Catch, Photo and Release. A close look at a wild bluegill.

1. Stalking the Elusive Bluegill
The bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) is in the sunfish family and is native to
North America.

2. The most distinguishing characteristic is its blue or black
coloring on the tip of the gill cover. This does not give it the
name quot;bluegillquot;, however. It gets its name from the bright
blue edges of the gill rakers. I was not able to photograph
these as handling the fish would have severely stressed it,
more than it already was.
Bluegill Lepomis macrochirus

3. Our bluegill was 7 inches long. Reasoning for thinking this
is a bluegill and not a pumpkinseed sunfish is that our fish
does not have the crimson coloring along the edge of the
gill cover.