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True true lol
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Looks like a green sunfish to me, maybe TD will enlighten us.
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The mouth is too small and the body too broad and flat for a green. I was thinking pumpkinseed. I know they have them in a few places in Idaho, but this is the first I've heard of them in Utah.
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[cool][#0000ff]There are many species of sunfish...and they are called different names in different parts of the country. To further complicate matters, they can have different colorations at different times of the year and in waters with different chemistry.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I am calling your fish a "Pumpkinseed"...as in the picture below. Definitely not a green sunfish and definitely not a bluegill.[/#0000ff]
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[inline sunfish_pumpkinseed.jpg]
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[#0000ff]Here is a picture of a redear sunfish from Arizona. [/#0000ff]
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[inline "PATAGONIA REDEAR.jpg"]
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Aren't redear sunfish called shellcracker's in the South. They get big, I mean up to 3-4 lbs and are one of the biggest of the 'round' sunfish ( LMB & SMB are true sunfish, not bass). I would bet that some punkinseed fry were mixed in with the channel cat fry that DWR got from the feds and got stocked with em !! Not aware that they are stocking them !! Need to ask Drew about em ??
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You might want to call the DWR. Supposedly there are no legal stockings of any other species of Lepomis other than bluegill or green sunfish. I am not doubting what kind of fish it is. Sure is a pretty beggar.
Boy the auto correct is kills mees.
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Pumpkin Seed it is. Thanks boys! Hooray!
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1st rule of seed club.....don't talk about seed club!
2nd rule of seed club....DON'T TALK ABOUT SEED CLUB!
Thanks for the laughs sir! Best joke post of the year in my opinion!
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I'll second that opinion! If you care to hear it from a good ol boy from Indiana. My entire childhood thru young adult life I spent targeting panfish in the coal "strip" pits of southern Indiana (all the while my dad would be on the LMB extravaganza). Well I said all that to say I've seen just about every species of panfish. And you my friend FOR SURE have stumbled across a true pumpkinseed gill. And as the other poster stated redear are much larger, in fact growing up my brother actually caught a redear that weighed in at 3lbs. 4oz. (of course that happened to be the largest that I personally had ever seen). Just bought a plane ticket to go back in mid September to do some fishing(I mean visit some family). Can't hardly wait, you truly brought back memories with that picture. Growing up we spent just about every Saturday and Sunday in those pits outside the hunting season. Back then in Indiana, there was no limit on sunfish. You really could catch more than you ever wanted to clean. Thanks for the post! Hope this helps.
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[cool][#0000ff]As we know from other "strange" species popping up where they are not supposed to be, it is difficult to know for certain what their origins are. We can blame it on aquarium dumpers, bucket biologists or accidental inclusion in planned plantings by DWR. The purty little "punkinseeds" are not as prolific or invasive as many other species and are usually no more than a part of the overall mix...or a rare novelty...even in some of their native habitats in the south and east.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Yes, redears are also commonly called "shellcrackers" back east. They eat freshwater clams and snails...and small crawdads. Down in the New Orleans area we used to seine out some good sized freshwater shrimp to use for bait and those feisty redears loved 'em.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]They do get big. Here is a pic of one caught by former BFTer "Xman" on a visit down in Arizona.[/#0000ff]
[inline "XMAN REDEAR.jpg"]
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[#0000ff]And here is a pic of a pending record 5.5# from Lake Havasu...on the Colorado River...where they eat quagga mussels.[/#0000ff]
[inline "RECORD REDEAR.jpg"]
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thats a cool lookin fish man, your finding all these fish i didnt know of there. nice report.
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So they eat the quagga mussels? Did they get planted to kill those off?[#0000ff]
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[cool][#0000ff]The redears are a fairly recent addition to Havasu and I suspect they were introduced as an experiment to see if they could make a difference. I have not heard anything definitive except that they DO eat them. Anything has to help.[/#0000ff]
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Bet you can't move them around to use as bait if they are full of quaggas!
Have found Perch puking up pounds of tiny snails, Gills too. Good forage - found grundles of little snails along the shore at the Pig, so pinched a few onto some spinners. Don't know if it made "the" difference, but I landed some Kokes, so - I'll take it. Natural forage.
TDT - I think you've been watching too much Wilfred (RE: fight club).
In Fisherman had a cover feature with these Panfish Pretties.
[inline "Pumpkin Cover.JPG"]
![[Image: 802933.JPG]](http://images.summitpost.org/medium/802933.JPG)
![[Image: 98e6488f.jpg]](http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k143/Bscuderi/98e6488f.jpg)
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![[Image: SU3.jpg]](http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m53/jdizz66/SU3.jpg)
![[Image: SeedClub.jpg]](http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m53/jdizz66/SeedClub.jpg)
