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I caught a bunch of blue gills using the fly rod and I noticed that many of them had lost their brilliant orange belly/breast color. Is fall coming?
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Pacemaker wrote:
I caught a bunch of blue gills using the fly rod and I noticed that many of them had lost their brilliant orange belly/breast color. Is fall coming?
I've read that the male bluegills exhibit orange to rusty-red breasts when they are breeding and it goes away when they are not...
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Just by looking at a calendar I can tell you that fall is coming....
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Thai wrote:
Just by looking at a calendar I can tell you that fall is coming....
Har de har.....OK, so it's the end of August! Where did the time go?
Khan's answer was very scientific.....
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I think it's all related to autumn coming. How's the water look? How's the vegetation in the water? are they dying off? For the most part, Khan's right. fish usually exhibit their brightest colors during breeding.
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So who's ready to start chucking spinnerbaits again?!?!? I know I am!
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Genetics, hormones and environmental influence would be my guess.
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I can't say that I have ever noticed colors on bluegills/sunfish fading toward the end of the season. Colors as mentioned above do become more intense during breeding. Once a fish dies the color fades. But can't say I have ever witnessed a color change with fall approaching.
You may have caught a different species or some individuals who are consuming different food. Think of flamingos and their color based on diet or tailwater trout that eat a lot of shrimp.
We have just started to catch pumpkinseeds after a whole summer with out them. Their colors are brilliant. Not sure why they had not taken a fly until last week.
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