Woodlands Waterway Drainage

Castnetting for baitfish at the Woodlands Waterway drainage area, I caught three species of sunfishes! Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus); Green (L. cyanellus); and Warmouth (L. gulosus). Wasn’t able to progress any further up the food chain with them, but enjoyable nonetheless!

With their inordinately large mouths, Lepomis gulosis is always a blast to catch!

Always a lot of fun to catch, but it’s been even more interesting seeing how this species has expanded its range across Texas from its original stronghold in the Rio Grande basin, to being a denizen of the limestone country of Central Texas in my teenage years, to now being an urban roughfish of concreted streams and bayous in cities from El Paso to Beaumont in time for my retirement years. This happened due to aquarium releases into gutters lined with the water-hardening concrete.

Possibly a Longear x Bluegill hybrid, this individual lacks the diagnostic dark smudge at the rear end of its dorsal fin that would indicate a Bluegill.

This beast was a beautiful surprise,as we were just fishing for sunfish. We did not expect that a worm would attract one of their super-sized cousins!