Next Back to Fish Pond Management Bluegill Bluegills are generally dark olive-green along the back and lighter along the side. They have five to nine dark vertical bars on each side, blue cheeks, and a dark spot at the rear of the dorsal fin.
Bluegill feed primarily on insects, both aquatic and terrestrial.
Bluegills avidly hit on artificial flies that resemble aquatic insects. The amount of food each bluegill eats determines how fast it grows. If food is abundant and bluegill numbers are low, they grow rapidly. If food is scarce and numbers are excessive, they grow poorly, or even not at all. Slow growing bluegill populations are the most serious problem in Indiana fish ponds.