The Hidden World Of The Bluegill

A look at the hidden underwater world of the bluegill with a focus on male bluegills who have spawned and are protecting their nests. Information on spawning bluegill, catching bluegill, and keeping bluegill in a fish tank.

Camera used to film this video.
Fujifilm XP 140 Waterproof camera

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[NobzLovesOutdoors]

Thank you for making this channel! This is the first video that appeared in my feed and it just happens to be one of my main interests. Now my kids can enjoy too. Getting Magic School bus vibes as well with the playful production 😊
Keep growing!

[TierZoo]

amazing to see these familiar fish from a new perspective! I have a new respect for their fighting spirit!

[thedeadfisher]

Up until the mid 70"s Toronto's annual Royal Winter Fair had tropical fish competitions. One year a renowned South American aquarist was a guest judge and voted a bluegill, that had been entered as a joke, best in show. It's often too easy to forget the beauty of something so common to us. Thanks for the great video!

[udonenomee]

I brought a 5 inch blue gill home and put him in a tank. I didn’t have any other pets at the time and I wanted something starter level for kids and an apartment. This fish - “Gill” and I, became pretty good friends. He trusted me and was really smart. He knew schedules, like meals and sleep/ waking. He would watch me come down the hallway in the mornings and you could watch him get physically excited. He knew mornings were feeding and he knew if I had nightcrawlers in the fridge. I put minnows and crayfish in there sometimes too. He would take worms from my fingers. The fish could tell if you had been to certain stores or what you had in which bags. He would eat leftovers or other stuff if I didn’t have worms. I would tear slices of ham or other lunch meat and he would slam them. He was my buddy and I released him into the river when I moved. He went from about 5 inches to over 8 in about two years he was with us. As far as aggression and predictability it was like having a piranha. My kids still bring him up and it’s been almost 10 years.

[shortyorc]

Beautiful my dude. Awesome job. I remember when I was a kid at my grandparents had 2 massive community ponds and you could see the blue gills nesting in the shallows.

[tamarrajames]

You have, yet again, captured achingly beautiful footage, and edited it superbly into into a compelling whole. These males are so bold in defence of their nests and young, they are committed to producing and protecting the future.

I love that you have names for old friends under the water’s surface, and that you don’t distress them for long in your filming. Your lake is perfect for the filming you do there, and your commentary is always insightful and educational. Thanks again Dave.🖤🇨🇦

[rosswilliams]

I had a rough day at work and this video took me back to when I was a school aged kid and used to go fishing to let off steam whenever I was in a mental funk. My buddies always hated catching bluegills but for me when I couldn’t get a bass to bite I knew I could always toss out a small lure on the ultralight and I’d be able to snag a bluegill or other little panfish any day of the year and in any conditions. They’ve kept me from getting ‘skunked’ more times than I could count and even if they’re not the most exciting sport fish in the world, catching something is always better than nothing! They were the reliable friend you could always count on to be there when the going gets tough. Thanks for the video, glad to see these little guys get the recognition and appreciation they deserve!

[zippedydoo]

I grew up bluegill fishing with my grandpa, and a bluegill was my first catch. Always gonna have a soft spot for em. Nice video, fellow bluegill appreciator

[michaelogden]

I used to practice SCUBA in a flooded rock quarry. There were tons of bluegills around a building down there. Those little suckers had no qualms about biting the human invaders. Most of the time it was just annoying and kind of funny, but now and then a bigger bluegill would manage a good chomp. I never saw anyone with actual broken skin, but they would definitely get your attention. Good times. 🙂

[mbvoelker]

This is what nature documentaries should be.

[coreyvanburen]

I showed my 3 year old this, and he was completely enamored. Afterward he continued to give me the recap repeatedly. Thank you for the quality. (I also loved it)

[JetsMakeWoosh]

The fish flapping it’s ears at you was the first time I have ever seen that very cool

[rageraptor]

How have I never seen this before I wanna learn more about the ecosystems! I feel like I’ve taken these “ordinary” things for granted. It’s not until you really follow around these animals that you notice how beautiful and actually smart they really are.

[tarnishedknight]

Many scuba divers call these things "Quarry Sharks". This is mostly due to how they will devour hotdog (weinersl or fish pellets.
At the end of a dive, your are required to make a "safety stop" at 15 feet. This is to let excess nitrogen leave your system. During this stop you will often get surrounded by quarry sharks. Looking for food. This is a learned habit as almost every diver brings something to feed the sharks while on the safety stop.
There was one gal that brought 2 packs of hotdogs with her. Having that much food, word got around, and at one point, she was surrounded by so many fish that only her fins could be seen sticking out of this massive ball of quarry sharks. It looked kinda like how the movies show piranha attacking.
Not to worry though. The quarry sharks show no interest in human flesh. But it is kinda creepy to be surrounded by fish that are in a feeding frenzy, even if it is directed towards the hotdogs and not you.

[giantdanio]

I worked at an American summer camp 20 plus years ago, the camp had a huge lake with huge horseflies to go with it! I swatted and killed plenty of those flies and dropped them to a fish that I was told was a blue gill. It took about 3 days for the fish to catch on. After that it would patrol up and down the floating dock waiting for me to drop the tasty corpses in. It had plenty of character and was a great ally that summer.
I’m from the U.K so didn’t know the local wildlife but the memory of that blue gill has stuck with me.

[bentleysaelee]

its bluegill season and the youtube algorithm never fails. Love your videos! They are amazing when you descale, gut, and defin them. Once you finish that you shallow fry in some oil and theyre like chips!!! delicious to eat with just seasoning salt, pepper, and rice.

[StinkinFilthy-ksds]

What a terrific video….a look into the busy lives of remarkable little fish. This was a pleasure to watch.

[BlackDragonsbm]

I've caught a bulegill on a folded piece of dead grass. Bluegill is my second favorite fish to eat, they're great with a good breading and garlic salt.

[stalecheerio]

me and my siblings would use butterfly nets to catch the tiny bluegills and sunnies in the shallows at my grandparents’ home. my grandpa especially taught me so much about them, like how they build circular nests out of pebbles and sand and to avoid stepping on the nests during breeding season.
they’re incredibly underrated fish, and have such silly personalities. I could watch them chase each other around all day long.

[magicalchipmunk]

Very nice video. I am in fisheries management and they are a very important part of the ecosystem. Not often you see such good footage of their nests. Thank you for mentioning to leave the bluegill nest alone. Kinda goes for all sunfish but its better for the populations to leave them to their buisness.