Abstract
Rate of growth of 589 bluegills, Lepomis macrochirus Rafinesque, collected in 1974 and 1975 from a farm pond in northwestern Kansas, was determined by the scale method. The body-scale relationship was linear with an intercept of 18.0519 mm total length. The length-weight relationship was described by the equation W - 6.19 x 10-6 L32327. Annulus formation began in late April and was completed by early June. Average total lengths were 37 mm, 101 mm, 159 mm and 164 mm for ages I through IV respectively. The growth rate was generally greater than in other areas of the central states. Males outnumbered females in the sample, but this appeared to result from sampling bias rather than from unequal sex ratios. Males averaged longer than females in all age groups, but the difference was significant only in the fourth year of growth. Spawning was 80 percent complete by late May.
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