have here is the southern red belly dace. Stunning fish when in spawning color. The spotfin shiners are the Corvette of the tank and are always zipping around and very active. Satinfin shiners are the same. Once they achieve adulthood, their fins get a metallic white and green sheen to it. Anyhow, keep up the awesome videos! I love it and am always happy to chat fish!
I'm only within the first few minutes and man, it's like you were in an aquarium. So much life. I'm jealous but thanks for sharing, and thanks for the info
The best tasting fish I have ever had was blue gill. It takes a lot to make a meal but man they r good eating when u have someone who can filet them good and fry them right.
They do require some skill to to filet and cook, but I agree great tasting fish. I feel the same way about chain Pickerel. th-cam.com/video/EL9P6oKM8Gg/w-d-xo.html
I'm not smart enough to know why this year old video is getting the business all of the sudden but I'm here for it all the way my friend. It did take a sec to get over the kid show like delivery (Which is GREAT but I'm in my 50's) Subbed. I cant wait to see how this channel grows because it will. Bravo. Now I have some backlog to watch😉
Thank you so much for the kind words and for subscribing. There's lots of good material here. I film and breed freshwater aquarium fish, as well as outdoor stuff. 🐠🦈🐟
Loved the video. I feel like this is going to be my next little obsession. I can’t wait to spend the next three days going through all of your videos and reading Wikipedia for days about fish.
This is awesome!!! Now, I feel like a fish ambassador! Fish are amazing and fishkeeping is a very addictive hobby. I'm always here to answer any questions that you might have. Thank you so much. 🐠🦈🐟🐠🦈🐟🐠🦈🐟
I love bluegill. Fun and easy to catch, hard-fighting, variable in appearance, incredibly feisty, plentiful, pretty, and if big enough to fillet, the best-eating fish I've ever had (just as delicious otherwise, but not personally worth my time to deal with). I put a male bluegill the size of my palm into my 90-gallon aquarium with a big Oscar and also pretty big Jack Dempsey fish, plus two large male Allenii crayfish (a white and an electric blue). I went to town to get some suitable food, when I got back EVERYTHING but the bluegill was dead. I was gone MAYBE an hour. They're VERY fast, strong, and aggressive. Any I've ever caught that weren't fit to eat and were mortally hurt made the best OH river catfish bait I've ever used. Wonderful fish.
Your comment describes the bluegill perfectly. They're awesome fish, that can be very aggressive. Sorry to hear about the Oscar, the Jack Dempsey, and the crays. Bummer
It’s always great fun to go fishing at a lake where you can catch almost any species of fish- in Minnesota I would catch Northern, Crappie, bass and MONSTER bluegill
The Bluegill is a great sport fish for kids learning to fish in the western states. We call them pan fish because of the way we cook them. Remove the scales and clean, then season and drege in flour or corn meal and a slice of lemon in the belly. Fry in oil or butter. When done we eat em with a fork. I apologize if I have offended anybody 🙏
I love this. I'm from Kentucky and live next to Laurel lake and cumber!and river. Bluegill are my favorite fish to eat. I have a small pond behind my house that has one catfish and a pair of bluegills. Been there for years. Got to be the biggest bluegill I've ever seen. But I disagree about keeping g them in tanks. It's very hard to keep them alive.
They are difficult to keep in captivity, there's no doubt about that. But it can be done by an experienced fish keeper with a large tank. Keeping more than one is tricky though because they can be very aggressive. Still, they're probably better off left in the wild.
I had a per green sunfish. Was the best fish I ever had in an aquarium. He would jump out of the water to take grasshoppers out of my fingers. We named him Mr. Bill. He was soooo aggressive. I released him back into the pond he was caught from. My kids enjoyed watching him. I had a few bluegills as well and they were fun to watch but that greenie was the best. I still live to catch and release them on the fly rod at the ponds.
Thank you for making this channel! This is the first video that appeared in my feed and it just happens to be one of my main interests. Now my kids can enjoy too. Getting Magic School bus vibes as well with the playful production 😊
Keep growing!
Thank you so much. I appreciate your contribution to my success.
😊😊😊😊😊😊oooooiooooooo oh ioci
Up until the mid 70"s Toronto's annual Royal Winter Fair had tropical fish competitions. One year a renowned South American aquarist was a guest judge and voted a bluegill, that had been entered as a joke, best in show. It's often too easy to forget the beauty of something so common to us. Thanks for the great video!
That is a wonderful story, and you are so right.🖤🇨🇦
That's awesome! Beauty is everywhere!
I know it may sound dumb but I'm always starting in awe at the blue gill in bass pro shop they got em so big there
They should see long ear sunfish
The combination of the iridescent blue gill plates, and bright yellow bellies, make for a visually stunning fish. I used to exclusively catch these little guys to use as bait, but more and more I find myself catching them for fun.
amazing to see these familiar fish from a new perspective! I have a new respect for their fighting spirit!
It’s amazing to see, I overlook them all the time but they are often the backbone of a freshwater ecosystem
(Also I’m a huge fan Tierzoo)
hi tierzoo
I love the amount of times I see Tier Zoo in TH-cam comments. You clearly have serious passion for all things biology
They are truly an underappreciated species. Hopefully, this video helps them gain a bit more respect!
I brought a 5 inch blue gill home and put him in a tank. I didn’t have any other pets at the time and I wanted something starter level for kids and an apartment. This fish - “Gill” and I, became pretty good friends. He trusted me and was really smart. He knew schedules, like meals and sleep/ waking. He would watch me come down the hallway in the mornings and you could watch him get physically excited. He knew mornings were feeding and he knew if I had nightcrawlers in the fridge. I put minnows and crayfish in there sometimes too. He would take worms from my fingers. The fish could tell if you had been to certain stores or what you had in which bags. He would eat leftovers or other stuff if I didn’t have worms. I would tear slices of ham or other lunch meat and he would slam them. He was my buddy and I released him into the river when I moved. He went from about 5 inches to over 8 in about two years he was with us. As far as aggression and predictability it was like having a piranha. My kids still bring him up and it’s been almost 10 years.
Gill, lol
Do you live in a region where it snows and lakes freeze over winter? I want to take some home as pets for my 150 gallon aquarium but I don't want to have to simulate winter for them. Wondering if they adjust well
@@VanillaCoke64oz yes I’m in northern Indiana, so it gets cold here. I would imagine it’s overall a bit stressful for the fish but as long as there are never any quick changes to temperature they would do ok.
Hi, thanks for watching the video and telling me about your experiences. What a great story! These fish really are very intelligent, and you're right they do have quite an appetite!!! I used to live in Merrillville Indiana for about a year. I'm now in Western Massachusetts.
@@TheDave333, There is a TH-cam channel called New England Forests that is put out by a guy who lives in Western Massachusetts; he has a 5-part series on his channel about beaver ponds. You would like it for certain!
This is what nature documentaries should be.
Thank you
Many scuba divers call these things "Quarry Sharks". This is mostly due to how they will devour hotdog (weinersl or fish pellets.
At the end of a dive, your are required to make a "safety stop" at 15 feet. This is to let excess nitrogen leave your system. During this stop you will often get surrounded by quarry sharks. Looking for food. This is a learned habit as almost every diver brings something to feed the sharks while on the safety stop.
There was one gal that brought 2 packs of hotdogs with her. Having that much food, word got around, and at one point, she was surrounded by so many fish that only her fins could be seen sticking out of this massive ball of quarry sharks. It looked kinda like how the movies show piranha attacking.
Not to worry though. The quarry sharks show no interest in human flesh. But it is kinda creepy to be surrounded by fish that are in a feeding frenzy, even if it is directed towards the hotdogs and not you.
Wow! What an amazing experience! I'm so jealous! These fish really do have an appetite. Thanks for watching the video, and taking the time to leave such an interesting comment. Great stuff.
You have, yet again, captured achingly beautiful footage, and edited it superbly into into a compelling whole. These males are so bold in defence of their nests and young, they are committed to producing and protecting the future.
I love that you have names for old friends under the water’s surface, and that you don’t distress them for long in your filming. Your lake is perfect for the filming you do there, and your commentary is always insightful and educational. Thanks again Dave.🖤🇨🇦
My pleasure Tamarra. :-D
I used to practice SCUBA in a flooded rock quarry. There were tons of bluegills around a building down there. Those little suckers had no qualms about biting the human invaders. Most of the time it was just annoying and kind of funny, but now and then a bigger bluegill would manage a good chomp. I never saw anyone with actual broken skin, but they would definitely get your attention. Good times. 🙂
That does sound like good times. Brave little fish / protective fathers.
Beautiful my dude. Awesome job. I remember when I was a kid at my grandparents had 2 massive community ponds and you could see the blue gills nesting in the shallows.
So many people have strong memories of these fish growing up. . . Thanks for watching.
EAt em up
For its size, the Bluegill is the strongest fighting fish on the line.
Possibly? What about pickerel? th-cam.com/video/EL9P6oKM8Gg/w-d-xo.html
I worked at an American summer camp 20 plus years ago, the camp had a huge lake with huge horseflies to go with it! I swatted and killed plenty of those flies and dropped them to a fish that I was told was a blue gill. It took about 3 days for the fish to catch on. After that it would patrol up and down the floating dock waiting for me to drop the tasty corpses in. It had plenty of character and was a great ally that summer.
I’m from the U.K so didn’t know the local wildlife but the memory of that blue gill has stuck with me.
What a beautiful story. Thanks for sharing. I too have swatted at my share of horseflies! :-)
How have I never seen this before I wanna learn more about the ecosystems! I feel like I’ve taken these “ordinary” things for granted. It’s not until you really follow around these animals that you notice how beautiful and actually smart they really are.
So true my friend so true. And the more we appreciate the natural world, the harder we will work to protect it. 🌻🌼🐝
I had a rough day at work and this video took me back to when I was a school aged kid and used to go fishing to let off steam whenever I was in a mental funk. My buddies always hated catching bluegills but for me when I couldn’t get a bass to bite I knew I could always toss out a small lure on the ultralight and I’d be able to snag a bluegill or other little panfish any day of the year and in any conditions. They’ve kept me from getting ‘skunked’ more times than I could count and even if they’re not the most exciting sport fish in the world, catching something is always better than nothing! They were the reliable friend you could always count on to be there when the going gets tough. Thanks for the video, glad to see these little guys get the recognition and appreciation they deserve!
I have very similar feelings about them. They're like a reliable friend that's always willing to hang out with you when you need them. These fish should be the official ambassadors for the fishing hobby. 🐠🦈🐟
You may not like it, but the bluegill is what peak fishing with dad looks like
As long as you're out of the house and spending time with your Dad it's all good. Appreciate the small things in life.
Sand bass are a ton of fun, too. My pops can't get out anymore, but peak fishing with dad, would be fly fishing Siskiyou County.
Im a dad and i sure do like it lol
I remember catching a few good sized bluegills with my dad
I grew up bluegill fishing with my grandpa, and a bluegill was my first catch. Always gonna have a soft spot for em. Nice video, fellow bluegill appreciator
Thank you so much. Grandparents are awesome, and I love it when one generation teaches the next. ❤
The fish flapping it’s ears at you was the first time I have ever seen that very cool
I thought so too. I'm happy to have brought you something new and different. Thanks for watching!
It's May the 19th, 2024 and as a child, I used to fish for bluegills/sunnies. At that time, I never respected these fish and regarded them as trash. Now that I'm older and coincidentally educated in biology with an an associates degree, I have to come respect them more especially knowing that they are vital in the niche that they play for the ecosystem. You video further reinforced this stance and appreciation for these fish. Excellent narration and footage by the way.. 🤝👌
@Hmongboi228
Thank you! These fish do serve a very important role in the lake, and they're definitely an underappreciated species.
I really hope that this video brings people to have a greater respect for these beautiful little fish.
I have lots of videos that go into depth on all sorts of aquatic creatures. Some are on the freshwater aquarium fish that I keep and breed, and others are on the wild creatures that we find outdoors. And since you're interested in biology, there are a lot of videos on this channel that you'll love. 🦈🐟🦐🦠 🐠🐝
@@TheDave333, I have caught yellow perch and crappie whose stomachs were stuffed to the gills with baby sunfish and bluegills.
me and my siblings would use butterfly nets to catch the tiny bluegills and sunnies in the shallows at my grandparents’ home. my grandpa especially taught me so much about them, like how they build circular nests out of pebbles and sand and to avoid stepping on the nests during breeding season.
they’re incredibly underrated fish, and have such silly personalities. I could watch them chase each other around all day long.
Thanks for watching the video. They're an amazing fish, and they deserve much more respect and appreciation than they get. They should be the ambassadors for the sport.
I've caught a bulegill on a folded piece of dead grass. Bluegill is my second favorite fish to eat, they're great with a good breading and garlic salt.
Love garlic salt with fish! That's creative thinking with the grass. I had a friend use the filter from a cigarette to make a small streamer to catch bluegill.
I once broke off a piece of pussy willow growing on the bank, and fluffed it up a little bit, hooked it, and threw it out and slowly trolled it back, and it works.
I bagged four of them that day. Three of them were keepers.
I showed my 3 year old this, and he was completely enamored. Afterward he continued to give me the recap repeatedly. Thank you for the quality. (I also loved it)
That's so awesome! Gotta get the youngsters hooked on the fish!
Very nice video. I am in fisheries management and they are a very important part of the ecosystem. Not often you see such good footage of their nests. Thank you for mentioning to leave the bluegill nest alone. Kinda goes for all sunfish but its better for the populations to leave them to their buisness.
Thanks for watching the video and for taking the time to leave a comment. . . I agree 100% they are an important part of freshwater ecosystems. A key link in the food chain for many species.
"they can be quite aggressive and get large so set your tank up accordingly" fish bites camera
It's almost like I timed it that way intentionally. 😁
I'm from South East Asia, & the most common 'first catch' species here is the climbing perch/Anabas testudineus. I've seen bluegill only in fishing simulators/v'games, so I really enjoyed watching this documentary about it. Thumbs up! 👍🏼😁
Interesting! Climbing perch must be quite common there just like the bluegill here. :-)
Blue gill is there for me when everyone else ain’t 💯🤞
So true, so true. . . They're always biting.
I discovered this world as a young teen in the marinas of the colorado river in the suny arizona desert. I bought goggles and flippers from walmart, and they may have as well been my rocketship and space suit woth the world i discovered. So amazing. Need to get back into free diving
We sound like kindred spirits my friend. I love my time underwater, it really is like going to a different planet.
I love fishing for these little guys. Love seeing a bobber go under. They make great catfish bait.
I love seeing that bobber go under too! It brings back memories of catfishing late at night.
Wow. Thank you for that informational video. We have an outdoor water garden and decided to put a bluegill we caught fishing in it. He's quite a character.
That is awesome! Bluegills are special character indeed!
its bluegill season and the youtube algorithm never fails. Love your videos! They are amazing when you descale, gut, and defin them. Once you finish that you shallow fry in some oil and theyre like chips!!! delicious to eat with just seasoning salt, pepper, and rice.
Bluegill are tasty! Thanks, now I'm hungry. . .
I have always loved bluegill thanks for sharing the intricate and fascinating life of these incredible animals.
You're very welcome. Thanks for watching the video and for taking the time to leave a comment. 😁😁😁
My sons grew up fishing in the creek behind our house. They both still fish and enjoy the outdoors. We kept several small Bluegills and small Bass for a time. Even when accidentally injured, they recovered quickly and we never lost one, so it’s always good to toss them back. Like “Slackjaw”, they can recover!
Fish are resilient, amazing creatures! And that might explain why I have 22 fish tanks in my house. 🦈🐟🦐🦠 ❤🐠🦈🐟
For some reason or another, many anglers overlook the bluegill/sunfish as worthless or annoyance. I love this fish. Pumpkinseed fish are some of the most beautiful fish in freshwater NA.
I agree 100% I think bluegill are thought of as a beginner fish, they strike at anything, so they're easy to catch, and they tend to steal the bait intended for larger species. But in my opinion those are all good qualities! They're brave little fish and they're beautiful. Pumpkinseed are especially pretty.
Fascinating video and very well filmed. As a lifelong freshwater fisherman, I have caught many hundreds of Bluegill while fishing for Bass and Pike. Even though they are a bit of a nuisance they are fun and feisty little guys.
Thanks for watching the video, and taking the time to leave a comment! Be sure to watch my videos on the Chain Pickerel and the largemouth bass as well.
@@TheDave333 On it!
I have an extra soft spot in my heart for injured/disabled animals. There is a tailess squirrel in the neighborhood. Still living the good life. Just like those strong, handsome Bluegill!
I have a soft spot for the special creatures too. It must be very hard for a squirrel to hop around in trees without it's tail to balance it. ❤❤❤
Great footage of the blue gills and nice a knewt dropped in, having fished for blue gill most of my life its wonderful to see them in their habitat
Thank you so much.
these videos are awesome! So cool watching these guys from a different perspective than we normally see them. Best fishy content on TH-cam ❤
here from ur tweet
Thank you so much!
Can't tell you how many times that i have waited to fish gills on their beds. When they bite, they turn that slab of a body sideways and fight with all of the protective aggression that you have just showed us all. Enjoyed this battle on ultra light gear, but after watching your fine presentation, feeling kind of guilty for my interruption of their dedication!
But golly, there isn't much of any other fishes that beat the flavor of pan fried bluegill fillets!
Even though knowing all that you showed us before watching, it's a great treasure watching these brave fathers challenge something many times larger than themselves!!
Bluegills really are such cool fish, brave, protective, great fighters, always biting, and they taste great too. Fish responsibly and we'll always have them to enjoy.
@stevehill6062 you damn well got that right, bluegills are delicious and IMO comparable to bread grown catfish or stocked river trout, absolutely fun as hell 🥰
We used to feed the bluegills at my grandma's lake place. They liked Wonder bread. We could catch them with our bare hands! Your video is beautiful and informative!
My wife, daughter and I feed bread and cooked oatmeal to bluegill in a pond near our house almost every day. They’re so conditioned to this feeding that they swarm to the shore as we approach, spotting us when we’re still 20-30 ft away. Easily 500-600 bluegill feeding!
Thank you so much. They really are beautiful little fish.
I worked at a pet store where the feeder goldfish and minnows would accidentally sometimes have baby bluegill or similar mixed in and I took one of them home and it turned out to be a pumpkin seed bluegill and he was so freaking awesome he grew from a little half inch indistinguishable fish to about a foot-long chonk of a beauty, I had him about 3-4 years but he mysteriously died and I was absolutely devastated because he made me so happy he would go ape s*** every time I got home from work or from a walk or whatever he would be so excited literally splashing water out of his tank
I'm always been endeared by fish that are personable.
One of my friends in college had a mbu puffer that was like a puppy, he would always be as close to people as his tank would let him.
I went up to his tank once and he went to the surface and rolled over, belly up. Looked almost like he was playing dead.
"What is he doing?" I asked my friend.
"Oh, he wants you to pet him."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah, give his belly a little rub. He'll like it."
So I did. Only fish I've ever seen that wanted me to pet him.
@snakehandler87
@NikeaTiber
I love how some fish have a real personality, people don't give them enough credit. I had an Electric Blue Jack Dempsey that recognized me and only responded when I entered the room. He would ignore everyone else but me. And when I entered the room he would rise to the top and beg for food. Fish are much smarter than we give them credit for.
🐠🦈🐟
What a terrific video….a look into the busy lives of remarkable little fish. This was a pleasure to watch.
Thank you so much. 🐠🦈🐟
I used to have a pet bluegill. He was so friendly... by himself that is. He would greet me and follow me around the tank. Too bad he got a fungal disease and passed😢
We had some too when I was a kid. We had one larger sized one (compared to the rest) that ate or killed most of the others in the tank. He/she was eventually the lone survivor and later wound up dying.
Sorry to hear about your friend the fish. . . They're such beautiful fish, but they can be very aggressive, get big, and they have a huge appetite. A large tank (55 + gallons+), regular water changes, and good filtration really help to keep them healthy. After a while, they start to recognize you and respond when you enter the room. It's awesome.
Love seeing this video get boosted by the algo out of nowhere, you deserve it.
Thank you so much!
A part of our beautiful world that I’ve never seen before. Every creature doing their part. Thank you for sharing!
Everyone accept humans
You're very welcome, and thanks for watching the video. I'm glad that you enjoyed it.
Pound for pound (or perhaps ounce for ounce) they are great fighters. They are fun to catch when you're young or when you're old.
I agree 100% = dependable fish!
Use a micro setup and it'll make it fun for you again I promise
@@DrDoom931, yup, I let my little nephews use my ultralight setups, 4.5’ rod with 4lb test.
This vid was so educational! Love it. Can you do more?
Yes
This makes me so happy on a basic level I can't even express it thank you for making this video
You're so welcome!
I spent my whole 24 years of life thinking that the term "blue gill" came from the black spot.
Also as a note for anyone wanting to keep them, the minimum recommended tank size is 100 gallons. I was thinking of getting some but after learning how big they got I realized I couldn't keep them.
I wish a had a tank big enough to keep them! I guess I'll have to settle for an entire lake. . . :-)
They are boney but they do have a great taste and texture in my opinion. Better than large mouth bass. Great pets if you have a 120 gallon tank and aren't to focused on keeping live plants apart from floaters like water lettuce or frog bit. They're a lot like oscars in behavior but don't require tropical temperatures, which saves on the electric bill.
Totally agree! Way better tasting than bass. And they eat like little water pigs, so it's good to get them used to taking prepared food like cichlid pellets early on. Not having to heat them is also a real plus!
This was so interesting. Bluegill have always been interesting to me. creek wading for bluegill is still my favorite way to fish. An ultralight, pack of trout magnets and a good creek makes for an awesome day.
It sure does! I like topwater fishing with ultralight gear using poppers in the early morning or late afternoon.
Caught 75 Bluegills yesterday.Could see them in the shallows getting ready to spawn.All were released.
Fun to catch, they put up a good fight. Good job releasing them, people catch and keep way more than they ever eat.
Nice work my friend! Bluegill on light tackle never disappoints.
Wow what an amazing shot, the bluegill flairs at you, a chain pickerel and then a wild newt appears!
And I'm starting to grow gills. . . :-D
Those are some pretty and good sized blue gill. I love sun fish and think they're just as beautiful as any aquarium fish.
I agree! They are spectacular fish.
Some of the best footage of bluegill I’ve ever seen, God loves you bro
Thanks! Awesome little fish.
I love bluegill not for just fishing, but also they make really good aquarium fish. I built a 200 gallon North American River biotope with a buddy and it has some really nice bluegill from our local creek. Such an underappreciated fish
A North American biotope would be fun to set up. So many great choices! And the bluegill would be right at the top of my list. 🐠🦈🐟
As a casual angler here in central Minnesota - seeing these freshwater fish and learning about them is so fascinating! Thank you for all the info. Videos are insanely relaxing, also.
Thank you so much I really appreciate the kind words. I see you're a guitar player as well! Awesome. 😁😁😁
There was a pond in my neighbor's yard I'd fish in when I was a kid. Well, he was a older guy and after he passed another person in the neighborhood took all of the sport fish from that pond and brought it to theirs.
The bluegill had no natural predators and they got HUGE.
Like dinner plate size huge.
That's awesome. I love big bluegills. Too bad about the neighborhood thief taking all of the sportfish from the pond and bringing them to his own place. Not cool!
This showed up in my feed today, nothing like I usually watch but I'm glad it appeared. I live in California and although not native to these parts, bluegill thrive. First fish I caught was a bluegill, like all fish I catch I threw him back. I mostly fish for largemouth bass (also not native but prevalent here) when they're not biting I'll play with the bluegill, they always seem to be hungry.
I subscribed to your channel and am looking forward to going through your library, off to watch your video on largemouth now, thanks!
That's awesome thank you so much for subscribing! 🐠🦈🐟
Let's hear it for SlackJaw Pete. What a trooper.
I'd have to say he was my favorite out of them all. 😁😁😁
Where I live in CT they were always considered a junk fish. The out breed most species and would be considered evasive except they are one of our only naturally local breeds. Once you get past that, they are fun to catch, plentiful, and as tasty as game fish if your ever in need - imho :)
I agree 100% Many people don't realize that most of the game fish that they're after are not native to New England.
Baby bluegills and sunfish are food for Yellow Perch and Crappie; I've caught Perch that were stuffed to the gills with small bluegills. I'm in CT as well and our most "invasive" freshwater fish are landlocked populations of White Perch (a relative of the Striped Bass), alewives and gizzard shad, all of which disrupt the ecology of lakes and ponds.
Thank you for this. I am a biology teacher and fishing coach and we are working on local species. This video was very helpful.
Excellent. I love science, nature, and biology. All of my video tend to get a little geeky with the science / biology info.
It was very hot one day, so I took a dip & sat on a submerged rock. It didn't take much time (They were already there) for the bluegills to discover me. I sat still to watch them, no ear display or anything like that, one got brave enough and tried to take a bite out of my leg. I thought it was isolated behavior and that one would give up when it figured out I wasn't food. Nope! A few more joined in. Lesson: Don't sit still in fresh water. All it took to keep them from biting me was a little movement. But sit yoga still, and I was considered fair game within 60 seconds. Pawtuxet River, Rhode Island. It's the same place where I think our common snapping turtles are ankylosauruses.
Wow, what a great experience. I lover quiet times down by the water. You may want to watch my video on the snapping turtle! th-cam.com/video/cy6TEzb9-0I/w-d-xo.html
@@TheDave333 Those - I'm not afraid of, in the least. One of my fishing rocks is also a turtle rock. They pick the next one if they see me. Not the bluegills! "Is it dead yet? Does it matter? What does it taste like? Bring out your inner piranha!"
I love fishing the mighty Pawtucket 🤗 Also from Rhode Island 🤞🏽
My wife and I love fishing Bluegills, the meat is mild yet sweet. They are easy to filet. Cut a shallow slit behind the gill and another just in front of the tail. At a very slight angle slide the blade towards the gill between the meat and the bones. Try not to dislodge any bone, takes a little practice. Flip the meat over so it is up and slide the blade between the meat and skin. There’s your filet. Flip the fish over and repeat. When you get good at it you can clean a lot of fish quickly and cleanly. This technique works on any number of fish.
Thank you so much for the filleting advice! I'm always willing to learn new techniques, and I was never very good at it.
seeing how much work a bluegill puts into his nest makes me sad to catch one :(
They do okay as long as you don't hurt them and you put them back. They'll return to caring for the nest.
Need more diver dave episodes to guide me through the lakes this summer!!
There will be more soon enough! 🐠🦈🐟
I loved catching these with my late grandfather.
So interesting. I've had so many people say the same thing! I think grandfathers and bluegill fishing go hand in hand. ❤❤❤
I have a giant green sunfish the size of my hand living with a slightly smaller hybrid (a green sunfish + bluegill ) and a juvenile jack Dempsey cichlid. I have them trained so well, they’re giant water puppies always lining up together for food. Water pigs more like 😅
That's awesome! Love me some aquatic pork. . . 😅
If Mr. Rodgers Neighborhood were a lake….
Then we would be neighbors . . .
In the intro you’re absolutely right, my BF never went fishing before and I took him to a pond stocked with bluegills because I knew he’d be able to catch ‘em 😅
Ha that's awesome! Gotta keep it simple for the men. 😁😁😁
This video is relaxing, informative, entertaining, and overall beautiful. Thank you for sharing this video and wonderful information alongside it!
exactly. it's like david attenborough meets joe pera talks
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. 🐠🦈🐟
@@TheDave333 Of course! I hope your videos gain the recognition that they deserve.
I've never caught a pickerel. It's nice to see them in videos especially underwater! The only similar fish I've caught was a 19.5 inch pike.
Northern Pike are very similar looking fish, they just get a lot bigger.
@@TheDave333 Yeah
I caught about 18 little bluegill fry in a net almost 2 years ago. One was an older fry than the others who [the others] were only a couple days old and the bigger one may have been a week or two. Almost two years later, I only have one left. The biggest one lived up to 1 1/2 year and grew to 6 inches. He died last week and it’s definitely different to wake up and looking into my aquarium without the big guy. I got teary-eyed about this and not when my dad and brother died a few years ago (don’t get me wrong I loved my dad and my brother but for whatever reason I didn’t cry about it). I have one more now and he was one of the smaller ones but he is now the big guy’s size. Bluegill really are amazing little fish.
Hello again. I'm really sorry to hear about you dad and your brother. And, I'm sorry to hear about you losing your friend the big bluegill. We all grieve in our own way. The important thing is to keep moving forward in a positive direction. And yes, bluegills are amazing little fish! They're much easier to keep than bass, but they do get territorial as they age.
Thank you, I really appreciate it. In my other comment about Meathead the Bass, he is in the same aquarium as my bluegill. They do get territorial as they get older, but all he really does is swim over to Meathead and and nudges him away. But overall, the two get along very well and don’t mind each other’s company as long as they still have their own areas. Nice video, I really enjoyed watching 👍🐟
Do you snorkel or use air to film these videos?
This is the best video on bluegill! Very interesting, thank you for sharing!
Wow, thanks! I appreciate the love.
One time me and my friend stopped at an unknown pond by the highway and caught some HUGE bluegill, about a foot long and fat. Some of them had such beautiful colors, purple, blue, and super bright deep orange. Pretty sure one of them was a state record but we didn’t want it to die so we released it.
That's awesome! Bluegills are beautiful fish, and they deserve way more appreciation. They're always biting, they can get pretty big, and they put up a great fight. Lots of fun on light tackle.
please make a video on crappie thats my favorite fresh water fish
Unfortunately, I don't see enough of them to make a video about them. But when I do I will.
I had one in a 20 gallon aquarium and fed it mosquito larvae. It went crazy for them. It grew so much that I put it back in the small creek where I caught it.
They're little water pigs, they get big real fast! 😁
I once caught a bluegill the size of my
Hand- which is huge around where I live. Biggest they get is like 5 inches long
They can get a lot bigger than 5 inches in some places. Still, a 5 inch bluegill is a nice fish! 😁
love this video. the pacing and narration are so relaxing. thanks man
you're very welcome. Thanks for watching.
Beautiful documentary. Bluegill are very underestimated by anglers but to me, they are the gatekeepers of fishing.
Totally agree! I use light tackle and its a lot of fun.
I fish for everything here in the PNW, but crappie and bluegill is still one of my favorites. No stress about tackle or strategy or any of that, just easy fun on the lake.
and the best tasting.
Exactly no stress, and you never get skunked. They're so much fun on light tackle. 🐠🦈🐟
Bluegill would be terrifying if they were 30+ inches. 😀
Agreed, especially that Slack Jaw Pete. 😁
These are also awesome fish, I had a group of 6 in a 120 gallon that I trained to jump on command. Intelligent, but don't play well with non native tank mates, I've seen bluegills send cichlids renowned for their temper fleeing in terror.
And as stated by others in the comments 90 to 120 gallons are the preferred tank sizes for this fish, that does to best in small groups
You know your stuff my friend! (btw. spent this much of this spring filming sea lamprey! and I'm still working on the common snapping turtle.) Thanks for watching. :-D
@@TheDave333 Hey since your documenting native fish do you have the warmouth sunfish (Lepomis gulosus) and the Rock bass (Ambloplites rupestris) in your area?
Both are perfect native fish for the aquarium due to their smaller overall size than more widely known native species.
@Periplaneta Missionary
Rock bass yes, warmouth no. Great suggestions! My favorite local fish for the aquarium is the tessellated darter (Etheostoma olmstedi). I've been filming them in a local river for the last 2 years, and I used to keep them in an aquarium many years ago. They're super interesting, they stay small, and they're pretty hardy. Films from local rivers coming soon. :-D
I caught a bluegill 4 years ago and he is still alive now in a 55 gallon tank with 4 mid size goldfish.
He is twice the size from when I caught him.
They do grow fast, I'm surprised the goldfish are still around. 😁
I've seen a lot of different shots of fish growing up and playing in lakes and ponds, but I have never seen bluegill eggs before. Thank you for capturing this unique shot!
You're very welcome. Thanks for watching the video and taking the time to leave a comment.
I have kept and raised bluegiils, green sunfish, hybrid green-gills, Northern long ears (reclassified now as just "long ears") and orange spotted sunnies in my aquarium and they're wonderful to keep and are beautiful fish that are intelligent enough to interact and recognize you. However, they are hard to take flaked food once older. You must acclimate them in their young stage and experiment with what they like best when older. My best experiences are with flakes when very young and then frozen/fresh blood worms and red worms / small cut up pieces of night crawlers. They also like tiny YOTY baby fish as well.
Green sunfish, like creek chubs are NOT a community tank species and have huge appetites. If it fits their mouth, it's chow. They ARE, however, a beautiful and interactive fish once they associate you with food. One per tank unless it's over 60 gallons with good cover.
Bluegills are nice, but like all sunfish, need a large tank for territory, or will kill other sunfish without remorse in too small of a tank, and yes, if it fits, they'll eat it. Don't be fooled. Bluegills are savages! Again, one gill per tank unless it's over 60 gallons with good cover.
Orange spotted sunfish are a much smaller wild breed and do well in a tank. However, like all wild sunfish breeds, they prefer fresh foods rather than frozen and flaked, and they are more peaceful. I suggest, like before, only 1 orange spot sunny per 30 gallons. Space is needed with these fish despite them being smaller.
Regardless, sunfish AREN'T a pet store fish and you had better be well versed in tank water Ph parameters, the Ph of the water they came from, and have a big enough tank. Even though my tank is 29 gallons, that's still not big enough except for one small sunnie of any species.
If you're already collecting your fish from the wild, BE SURE that you are legally allowed to take these fish, they're not endangered, you have permission to take them, AND... that you can accurately identify the fish. If you cannot 100% confirm what the fish species is, TURN IT LOOSE! As a NANFA member myself, we must always respect and protect our fish and waters, and we must ALWAYS be SURE of the fish species before keeping it.
Lastly. If you want the BEST information on how to begin, start and keep native fish, look up NANFA. North American Native Fishes Association. Absolutely the BEST resources for keeping wild fish.
Thank you so much for sharing all of this valuable information. I learned a lot from your comment! I've never kept any of these sunfish before, and now I would really think twice before doing so. Please keep coming back to my channel because I'm working on a video about the Tessellated Darter that you and the other NANFA members will appreciate. I've been filming them in the wild for a couple years now, and the video should be awesome when it's done. Thanks again for taking the time to leave such a helpful comment.
@@TheDave333 You're very welcome! Thank you for doing these videos!
Currently at this time I am keeping in my tank 4 banded darters, 1 rainbow darter, a brindled madtom catfish, 4 spotfin shiners and 4 blunt nose minnows. All have adapted very well to tank life and while the darters refuse flake food, the minnows and shiners eat it well. The darters eat frozen blood worms with gusto. At this time the male banded darters are in breeding colors of bright emerald green and gold bars.
Rainbow darters WILL eat tiny fry fish as well. They're micro-predators.
The madtom catfish are a very fascinating type of fish. They typically grow between 4" to a bit over a foot long. The brindled cat that I have is about 5" long. A fascinating fact about the madtom species is that they're venomous. Their sting is mildly venomous and feels like a wasp sting.
My madtom eats flakes that the other fish don't eat, small fry fish when I get them and blood worms. They really aren't too fussy when it comes to eating, but they're nocturnal. So mine comes out only at night or when the lights are down very low.
Don't give up on sunfish! If you have a big enough tank and get them when they're very small, they adapt well to tank life and live and frozen foods that aren't flake. The long ear sunfish are absolutely beautiful with their green and electric blue chains and gill plates. Orange spotted sunnies are just as beautiful, but a smaller species.
Of all of the native fish my favorites are the Darters, and I wish I lived in a place like Tennessee where there are so many different species of darters. Rainbow darters are amazing!!! I'd love to film them in the wild. We are the only place in the world where darters are a native species. I love them.
Where I live, in Western Massachusetts, there's only one species of darter and it's fairly dull looking, but it does get a bit more colorful when it's spawning. I'm waiting for the water to warm up a bit so I can get to the river and film them again in spawning mode. Hopefully, I'll get all of the footage I need to make a full length documentary about them. I've never kept them in an aquarium, so everything will be from the wild.
I knew about the madtoms, they're really neat fish as well. Your tank must be really fun to watch. Lastly, I hope to buy and breed rainbow shiners in the near future. Their spawning colors are amazing! I knew about the madtoms, they're really neat fish as well.
@@TheDave333 Darters are amazing fish and are the smallest members of the perch (Percidae) family. Here in central Ohio we have quite a few darter species. We have banded darters, rainbows, orange throats, Johnny, fantails, blue breast darter(rare), green side and several other species. We have a very good selection of darters here.
If you're wanting to keep darters, blood worms are what I feed mine. Very rare is the day that you'll get a darter of any kind to take flake food. I have some pictures on Nanfa of one of my rainbow darters actually eating shiner fry.
When getting darters adjusted to tank life, it takes about 3-4 days before they'll eat blood worms. They have to get good and hungry. Now mine actually swim to the top of the tank and wait for me to feed them.
Another spectacular fish we have here is the southern red belly dace. Stunning fish when in spawning color.
The spotfin shiners are the Corvette of the tank and are always zipping around and very active. Satinfin shiners are the same. Once they achieve adulthood, their fins get a metallic white and green sheen to it.
Anyhow, keep up the awesome videos! I love it and am always happy to chat fish!
Thank you as well. Your insight and information is always appreciated.
makes you want to put the fish back in the water seeing how dedicated they are to their own lives and the babies
But they just taste so good
A little compassion goes a long way.
Great photography - very informative - thanks.
You're very welcome- thanks for watching!
I'm only within the first few minutes and man, it's like you were in an aquarium. So much life. I'm jealous but thanks for sharing, and thanks for the info
You're very welcome!
The best tasting fish I have ever had was blue gill. It takes a lot to make a meal but man they r good eating when u have someone who can filet them good and fry them right.
2-3 of them 5-7 inches, and one potato :) Pan fried, then deboned, lemon and butter :)
They do require some skill to to filet and cook, but I agree great tasting fish. I feel the same way about chain Pickerel.
th-cam.com/video/EL9P6oKM8Gg/w-d-xo.html
Another great video, just like the bullhead I grew up fishing for bluegills. We called them bluegills, perch and pumpkin seeds. Thank you
you're very welcome thanks for watching the video.
I'm not smart enough to know why this year old video is getting the business all of the sudden but I'm here for it all the way my friend. It did take a sec to get over the kid show like delivery (Which is GREAT but I'm in my 50's) Subbed. I cant wait to see how this channel grows because it will. Bravo. Now I have some backlog to watch😉
Thank you so much for the kind words and for subscribing. There's lots of good material here. I film and breed freshwater aquarium fish, as well as outdoor stuff. 🐠🦈🐟
Loved the video. I feel like this is going to be my next little obsession. I can’t wait to spend the next three days going through all of your videos and reading Wikipedia for days about fish.
This is awesome!!! Now, I feel like a fish ambassador! Fish are amazing and fishkeeping is a very addictive hobby. I'm always here to answer any questions that you might have. Thank you so much. 🐠🦈🐟🐠🦈🐟🐠🦈🐟
I love bluegill. Fun and easy to catch, hard-fighting, variable in appearance, incredibly feisty, plentiful, pretty, and if big enough to fillet, the best-eating fish I've ever had (just as delicious otherwise, but not personally worth my time to deal with).
I put a male bluegill the size of my palm into my 90-gallon aquarium with a big Oscar and also pretty big Jack Dempsey fish, plus two large male Allenii crayfish (a white and an electric blue). I went to town to get some suitable food, when I got back EVERYTHING but the bluegill was dead. I was gone MAYBE an hour. They're VERY fast, strong, and aggressive.
Any I've ever caught that weren't fit to eat and were mortally hurt made the best OH river catfish bait I've ever used. Wonderful fish.
Your comment describes the bluegill perfectly. They're awesome fish, that can be very aggressive. Sorry to hear about the Oscar, the Jack Dempsey, and the crays. Bummer
@@TheDave333 I knew it was a possibility, I just didn't think it'd be so fast, haha! Lesson learned.
Nice video, I was observing this same type of behavior from Red Ear Sunfish last week while fishing. Pretty cool to see
It really is a cool sight. I love how they all nest in one area, sometimes dozens of males tending their nests.
This gives me a whole new perspective, this is really cool
Thank you it was a fun video to put together.
It’s always great fun to go fishing at a lake where you can catch almost any species of fish- in Minnesota I would catch Northern, Crappie, bass and MONSTER bluegill
Variety is the spice of life. A diversity of species indicate a healthy ecosystem. 🦐🦠 ❤🐠🦈🐟 🌻🌼🐝🌴
The Bluegill is a great sport fish for kids learning to fish in the western states. We call them pan fish because of the way we cook them. Remove the scales and clean, then season and drege in flour or corn meal and a slice of lemon in the belly. Fry in oil or butter. When done we eat em with a fork. I apologize if I have offended anybody 🙏
Don’t apologize about that, jeez man smh. You’re just talking about cooking a fish, I cook them the same way.
I love fish, with rice and vegetables. Quite possibly my favorite meal. No offense taken. 😁
Great footage, and great commentary! Thanks for uploading
You're very welcome. Thanks for watching. 😁
I love this. I'm from Kentucky and live next to Laurel lake and cumber!and river. Bluegill are my favorite fish to eat. I have a small pond behind my house that has one catfish and a pair of bluegills. Been there for years. Got to be the biggest bluegill I've ever seen. But I disagree about keeping g them in tanks. It's very hard to keep them alive.
They are difficult to keep in captivity, there's no doubt about that. But it can be done by an experienced fish keeper with a large tank. Keeping more than one is tricky though because they can be very aggressive. Still, they're probably better off left in the wild.
Excellent and beautiful work! It's so fascinating seeing fish do their thing in the wild where it's normally hard to see them.
Thank you very much!
I had a per green sunfish. Was the best fish I ever had in an aquarium. He would jump out of the water to take grasshoppers out of my fingers. We named him Mr. Bill. He was soooo aggressive. I released him back into the pond he was caught from. My kids enjoyed watching him. I had a few bluegills as well and they were fun to watch but that greenie was the best. I still live to catch and release them on the fly rod at the ponds.
Green sunfish do make great aquarium fish, aggressive and always hungry. After a while, they act like a friendly old dog always happy to see you.
The Bluegill is such a beautiful creature. Excellent video. Thank you for sharing!
You're very welcome, thanks for watching! 🐠🦈🐟