Even the most-renowned professional anglers probably started fishing for panfish, but many can’t really tell the various species apart. Frequently, they simply lump them all together as “bream,” “perch,” “sunfish” or a dozen other names.
But Mississippi holds a wide variety of panfish species all across the state.
Among the most common and widespread fish in North America, bluegill derive their name from the navy blue “ear flap” near their gills. They can live in practically any freshwater system, but prefer quiet waters with considerable weedy or stumpy cover.
A bluegill can weigh nearly 5 pounds, but few exceed 1 pound. Gerald Thurmond pulled the Mississippi state record, a fish weighing 3.45 pounds, from a farm pond on Feb. 2, 1995.
Also called a shellcracker because it relishes snails, a redear sunfish looks like a paler version of a bluegill, but it sports orange to red highlights on its “ear flaps.”
Redears more commonly feed on the bottom than other species and can top 5 pounds. James Martin set the state record with a 3.33-pounder caught at Tippah County Lake on Nov. 5, 1991.
Perhaps the easiest to identify, an olive-colored warmouth looks similar to a bluegill in color, but with the shape and mouth similar to bass.
Also called a goggle-eye, redeye or rock bass, these thick, dark fish love swamps; shallow, weedy lakes; sluggish streams; and canals with thick vegetation. Although few warmouth exceed 1 pound, Lillian Morris landed a 1 1/2-pounder at Black Creek to set the state record on June 17, 1979.
Anglers may also catch green sunfish, fliers, pumpkinseeds, hybrid bream, red-breasted sunfish, spotted sunfish or stumpknockers, long-ear sunfish plus a few other species.
The state record greenie weighed 1.26-pounds, and was caught by Craig Jones on May 21, 1986, at Waltman’s Lake.
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