Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Spunky Pumpkinseed Sunfish
By: Tom Berg
Pumpkinseed sunfish are colorful little fish that are almost always willing to bite. That’s a good description for this feisty member of the sunfish family since these fish are quite colorful indeed. They are often a greenish-yellow color, fading to yellow-gold on the belly with orange speckles on their sides. They also have bright bluish-green streaks on their cheeks and around their mouth. One of the key identifying factors for them is the black ear flap which has a bright red spot at the back edge of the flap.
Pumpkinseed sunfish are found almost everywhere bluegills are found: shallow lakes, ponds, creeks and streams. They prefer shallow, weedy areas where they can search for food and hide from larger predators like largemouth bass and northern pike. They spawn in the springtime and early summer in shallow water in the same areas where bluegills spawn.
Like most sunfish, pumpkinseeds feed on a large variety of aquatic insects, but one of their favorite foods is mosquito larvae. They also eat mayflies and other terrestrial insects, worms, snails, fish eggs, tiny crayfish and even small minnows. Since they always seem to be hungry, they are eager to bite on worms used by fishermen. That makes them an ideal target for kids of all ages! They also put up a very spirited fight for a fish of their size.
Although these sunfish are usually smaller on average than some of their cousins like bluegills and redear sunfish, pumpkinseeds do occasionally reach larger size and attract the interest of serious fishermen. In the Midwest, an 8-inch pumpkinseed sunfish is a big one. A really giant specimen might reach 9 or 10 inches. The all-tackle world record pumpkinseed weighed 1 pound, 8 ounces and was caught in Honeoye, New York in 2016.
Despite the fact that pumpkinseeds are relatively small members of the sunfish family, they are very good to eat. Try to catch a few yourself this summer!
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