Landowners have many options available to them when it comes to stocking their ponds and small lakes. Hybrid sunfish have been popular with private fish farmers for several years. Stories of fast-growing hybrid sunfish reaching one pound in 2-3 years are common. As small fingerlings these fish are more expensive to buy than purebred bluegill - the traditional Missouri pond sunfish. But does the pond owner really get more bang for their buck by stocking hybrids. What is a hybrid sunfish? Hybrid sunfish are produced when eggs from a female green sunfish are fertilized with milt from a male bluegill. This cross produces a hybrid sunfish that resembles both parents physically, but exhibit the more aggressive behavior of green sunfish. They bite readily on a variety of lures and baits, so are fun for kids (and many adults!) who want fast action. The same can be said of purebred bluegill if the baits are kept small (tiny beetle spins, worms and crickets). Many people have been led to believe that hybrid sunfish grow faster and get bigger than either parent species. But do the facts support this claim? Recent research would suggest not. Dr. Robert Hayward conducts fisheries research at the University of Missouri in Columbia. In a recent study, Dr. Hayward found that when bluegill and hybrid sunfish are separated and given unrestricted feeding, male bluegill grow twice as fast as male hybrids. When fed for 300 days, the differences were even greater. Male bluegill grew three times as much as male hybrids, and over four times as much as female hybrids. The only advantage that hybrid sunfish may have over regular bluegill is their mouth size. Hybrid sunfish inherit a slightly larger mouth from their green sunfish parents. This allows them to eat larger prey such as small frogs, fish, and crayfish. Although a larger mouth may be advantageous, improved growth can only occur when the larger prey is abundant, and in most ponds there may be competition for such prey with largemouth bass. Additional research has shown that both bluegill and hybrid sunfish grow well under similar conditions in ponds. These conditions include reasonably clear water, plenty of food (plankton and insects), and a good population of largemouth bass. Largemouth bass eat small sunfish and can keep sunfish 'thinned out" well enough to allow good growth. Many northeastern Missouri ponds with these characteristics have bluegill or hybrid sunfish over 8 inches long (about one-quarter pound), but stories of half-pound or one-pound sunfish of any type are exaggerated. Hybrid sunfish can pose a serious disadvantage to the pond owner who places high priority on good bass fishing. If stocked in the absence of any purebred bluegill, hybrid sunfish reproduction is extremely low, because 98% of all hybrids are male. Very few young sunfish are produced, resulting in less prey for bass. Bass must then rely upon crayfish, insects, and frogs for food. Bass growth can suffer, and the pond owner's main goal may not be met. So what type of sunfish do you want in your pond or lake? Before deciding, consider contacting your local Department of Conservation fishery biologist in Hannibal, 573/248-5230 or Kirksville, 660/785-2420. They will help you pick the best fish for your pond. |
Upon receiving this news release from the MDC I was shocked as you may be. I was under the impression that the MDC was stocking hybrid sunfish in many managed lakes so I called fisheries biologist Dave Neuswanger who told me in fact the MDC has only rarely stocked hybrid sunfish and when they do it is specifically for "kids fishing lakes". The fact is most MDC managed lakes contain pure bred blue gill.
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