Old limits…

[tjm]

That's certainly much  darker than any I've caught. Still to my eye it's more green than black. When I think of "Black" it is more of a very dark purple, most black fabrics and many black paints show purple to me in certain lights

[FishnDave]

I'd love to see your black Bluegill and Rock Bass pictures.

I found another picture, caught within a few weeks of that other Green Sunfish.  Definitely melanistic...very black fins.

[tjm]

That one does have a purple tint. I'd agree with black on that. If I had pictures, I'd share them, but I have never been a photographer,  I can't remember to carry the camera or am too busy with rod and fish to handle the camera. I may have posted one or two pictures since the invention of the internet. It's been a few years since I caught a bluegill any way, since the neighbor stated having cars towed away, When I have to drive far to fish, it's easier to just hit the trout waters with easy walking. It's funny I've never seen that kind of sunfish, I wonder why.

[MoCarp]

[T.J. Clarke]

Great photos MO, thanks for posting!

[Johnsfolly]

15 hours ago, MoCarp said:

I see photos like this and I remember a story.

A man and his grandson went fishing. After a long day they didn't catch a single.fish. The man said to his grandson, "When I was your age, we would catch so many fish that they were like cord wood stacked on the dock." The boy looked at the man and said, "Grandpa if you let some fish go back then maybe we would have caught some today."

[trouty mouth]

On 11/19/2022 at 12:47 PM, Johnsfolly said:

I see photos like this and I remember a story.

A man and his grandson went fishing. After a long day they didn't catch a single.fish. The man said to his grandson, "When I was your age, we would catch so many fish that they were like cord wood stacked on the dock." The boy looked at the man and said, "Grandpa if you let some fish go back then maybe we would have caught some today."

That reminds me of my uncle and his goofy looking stringer. Every time he'd get it out I would give him trouble about how goofy it was and he would remind me, "Hey kid, back in 19XX I had a full limit of 5lb smallmouth on this stringer!". Presumably harvested out of the Meramec. 

I think the best fishers of right now wouldn't be able to put that kind of stringer together and for sure would know better than to butcher them.