Freshwater Fish of the Week 8/22

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REDBREAST SUNFISH


Thanks to Field and Stream Online SUNFISH, REDBREAST Lepomis auritus.
Other names: longear sunfish, redbreast bream, robin, redbelly, sun perch, yellowbelly sunfish.
The redbreast sunfish is the most abundant sunfish in Atlantic Coastal Plain streams. Like other members of the Centrarchidae family of sunfishes, it is a good fighter for its size and excellent to eat. These fish are a common catch, taken with standard panfishing methods.
Identification. The body of the redbreast sunfish is deep and compressed but rather elongate for a sunfish. It is olive above, fading to bluish bronze below; in the spawning season males have bright orange-red bellies while females are pale orange underneath. There are several light blue streaks radiating from the mouth, and the gill rakers are short and stiff. The lobe or flap on the gill cover is usually long and narrow in adult males, actually longer than in the so-called longear sunfish. The two species are easily distinguished by the fact that the lobe of the redbreast is blue-black or completely black all the way to the tip and is narrower than the eyes, whereas the lobe of the longear is much wider and is bordered by a thin margin of pale red or yellow around the black. The pectoral fins of both species are short and roundish in contrast to the longer, pointed pectoral fins of the redear sunfish, and the opercular flaps are softer and more flexible than the rigid flaps of the pumpkinseed sunfish.
Size. Redbreast sunfish grow at a slow rate and may reach lengths of 6 to 8 inches, though they can attain 11 to 12 inches and weigh about a pound. The all-tackle world record is a 1-pound 12-ounce fish from Florida in 1984.
Distribution. Generally occurring in rivers across the U.S. and Canada, the original distribution of redbreast sunfish is the Atlantic slope of North America from New Brunswick, Canada, to central Florida, and westward to the Appalachian Mountains; the range now extends to parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Kentucky. They have been introduced to waters in Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Italy, where they are considered a nuisance due to stunting.
Habitat. Redbreast sunfish inhabit rocky and sandy pools of creeks and small to medium rivers. They prefer the deeper sections of streams and vegetated lake margins.
Spawning. Redbreasts spawn in spring and summer when they are 2 to 3 years old and as small as 4 inches; this may occur as early as April in the southern part of their range, with peak spawning activity in June or when water temperatures range from 68 to 82 degrees. Males build nests in water 1 to 2 feet deep near stumps, logs, rocks, or other protected areas over sand or gravel bottom; the nests are 30 to 36 inches in diameter and 6 to 8 inches deep. Redbreast sunfish often occupy nests that have been abandoned by other sunfishes. The number of eggs laid ranges in the thousands to tens of thousands, varying with the age and size of the female.
Food. The primary food is aquatic insects, but redbreasts also feed on snails, crayfish, small fishes, and occasionally on organic matter from the bottom.
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[daymere]

well a little flour and yellow corn meal and these go good at any time of the day or night.
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[tubeN2]

You forgot to mention the hot peanut oil to cook them in.[url "javascript: addTag('')"][][/url] After they're done, squeeze a little lemon juice and add a dash of black pepper. Yummmmmmmmy. Also works with Blue Gills, Perch and other panfish.
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[daymere]

my bad
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[daymere]

and it taste so good with tarter sauce
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[tubeN2]

Don't forget the malt vinegar too. yummmmmmy[url "javascript: addTag('cool')"][cool][/url]
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[FisherMOM]

Well this goes right along with my latest FisherMOM article....

[url "http://www.thefishermom.com/articles/sunfish.htm"]http://www.thefishermom.com/articles/sunfish.htm[/url]

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[black][size 3]I have an appreciation for sunfish that I didn’t have going into this summer. I don’t usually target them, but as a child I did, and my children fish for them too. [/size][/black]
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I think if any freshwater fish were to get an award for introducing the most people to fishing, it would have to be the sunfish. (Bluegills, pumpkinseeds, and the like) [/size][/black]
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When I started fishing a few years back, I loved catching bluegills, and they were usually happy to oblige. As long as they were biting, my kids and I were happy. You don’t even need anything more than a little wormskin on your hook and they will almost fight each other for it! [/size][/black][black][size 3]

Last summer was when I began to view them as a pest when fishing. I was learning how to fish for Largemouth bass and enjoyed Texas rigging a live nightcrawler. Unfortunately, the sunfish enjoyed them too. SO, I learned how to fish soft plastics.

This winter, I didn’t get to fish for four months. I was even fantasizing about rigging up a teeny tiny hook and fishing for my Beta fish…. To look at him close up, he resembles a real small colorful Bass. Bob survived the fishing blues that I was having though, and still swims happily in his tank along with three leftover bait minnows.




I did get out in February and go fly-fishing. I caught a nice Brown trout, and it sure felt good. The next time that I went out fishing was late April, I think. My first fish to catch in the local pond, was a three-inch bluegill, and I was ecstatic to see it in my hand!



That was when I realized just how important sunfish are to us. I am not a pan-fisherman, but to me, sunfish are one of the most important fish we have. They are great for children to catch, they feed many of the more popular gamefish out there, and they can break the monotony of a skunked fishing trip.

You know what else? I did some research on them, and the big males are called Bull Bluegills. Have you ever seen a bull bluegill? What a tough looking fish! I caught a small bull bluegill this spring, and if I had access to more and bigger ones, I’d make pan fish trips! Oh yeah!
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[Dryrod]

[font "Californian FB"][#005028][size 3]Hey there FisherMOM, The Sunnie was the first fish I ever caught and the 2nd, 3rd etc. Probably was around 6 or 7 yrs. old at the time. Caught them on dough balls using a cane pole, length of braided line that I found and an old rusty hook. A few years later caught my first pickerel or sucker can't remember which one using a little bit more sophisticated hardware. I am the little guy standing next to my cousin who still had his cane pole.[/size][/#005028][/font]

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[tubeN2]

Thanks for the nice article Fishermom. It makes a good compliment to the fish of the week.[url "javascript: addTag('cool')"][cool][/url]
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