To be a male bluegill.

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Hey DF, after reading your post, and that article, I got to thinking. Smaller and younger males getting involved in spawning activities is nothing unusual among many species...fish and otherwise. Anyone who has fished the west coast knows about the "jack" salmon. These are males of all species of salmon that only stay in the ocean one or two years, instead of the 3-5 years for most salmon. They only weigh a few pounds, unlike the older fish that are several times their size. They run upstream with the "big boys" and often sneak in a "download" next to a spawning pair, while they are in the heat of passion and do not notice the sneaky youngun.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have read studies that show that eggs fertilized by the jacks did not show any greater tendency to produce stunted or abnormal fish, with the normal percentage remaining full term in the ocean and returning as average size. So, there is no reason to want to eliminate them and prevent them from spawning. Not sure if that is true of the bluegills or not.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Here is a pic of some jacks (called "chubs" locally) I caught from the lower Eel River, near Eureka, California. These anxious young male chinooks are prime for both catching and eating. They smack lures with a vengeance and have bright red flesh. While "full term" chinooks in this area average 15 to 20 pounds, and may go over 50, the jacks are only about 3-5#, with some up to almost 10#.[/#0000ff]

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[#0000ff]There are also some species of lizards that periodically produce small "sneaky" males, that slip in and mate with females while two larger males are fighting over the female.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Heck, this phenomenon is also known amongst humans. They are known as teenage boys.[/#0000ff]
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