coppernose bluegills

[quivira kid]

Hey Craig, do you know of anywhere around here that has stocked coppernose bluegills? I have a few friends down south (Mississippi) that catch them all the time, but I have never seen any in KS. From what I know, they grow bigger faster than "normal" gills do. Any ideas? Thanks sir!

[Craig Johnson]

Hey Craig, do you know of anywhere around here that has stocked coppernose bluegills? I have a few friends down south (Mississippi) that catch them all the time, but I have never seen any in KS. From what I know, they grow bigger faster than "normal" gills do. Any ideas? Thanks sir!

quivira kid,

Coppernose bluegill orginated from deep in Florida. These fish, like the 'Florida strain largemouth bass', prefer warmer waters and do not do as well in cooler temps such as we experience in Kansas. Although they have been shown to exhibit increased growth rates over regular bluegill, the tests were conducted in area with warmer climes.

I don't know of any Kansas waters that may have recieved coppernose bluegill through KDWPT. I'll see what I can dig up.

[quivira kid]

Craig, thanks for the response! I kind of guessed that was the case. I have only seen them much further south than here.

Zac

[fishlessDan]

quivira kid,

Coppernose bluegill orginated from deep in Florida. These fish, like the 'Florida strain largemouth bass', prefer warmer waters and do not do as well in cooler temps such as we experience in Kansas. Although they have been shown to exhibit increased growth rates over regular bluegill, the tests were conducted in area with warmer climes.

I don't know of any Kansas waters that may have recieved coppernose bluegill through KDWPT. I'll see what I can dig up.

Sorry Craig, but how can it get any HOTTER here than it has been the lasy few yrs? I stocked some in a farm pond in the the spring of 2009, and I'm thinking the heat killed them off because we haven"t caught a one since we cut the plastic bags. The pond has a max depth of 19ft and roughly averages 8-9ft depth, bluegill of any breed dont seem to take in there. LM bass and black crappie seem to dicatate the whole dynamics of the pond, the white crappie have even gradually dissapeared. any thoughts? Dan

[Craig Johnson]

Sorry Craig, but how can it get any HOTTER here than it has been the lasy few yrs? I stocked some in a farm pond in the the spring of 2009, and I'm thinking the heat killed them off because we haven"t caught a one since we cut the plastic bags. The pond has a max depth of 19ft and roughly averages 8-9ft depth, bluegill of any breed dont seem to take in there. LM bass and black crappie seem to dicatate the whole dynamics of the pond, the white crappie have even gradually dissapeared. any thoughts? Dan

Dan,

The southern species such as the coppernose and Florida strain largemouth bass may do fine during our warm growing season months but it is the cold WINTER months that likely do them in. When I said "cooler temps such as we experience in Kansas" I was referring to our wintertime temperatures and ice cover, I should have been more clear.

Odd that you can't get bluegill to go in your pond. What kind of black crappie density do you have? Are the crappie very dense and negatively impacting establishment of the the bluegill? What does your bass population look like? How many surface acres?