Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Longear Sunfish - Small But Mighty

Story and Photos By: Tom Berg

Everyone loves sunfish. Just about all fisherman, whether they are young or old, have caught their fair share of sunfish over the years. Sunfish are a staple for kids of all ages; these small fish always seem to be hungry and are usually eager to take a baited hook. Perfect for beginning anglers!

There are many species of sunfish in the USA, but one of the most colorful and interesting species is the longear sunfish. Longears are admittedly one of the smaller sunfish species, usually attaining lengths of only six inches or so. But what they lack in size, they more than make up for in beauty and feistiness!

Longear sunfish are truly beautiful fish, especially during spawning season. Males have a bright orange belly and are greenish-blue on their sides and back. Their face is marked with alternating lines of orange and bright sky-blue. Even their fins and spines are bright blue and orange. As if the bright colors were not enough, longears can be easily identified by their large, elongated black “ear flap” which is rimmed by white.

Besides their stunning coloration, longear sunfish are nearly fearless panfish. They are carnivorous, often eating other small fish, minnows, fish eggs, small crayfish, aquatic insects, terrestrial insects, leeches and even snails. If live prey (or an angler’s bait) appears anywhere near a longear sunfish, they will usually immediately rush over to investigate and then eat it.

When hooked on ultralight fishing tackle, longear sunfish put up a tremendous fight for their small size. In fact, anglers are often fooled into thinking they have hooked a larger fish until they pull it out of the water. That’s when they marvel at the beauty of this fish.

Like all of our native sunfish, longear sunfish very good to eat. Their meat is white, sweet and flaky, and it is excellent cooked in a host of different ways. The only downside is the small size of the fish. But if you catch a bunch of them, you can still have a fish fry!

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