Farm Pond Bluegill or Bream

Now for a bit of something different:   I was out with the camera yesterday and saw some small fish in the pond here.  Now, these particular fish were the first that I could actually see from the shore.  The pond’s manager has asked that we not fish this year.  I am OK with that request because I don’t manage the pond and want to keep the pond healthy and as beautiful as possible.  The Bluegill fish here seem on the smaller side when I visually compare them to those I had seen in the lake where I just recently moved from.

I noticed several fish nest holes in very shallow water.  The male Bluegill guard the nest where the eggs have been laid.  I saw perhaps ten or so fish around these holes located close to the shore.  The water was only inches deep, too!  Good to see, and interesting, as well.  I did not have a polarizing filter on the lens when I took these photographs yesterday, so the pictures have been worked on a bit with photo-editing software (for greater clarity).  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the larger picture.  Enjoy!

More About the Spawning Lake Fish

Juvenile Largemouth Bass

I decided to check the area of the lake where I saw the Bluegill and Crappie and other fish circling around apparent gravel spawning areas the other day, and took some pictures.  I managed to take a few better photographs this time.  The fish are in 3-5′ of water and the darker photographs were of fish in the deeper water. I can’t tell  for certain which type of Crappie that fish in the deeper water is, but it is likely a Black Crappie.  The fish circle and sweep the muck and debris away to clear clean gravel where the spawning is completed.  The fish are Bluegill, Crappie and a juvenile Large Mouth Bass.

Bluegill

Bluegill

Juvenile Largemouth Bass

Crappie

Spawning Bluegill Fish

A few days ago I first noticed a change in the bottom of the community lake in the shallows near the shore.  The muck of sticks, decaying leaves and other natural debris was being swept aside and a circular pattern of clean gravel was showing.  The next day I looked at the same area and saw in each of the five such swept circular areas, there was a Bluegill fish circling around almost endlessly.  I believe that the fish are spawning and the area is used as their nest.  I took some pictures yesterday morning of the fish tending their nests.  I used a polarizing filter on my lens to help cut the glare of the water.  The fish were in about 3 feet of water.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the larger picture.  Enjoy!

Surface View of Bluegill Spawning Areas

Lake Fish

Because it is Spring and I live in an area that is in a deciduous hardwood forest, the pollen is blowing everywhere.  I live on the banks of  one of the community lakes here so I decided to check on the possibility of seeing some fish.  Yesterday morning I went to the lake shore and saw that the surface of the lake was covered with a thin veil of yellow pollen.  I also saw that for the first time this year, the fish are active. This morning I also went to the lake and took some better pictures from the dock.  Today there is a lot less pollen on the water.   The fish are excited to have a lot of insects to eat and warmer water to swim in.  The fish were just off of a dock and in about 3 ft. of water.  These are mostly warm-water fish although the Trout usually like colder water.  There were about 15 fish in the immediate area all trying to catch their own insect breakfast.

I have never taken pictures of fish and these are not great snapshots, but I decided to post them anyway.  The fish seen are mostly  young Largemouth Bass, possibly a young Walleye, and  adult Bluegill.   I also spied a lunker Bass  and a Crappie, but the photos were not of good quality.  I had to use a polarizing filter on my lens and hope to get to see any fish at all.  I also had to deal with all of that pollen on the water.  One of the photographs has a lot of pollen (white smears) in the picture due to the pollen on the surface of the lake yesterday.  I am not absolutely sure about which species all of these fish are and labeled the pictures with my best guess.  Please click on the thumbnail image to see the larger version of that picture.  Enjoy!

Possibly a Young Largemouth Bass

Bluegill (4/14/10)

Possibly a young Walleye (4/13/10)