Panfish Identification 101

Once the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission hatchery trucks stop rolling in late spring, it doesn’t take long for their maladjusted cargo to disappear from our Philadelphia area “trout” streams. The vast majority of stockies that aren’t taken by anglers soon fall victim to natural predators like herons or starve to death, unable to make the transition from being fed to foraging. At that point, the vast majority of fishermen desert these “fished out” streams. What remains are the streambred warmwater fish that are the natural inhabitants of these waters, and the relatively few anglers who understand and appreciate them. 

A fascinating variety of fish species live in our local streams, including various minnows, chubs, shiners, carp, bass, sunfishes, and on and on. This article would be far too long if I attempted to list and describe all of them, so I will limit this discussion to the sunfishes and the Rock Bass, which is actually also a sunfish but not usually grouped with them due to its common name.

We have four common sunfish species in our area. They are the Bluegill, Pumpkinseed, Redbreast Sunfish, and Green Sunfish. Many anglers are perfectly content to lump all of these creatures together and call them “sunnies” or “bluegills.” If you are one of those people, go with my blessing and be happy. But for those who are curious about the possibility of actually being able to identify them, we offer these tips.

It’s very helpful to have some good reference materials. For many years I have relied on the excellent color illustrations in McClane’s Standard Fishing Encyclopedia, by Al McClane. I believe that this book is now out of print, although you might find a copy at a yard sale or through a used book dealer. When buying any field guide, I suggest choosing one with paintings rather than photographs. With fish, as with birds and wildflowers, there can be a fair amount of variation both regionally and between individuals. A photograph shows a single individual at a single moment in time. On the other hand, a painting is an idealized representation of the species in question. The key field marks needed for a positive identification are emphasized, sometimes even with arrows to call your attention to those features. Most naturalists would agree that this approach is more helpful than the use of photography. 

Colors can vary between males and females within a species, and this is most pronounced during spawning season. Sunfishes can nest repeatedly throughout the summer, but this activity is at peak from mid-spring through early summer. The markings are similar between males and females within a species, but generally males have darker and/or more intense colors overall.

A very significant feature in distinguishing between the various sunfish species is the “ear flap,” a fleshy projection at the rear edge of the gill covers. This flap will vary in shape and color from one species to the next and tends to be quite distinctive once you know what to look for. Colors present on the body and fins, and the distribution of these colors can also be important. But the ear flap, its shape and the colors present on it, is the single most important key to sunfish identification.

One rather large complication in identifying these fish is their tendency to hybridize naturally in the wild. I have seen hybrids that simultaneously exhibited recognizable features of at least three different species. But once you are familiar with the key field marks of the species involved, it’s easy and rather interesting to recognize those features in any hybrids you may encounter.

The Bluegill is sometimes referred to as “The Prince of Panfish.” It attains the largest size, and gives the strongest fight. My personal best Bluegill was eleven and a half inches and 13 ounces, from a pond in New Jersey. Typically an 8-incher is considered a good-sized specimen. The Bluegill is rather round in shape as viewed from the side. The ear flap is half-round, not elongated at all, and is solid velvety black in color. On very large specimens, the ear flap can deform in shape a bit, becoming more uneven, and large males can develop a hump on the back immediately behind the head. The cheek is unmarked. The male has a brick-red breast, and this color is deeper during the spring spawning season. The males can become rather blackish overall at this time of year. The female’s breast is more yellowish, and she tends to be lighter in color overall. There is often a faint turquoise-blue flush along the lower gill covers, hence the name Bluegill. There are usually several indistinct vertical bars on the body. Fins are usually a clear gray, sometimes with a bluish-green tinge. 

The Pumpkinseed is what a lot of people really mean when they say “sunnie.” It’s the most colorful member of the sunfish clan found in our area. The “P-seed” is the only of our local sunfish to have red on the ear flap. The Pumpkinseed’s ear flap is half-round, like the Bluegill’s. It’s mostly black, but the trailing edge is lighter in color, with a bright red spot centered on the margin. The cheek is strongly and evenly streaked in burnt orange and turquoise, and the same colors are speckled over the body. The fins are clear, sometimes tinged with yellow to orange. P’seeds don’t get quite as large as Bluegills, but I have caught them up to 7 inches in length. 

The Redbreast Sunfish is the most common in the rivers and streams of our area, and is less common in lakes and ponds. It’s not as deep-bodied as the Bluegill or Pumpkinseed. The largest specimens I’ve seen in our area run 8 to 9 inches in length. The most striking feature, as you’d guess from the name, is the brilliant breast of the males, which is actually more orange than red. During breeding season the males take on colors nearly fluorescent in intensity. The body is greenish, sometimes with some orange speckling on the lower flanks. The ear flap of the Redbreast is markedly elongated, with some lighter streaking over a blackish background. There will be a few uneven or broken turquoise streaks on the cheeks. The fins can be strongly tinged with orange, especially in the breeding males. 

The Green Sunfish, as the name would imply, is predominantly dark greenish in color. It is similar in shape to the Redbreast. There may be just a few flecks of turquoise on the cheek or body. The ear flap is just slightly elongated, not nearly as much so as for the Redbreast, and is somewhat blackish with a lighter margin. The soft dorsal, pelvic, and/or anal fins may be edged in cream to yellow, particularly in the larger males during spawning season. The Green Sunfish’s mouth is proportionally larger than that of the other sunfishes. All of the sunfishes have a sort of “velcro” lining on areas of the lips and inside the mouth to help them catch and hold prey. This is very noticeable on the Greenie. These features are in keeping with its diet, which includes a higher proportion of minnows than for our other sunfish species. 

The Rock Bass, Largemouth Bass and Smallmouth Bass are, along with the sunfishes described above, all members of the family Centrarchidae. But we don’t call them sunfish, we call them bass. Don’t ask me why. The Rock Bass is shaped like a typical sunfish, although not as rounded as the Bluegill or the Pumpkinseed. The ear flap is black in color, but smaller and less distinct than that of the other species described here. The fish is overall greenish in color, with some black speckling over the body. Bright colors are absent except for the most noticeable feature, the oversized, red eye. This gives the Rock Bass one of its other common names, “Goggle-eye.” The fins can be edged in black, especially on the males during spawning season. Like the Green Sunfish, the Rock Bass is a minnow-eater. And, also like the Greenie, the Rock Bass is a very aggressive feeder. 

I hope you will enjoy your attempts to recognize and put a name to some of these sporty little fish that give us so much summer fishing pleasure. We should all try to remember our friends’ names!

--Mary S. Kuss--