To design, build, and maintain perfect ponds for bluegills and anglers

Abstract

This book was written by an author who loves bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) and fishing. That is clear from the last chapter and the pretty eye of a bluegill illustrated on the cover. I felt something in common with Stephen Spotte, the author of this book, because I went fishing every day in my childhood in Japan. However, the targets of my fishing, silver crucian carp (Carassius gibelio langsdorfi), pale chub (Zacco platypus), and Japanese minnow (Pseudorasbora parva) have largely disappeared from many ponds and lakes in Japan, partly due to the introduction of American centrarchids such as largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) and bluegill. I was a leader of a research project to find methods to reduce the number and distribution of bluegills in Japan. Thus, my attitude while reading this book is slightly biased in that I am trying to find weak points of bluegills. Although this book sometimes recommends culling small bluegills, the aim is to increase large-sized bluegills as a target for fishing by facilitating the growth rate of the remaining bluegills. I felt, therefore, some hesitation in writing a critique of this “Bluegills”. However, as the author states in the introduction, this book is intended for an audience not specifically of freshwater ecologists, fishery managers, ichthyologists, experimental biologists, or other specialists but rather for biologists with diverse backgrounds. This book is well organized and clearly written, and one of the best guides so far published on a single fish species. Bluegill is perhaps the most intensively studied fish in the world, and the wealth of advanced research on the behavior and ecology of bluegill supports this book. “Bluegills” is not too long nor overly complex. It skillfully summarizes the behavior and ecology of bluegills, without being biased to particular theories, while providing a balanced overview of this fish. After explaining the general principles or tendencies, the author never forgets to describe exceptions that have considerable scope to stimulate future studies. Spotte introduces a lot of clear results on bluegill behavior obtained in the laboratory and experimental ponds. However, the author says “results from studying captive animals provide insight into hypotheses that need to be tested in the field, not data for making managing decisions”. From this viewpoint, the author seems to try to find good management methods for bluegill ponds and lakes with a variety of fish species composition, lake morphology and vegetation. “Bluegills” is a book of 214 pages composed of an introduction (2 pages), eight chapters (146 pages), endnotes (26 pages), references (24 pages) and index (16 pages). Detailed references are omitted from the main text. They are given in “endnotes” and “referEnviron Biol Fish (2009) 84:225–228 DOI 10.1007/s10641-008-9429-4