When summer begins anglers’ thoughts turn to sunfish.
These little scrappers are found statewide in diverse habitats from rocky streams, cypress sloughs, and farm ponds, to small lakes and major reservoirs. Some of the best fishing is during the spawn when water temperatures reach into the 70s.
All are members of Centrarchidae, the sunfish family. The 18 species in Kentucky include black bass and crappie. About half of the 18 species are the so-called true sunfish, hand-sized fish, often with distinctive coloration and markings.
Here are some details on the most abundant, and widely distributed true sunfish:
• The Warmouth (Lepomis gulosus) is a medium-sized, robust sunfish with a large head and mouth.
Coloration is dark olive to grey, with brownish sides and yellow markings. Dark red-brown lines radiate from the back of the eye. Adults can grow to 12 inches, but most are less than 10 inches.
The Warmouth is most abundant in low-gradient streams in western Kentucky, but small populations are also found in lakes in western and central Kentucky, including 18-acre Briggs Lake, in Logan County; 149-acre Elmer Davis Lake, in Owen County, and 51-acre McNeely Lake in Jefferson County.
Their preferred habitat is weed beds.
Green Sunfish (Illustration by Duane Raver, via Wikipedia Commons)
• The Green Sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus) is found statewide and in all of Kentucky’s major lakes.
Adults are commonly seven inches, rarely larger. Coloration is pale green above with darker greenish reflections, paler on the sides, and whitish below. The side of its head has emerald-green mottlings.
The Green Sunfish has a rather large mouth (compared to other sunfish species) and rounded pectoral fins, and the opercular flap has a dark spot, bordered with white. It often hybridizes with other sunfish species, with the resulting offspring showing intermediate characteristics.
In small lakes and farm ponds, populations can grow out of control, resulting in stunted fish, if adequate numbers of predator fish aren’t present.
• The Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) is Kentucky’s most popular sunfish, common in farm ponds, small lakes, and major reservoirs.
A perfect fish for beginning anglers, the bluegill is a real scrapper when hooked on light tackle, and is one of our best-tasting fish. The bluegill’s white flesh is sweet and firm, especially when taken from cool or cold waters.
Bluegill (photo by Brian Dykes, via Wikipedia Commons)
Adults are four to nine inches long, rarely more than 11 inches. Large, hand-sized bluegill, about seven to eight inches long, are saucer-shaped, beautiful fish. Their mouths are small, and their bodies slab-sided.
Coloration is variable, but generally, they are olive green with emerald, copper, and bluish reflections on their sides, dark above the lateral line. Their lower sides and belly are whitish to yellow. Breeding males may have bright red breasts.
Six lakes in central Kentucky that offer good to excellent fishing for bluegill include 158-acre Beaver Lake, in Anderson County; 149-acre Elmer Davis Lake, in Owen County; 96-acre Corinth Lake, in Grant County; 92-acre Boltz Lake, in Grant County; 784-acre Cedar Creek Lake, In Lincoln County, and 2,500-acre Herrington Lake, in Mercer, Boyle and Garrard counties.
In small lakes where shad are not present, bluegill are capable of reaching a much larger average size.
• The Longear Sunfish (Lepomis megalotis ) is Kentucky’s most abundant stream sunfish, that adapts well to reservoirs impounded from major rivers.
A beautifully colored sunfish that is very familiar to anglers who fish rocky creeks, the longear is moderately small.
Longear Sunfish (Photo by Brandon Brown, via Wikipedia Commons)
Males are larger than females, and adults can grow to nine inches in length, but most are usually less than six inches long, weighing less than three-quarters of a pound.
Distinguished from other sunfish by its intense coloration, and having a long “ear flap,” that is black, with a white/reddish border, the longear is a deep-bodied sunfish with a small mouth, and short, rounded pectoral fins.
Its body coloration is orange, with wavy blue lines on the cheek and gill cover, that become smaller dots on the fish’s lowers sides, and belly.
Breeding males take on a more reddish, bright red-orange, their markings an iridescent blue, and their dorsal, anal, and caudal fins develop distinctive blueish tips.
• The Rock Bass (Ambloplites rupestris) lives in rocky, cool water streams in central and eastern Kentucky, absent from the Purchase Region, and mud-bottomed, warm water streams.
This sunfish species is most abundant in streams where smallmouth bass are present and is common in most streams in the Licking and Kentucky River drainages.
A medium-sized sunfish, adults are eight to 10 inches in length, rarely more than 12 inches, or weighing more than 1 1/2 pounds.
Coloration is olive green, with saddle-like blotches across its back, brassy sides, and a dusky belly. Distinguishing characteristics include a largemouth, rounded pectoral fins, and large eyes rimmed in red. Scales have dark spots, forming lengthwise, narrow stripes, and their anal fin has five to six spines.
• The Redear Sunfish (Lepomis microlophus) is most common in clear waters, where submerged, rooted aquatic vegetation is present.
A moderately large, fast-growing sunfish, adults are eight to 10 inches in length, and can average three-quarters of a pound or more in productive waters.
Redear Sunfish (Photo from Flickr Commons)
Trophy-sized fish up to 12 inches are possible in Kentucky waters.
A deep-bodied, slab-sided sunfish, the redear sunfish has a relatively long, pointed snout and smallmouth. Their upper jaw does not extend past the front of the eye.
They have long pointed pectoral fins, which aid in lateral movement. Their opercle flaps are distinctive — the adult males have a bright cherry red margin, the females are light orange.
Coloration is a mottled blueish-green, with a yellow-orange belly.
Redear Sunfish thrive in farm ponds and small lakes, wherever aquatic vegetation is present. Remember to keep your bait close to the bottom, out in deeper water, away from the shoreline.
The top major lakes in the state for redear sunfish are the sprawling “twin” reservoirs, Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley, southeast of Paducah, Kentucky.
Upcoming fisheries include Cave Run Lake, where a slow-growing population is spreading throughout the lake, Fishtrap Lake, first stocked 2010-13, where zebra mussels are present, and Yatesville Lake, due to increased growth of weed beds.
Redear sunfish feed mainly on snails and insect larvae. They use their flattened “throat teeth” to crush the shells of snails, clams and mussels, both native and non-native species, hence its most common nickname is the shellcracker.
Fishing Tackle and Techniques for Sunfish
When fishing for sunfish, keep the tackle simple and lightweight.
Two excellent tackle options are a pole or an ultralight spinning rod and reel.
A 10-to-12 foot pole made from river cane works great. Another option is a telescoping fiberglass pole, light enough for even small children to handle.
Use a 10-pound test monofilament line on poles to avoid line twists. A little heavier line also makes it possible to straighten out light wire hooks rather than break the line when snagged on cover.
Rig the line on your pole with a No. 4 lead split shot, balsa wood or plastic float, and No. 10 long shank light wire hook. The long shank hook is easier to remove when the bluegill shallows the bait. Hemostats are a great help when removing hooks lodged way down in a small sunfish’s throat.
For live bait, it’s hard to beat red worms, bits of nightcrawler, crickets, mealworms, wax worms, and bagworms, found on evergreens (especially Eastern red cedar) in the summer.
Spinning tackle has an obvious advantage over a pole because bait can be cast to likely fish-holding structure, far beyond the edge of weed beds when fishing from the bank.
Anglers wading streams typically catch sunfish casting tiny spinners, jigs and crankbaits.
Sunfish are small but scrappy, and their beautiful coloration is a wonder of nature. Summer is the season for sunfish.
