Bass, Crappie and Sunfish of North America

27 species of North American freshwater fish make up the sunfish family, including well known species including largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, rock bass, bluegill, pumpkinseed, and crappies.

Sunfish are the most diversified members of the family, including:

redbreast sunfish - L. auritus
green sunfish - L. cyanellus
pumpkinseed - L. gibbosus
warmouth - L. gulosus
orangespotted sunfish - L. humilis
bluegill - L. macrochirus
Florida bluegil - L. macrochirus purpurescensl
handpaint bluegil - L. macrochirus sppl
dollar sunfish - L. marginatus
northern longear sunfish - L. megalotis peltastes
central longear sunfish - L. megalotis megalotis
ox-bow longear sunfish - L. megalotis spp
redear sunfish - L. microlophus
redspotted sunfish - L. miniatus
spotted sunfish - L. punctatus
bantam sunfish - L. symmetricus

In his book In Praise of Little Fishes, Marcus Goldman, a professor of literature at the University of Illinois wrote: "The crowd in its ignorance deems it manly and impressive to catch crappies and bluegill, but scorns anything called 'sunfish.' The result of this attitude is that only seasoned and thoughtful anglers know or care to know how to identify the different species of Centrarchids."

Bluegill sunfish (bream) are the most widely distributed North American panfish. They are members of the same family as largemouth and smallmouth bass (Centrarchidae). These colorful fish are well adapted to living in ponds, lakes, streams and even brackish water.

Bluegill usually have a a black flexible tip on the gill cover. The gill cover is bright blue, giving the bluegill its name. The back and sides are dark green or brownish which is contrasted by a yellow, red or orange breast.

Males in the breeding season have a dark red to mahogany colored breast. The sides of the fish usually display a series of vertical bars. Bluegill typically reach lengths of 7-9 inches.

North American sunfish are extremely popular on t shirts and apparel. Familiar species depicted on t shirts and other shirts include bluegill, pumpkinseed, longear sunfish, shellcrackers and other sunfish.


Bluegill Sunfish - Bream



Pumpkinseed Sunfish Logo



Longear Sunfish Logo



Shellcracker

Note: Visit fish_fishing_seafood to see the full line of titled and untitled sunfish products.

Crappie are also members of the sunfish family. Two species, black crappie and white crappie are found in North America.

The two fish are similar, with bodies having patterns of speckled black, silver, green and white. Crappie are typically pan sized, although they sometimes exceed 12 inches.

Both species of crappie are well adapted to living in ponds, lakes, streams and non-tidal reaches of rivers. Crappie are strong fighters, beautiful fish and delicious as table fare.

Popular lures for crappie include maribou jigs, tube lures, shad darts and other small lures. They also bite readily on live minnows and other small baits.

Largemouth bass are one of the most familiar freshwater fish in North America. They are heavy bodied fish, instantly recognized by their mottled green sides, enormous mouth and plump bellies.

They live in shallow water habitats, among reeds, water lilies and other vegetation, sharing habitats with species such as muskies, northern pike, yellow perch, sunfish and catfish. Largemouth bass eat minnows and practically any other available fish species including their own.

Smallmouth bass are shaped similar to largemouth but tend to be smaller and favor slightly different habitats. The smallmouth bass derives its name from the fact that the rear end of the lower jaw does not extend past the eye, while that of a largemouth does. Typical sized smallmouth bass caught by anglers are 10 to 15 inches long, weighing 1-3 pounds.

The redear sunfish (Lepomis microlophus) resembles the bluegill except for coloration and its larger size. Its body is dark-colored with yellow-green undersides.

The male has a bright red edge on its gill flap while females have orange coloration in this area. The redear sunfish is also known as the shellcracker, Georgia bream, cherry gill, chinquapin, improved bream, stumpknocker, and sun perch,

Pumpkinseed are known for being one of the most colorful freshwater fish of North America. Pumpkinseed often have a bright orange breast and belly. Their back and sides are brown to olive green, speckled with orange, yellow, blue, and green spots. The fish have a pattern of speckling along the flanks is interspersed with dark vertical bands and wavy stripes.

The redbreast is another common sunfish. This colorful fish species is similar to bluegill, pumpkinseed and longear sunfish.