Fishing Story

[Itcntogofishin]

Chapter 1 Starvation

Let us begin this story with my almost sinking my boat at Starvation several weeks ago.  First fishing trip of the summer and camping at Starvation was unloading the boat and for got the transom tie down.  After jerking the boat off the trailer thinking it was stuck from sitting all winter.  I noticed my bungie lying at the bottom of the lake a couple of feet deep.  Good thing the water was clear.  My frau and I fished for a couple of hours when the Starvation wind attacked.  Buzzing across the lake at warp speed (only a 40 hp 17 ft Traker) you figure out the warp speed. But enough to cause this spray to go across my face and the right side of my body to a point of being numb.  Parked the boat on the beach area near my RV.  I have done this 100 times before.  Decided to take a snooze for about an hour or so and when I awoke looked out the back window and observed waves breaking over the back of my boat.  I ran to the shore and yes the boat had sustained a couple of feet  of water.  Now I do know that this boat will not sink (another story).  This was not good and thank goodness for a working bilge pump.  I pumped out the water and took the boat out for a drive when at about 1/4 mile it began too sputter.  After limping it into the boat ramp decided enough for fishing that weekend.    

Chapter 2 The fix

Due to other life instances and procrastination decided to youtube issues that could cause the sputtering issue and work on the motor myself.  Things I feel possible problems 1). water in the gas. (Drained) 2).  Maybe overheating, never changed the impeller on this boat (18) years. I ordered an impeller from Boats.net and guess what, the impeller would have probably been fine for another 18 years (no damage) I guess a peace of mind though.  3).  Fuel filter (could see sentiment also 18 years old) which I am currently waiting for from boats.net (2-Day, shipped on Sunday, promised today arrival). 

Chapter 3 Pineview

Since I am without my boat and my 11 yr. old granddaughter who loves to fish needing a fix decided to walk the shorelines of Pineview.  There is a ton of shoreline.  Looking back last year when she visited and we explored shore fishing momentarily.  Her bluegill spot from 24 June last year is now several hundred yards from water.  We did find another spot yesterday that held 7 crappies and today another spot where quite a few more were easily taken.  Something to note - we did see several hundred crappies dead lying on the shore.  After reading through some articles noticed same thing occurred in 2019.  Maybe the 20 limit should be considered and those catch and release fanatics (eat some fish tacos).  I have a feeling there will be many more dead fish surfacing as the lake rapidly decreases in size the next few months.    

Chapter 4 The Finale 

The point of this story was to ask the forum about a fish my granddaughter caught today at Pineview.  Actually she caught a half dozen of these fish but one was hooked bad and she threw it in the death bucket with the crappies.  Since she is an able body 11 year old who baits her own hook and removes her own fish.  I really paid no attention to what appeared to be small bluegills from a distance.  However, as I was about to clean this beast I notice no large scales, not a bluegill.  It appears to be a stunted dark bass that has some blue spots on its face.  If it were the only one probably would not have bored you with this story.  

Chapter 5 The Finale / Finale

I have not posted for a couple of years and of course my user name, password and email were not recognizable.  Thus I sent an email to the site provided by wiperhunter2.  The response was immediate (If only UPS could deliver so quickly).  Hope to be floating on Willard tomorrow.  If anyone has an idea what these little creatures are.  I Would love to hear them.

Thanks

Allen 



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[Jig-fisher]

That my friend is a Green Sunfish. Nice catch.

[Anglinarcher]

I wish I could have seen the fish before it discolored.  I am 90% sure it is a Green Sunfish.  

The blue spots that I think I see on the cheeks and body suggest a pumpkin seed, but the shape is wrong.  


This is what a green sunfish looks like. They are ok eating, can overtake some bluegill waters, but I like them.

[Itcntogofishin]

I wish I could have seen the fish before it discolored.  I am 90% sure it is a Green Sunfish.  

The blue spots that I think I see on the cheeks and body suggest a pumpkin seed, but the shape is wrong.  


This is what a green sunfish looks like.  They are ok eating, can overtake some bluegill waters, but I like them.

I have caught numerous sunfish in my day but none that are black.  The entire body was a dark color prior to being placed in the death bucket. Also, the shape was more typical of bass or bullhead and the scales of a perch or bass. I think the dots do confirm your theory. Maybe a water acidity/alkaline issue, lack of food etc. because there are at least 5 more swimming around with the same characteristics.   Thanks!

[Mooseman75]

That was an entertaining read. I'm sorry about all the boat problems and I'm more sorry I laughed lol. I hope you get it figured out. Please come back and tell us.

[wiperhunter2]

Glad you were able to get back on, I did not change your email address in your profile but I can help with that if need be. 
Sounds like an interesting trip to Starvation, with all the wind there, it's not surprising you had that first problem, hopefully the fuel filter fixes your motor issue.
TubeDude would likely be another good source on the fish ID and why it is that darker color but I too think what others have said is correct.

[Anglinarcher]

I wish I could have seen the fish before it discolored.  I am 90% sure it is a Green Sunfish.  

The blue spots that I think I see on the cheeks and body suggest a pumpkin seed, but the shape is wrong.  


This is what a green sunfish looks like.  They are ok eating, can overtake some bluegill waters, but I like them.

I have caught numerous sunfish in my day but none that are black.  The entire body was a dark color prior to being placed in the death bucket. Also, the shape was more typical of bass or bullhead and the scales of a perch or bass. I think the dots do confirm your theory. Maybe a water acidity/alkaline issue, lack of food etc. because there are at least 5 more swimming around with the same characteristics.   Thanks!

The black color is unusual, but not unheard of.  In the dark stained waters of Louisiana, the Green Sunfish are normally quite dark, almost black.  It is not the food, but maybe water chemistry and simply water color are the factors.  What did the water color look like, how deep were they, etc.

[TubeDude]

Glad you were able to get back on, I did not change your email address in your profile but I can help with that if need be. 
Sounds like an interesting trip to Starvation, with all the wind there, it's not surprising you had that first problem, hopefully the fuel filter fixes your motor issue.
TubeDude would likely be another good source on the fish ID and why it is that darker color but I too think what others have said is correct.

I also vote for green sunfish.  Lots of them in Pineview.  And the reason for the dark coloration is probably due to spawning.  Lots of members of the sunfish family...especially males...get darker at spawning time.

[Tin-Can]

Glad you were able to get back on, I did not change your email address in your profile but I can help with that if need be. 
Sounds like an interesting trip to Starvation, with all the wind there, it's not surprising you had that first problem, hopefully the fuel filter fixes your motor issue.
TubeDude would likely be another good source on the fish ID and why it is that darker color but I too think what others have said is correct.

I also vote for green sunfish.  Lots of them in Pineview.  And the reason for the dark coloration is probably due to spawning.  Lots of members of the sunfish family...especially males...get darker at spawning time.

  Due to the drop in water level, maybe that fish is just "sun burned"      

[Springbuck1]

It's a greenie, unless it's a bluegill/green sunfish hybrid, which I'm starting to catch a lot of for some reason. I've cause a lot of really dark green, almost black sunfish at least on their backs. The blue lightning on his cheeks is a good indicator, but the white and/or yellow along the rims of his tail and fins is another.

The hybrids I keep catching, mostly at Kaysville Ponds with my kid, but also a lot in Mantua, are a real crap-shoot on appearance. Some are shaped like bluegills, have side bars, but with huge mouths and light colored edging along the fins. Others are shaped like greenies,. There is always a mix of the traits, but like someone shuffled the deck. Sometimes they look for all the world like a pumpkinseed. Almost none have real bluegill-looking gills or the brick red breast, and under their chis is usually a weird mottled look like the back of a burbot.

Yours has bluegill eye coloration, to my eye.