Evaluation of Male Bluegill X Female Green Sunfish Hybrids for Stocking Mississippi Farm Ponds

Abstract

Supplemental feeding and the presence of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) had a positive influence on the size of male bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) x female green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus) hybrids in 12 Mississippi ponds during the first 24 months after stocking young-of-the-year hybrids. After 24 months, the size of hybrids that had supplemental feeding and were stocked without largemouth bass was similar to that of hybrids stocked with largemouth bass but without supplemental feeding. Nonfed hybrids stocked without largemouth bass were the smallest of the four group combinations; fed hybrids with largemouth bass were the largest. Largemouth bass predation reduced recruitment of F 2 hybrids by 98% relative to F1 hybrid populations without bass. Growth of these hybrids exceeded that reported for the same hybrid in Illinois ponds and was superior to that which can be expected from bluegills under typical pond conditions in Mississippi. Catchability experiments in two of the ponds confirmed the aggressive behavior of the hybrids. On one pond, during 10 angler-hours of fishing with each of three bait types, hybrids were caught most frequently with live worms (16.5 fish/h), followed by artificial spinner baits (9.5 fish/h) and dry flies (3.6 fish/h). This pond and one other were subjected to intensive angling for 2 h each. Twenty-one percent and 66% of the fish were captured by hook and line on a variety of baits during 12 and 18 h of angling, respectively.