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I would have guessed lifer but it turns out the warmouth I have caught here in the past were warmouth x bluegill. Caught with a chartreuse trout magnet. This fish has a hook stuck in its throat. We removed it, but unfortunately it probably did not survive very long.

10.7 cm TL. Male. 12 pectoral rays. Caught in a pool of stream. Got some dollars for my survey! Big thanks to @ncangling for helping me track this species down.

Part of my Lepomis survey. Released after photos.

Lepomis auritus x Lepomis cyanellus.

After catching dozens of redbreast and a greengill, I caught this odd looking specimen. Curiously not a single other pure lepomid species was seen or caught for about 1/2 mile stretch along this creek.

We can see the red in the opercular flap coming from the green but the lateral pattern is far off from a green. The color really retains that brick-red of the redbreast, especially dorsally. The mouth remains fairly large. Both species have large mouths, a green a bit bigger than a redbreast.

The blue on the upper lip is actually faintly extending across the entire lip, coming from the redbreast parent. Also, we can see some of that faint blue iridescence in the proximal parts of the anal fin and even dorsal fin, which occurs in the redbreast.

Also the dark dorsal blotch is faintly present like is seen on green, but has the faint proximal darkness like is seen on redbreast.

Curiously the rakers are really thin. But they are a tad bit shorter than most the green around here.

The thin blue streaking on the head remains thin and vibrant, like on both parent species though there is more on the head than a typical green and looking more like a redbreast's.

8.4 cm TL. Caught in a shallow, clear water creek with much vegetation. The lateral pattern, lack of head streaking (especially on the snout and above the back of the eye) and the displaced ear flap color suggest hybrid.

At this size a pure pumpkinseed should have more developed spots on the body as well as the white/red edging on the opercular flap. The pectoral fin remains long and pointy and the mouth is small as is seen on both parent species. Released after photos.

9.7 cm TL. I believe I finally found one: Lepomis gibbosus x Lepomis auritus (pumpkinseed x redbreast sunfish.)

Lepomids in drainage: Pumpkinseed, redbreast, warmouth, green, bluegill and redear.

The solid red patch on the ear flap and somewhat pointy pectoral fin must be explained by a redear or pumpkinseed.

The dark mottling pattern in the median fins, especially the dorsal fins, is only explained by a pumpkinseed or warmouth.

Pumpkinseed makes further sense with the orange/brown spot pattern on the body and the faded blue streaking on the head (photo #5); that head streaking is also only explained by a pumpkinseed. It’s safe to assume a pumpkinseed is one of the parent species.

The moderately-sized mouth must be explained by the redbreast, green or warmouth. A warmouth cannot be the parent as the orange rays of the median fins are not explained by the pumpkinseed parent and are not explained by a warmouth. And no other warmouth features appear on this specimen.

It’s more difficult to eliminate a green or a redbreast from possibility. The opercular flap’s size and coloration appears with little intermediacy, mostly resembling the pumpkinseed in this area even with the lack of white edging on the top margin. The length of the opercular flap isn’t a significant tell as many redbreast of this size don’t yet show lengthy flaps.

The length of the pectoral fin almost extends to the anterior margin of the eye. Assuming even intermediacy, this is better explained by a redbreast parent than a green. Likewise, the maxilla of the jaw structure only extends just past the anterior margin of the eye—better explained by even intermediacy with a redbreast than a green.

Three features on this specimen common to the redbreast of this area: 1. The dark line of blotching on the proximal portion of the 2d dorsal fin (photo #2.) 2. The two clean blue lines extending into each margin of the opercular flap (photo #7.) 3. The specks of blue iridescence popping up in the anal fin rays (photo #3), though this occurs in pumpkinseed as well.

Finally, with most all green x pumpkinseed hybrids the lateral pattern is much different. In this specimen, the orderly orange/brown spotting along the body seems ideal for a pumpkinseed x redbreast, both of which express orange/brown spotting along the body. Also what is quite common on any green hybrid is more opaque white seen on the margins of the median fins and pelvic fins; here we have mostly clear margins (photo #4), expressed by both pumpkinseed and redbreast. The gill rakers (photo #6) appear very redbreast-like, perhaps a bit shorter, which makes sense with a pumpkinseed parent.

Caught in a turbid creek in a shallow pool. Released after photos.

6.4 cm TL. Male in full breeding colors. Notice the cool blue head. Saw this male darting around about 6 inches under the surface at the end of a pool. First time I've seen this species in Illinois. Hard to get him to hit with all the creek chubs, hornyhead chubs and lepomids taking the bait. Released after photos.

Incomplete lateral line. Black crescents along lateral line. Black on snout extends onto only the midsection of the upper lip. 8 anal rays. Dorsal fin origin is slightly behind pectoral fin origin.

Found in mostly clear, somewhat stained water of a creek. Released after photos.

5.4 cm TL. 10 anal rays. No apparent pore behind gill arch. Caught off rocky bottom near pier ~3 m deep.

The red horns on this guy are awesome. One of the coolest specimens I've ever handled. Released after photos.

Male hybrid. Warmouth features most obvious with mottling in the median fins and brown radiations from eye. Green features seen with attempt of blue spots in rows as well as yellow/white tinge in median fins. Lacks teeth on the tongue as is seen on pure warmouth. Mouth remains large, pectoral fin short, and gill rakers long as is seen in both parent species. In shallow pond over muddy substrate. Observed during SIU research project.