Sunfish Season Tips

During the summer smaller warm water species such as sunfish, bass and crappie will move into the shallow water to spawn and then to bask in the sun and rear their young away from the harms of the deep end. Simple observation with polarized sun glasses in the shallow water of your favorite fishing pond will quickly reveal any sunfish or small bass that may be present. These fish are often ready to take any realistic looking bait or lure that comes within the bounds of their curiosity range. In general I will use nightcrawlers for bait but you can also try other natural baits such as meal worms, maggots, crickets and wax worms. These types of alternate baits are available both live or preserved at your local pet store's reptile Department.



Our story begins prowling the 'paved' banks of Blue Lake Park on a very sunny sunfishy afternoon. I could see sunfish right away in many small spots along the weed lines that follow the bank. Most of the fish were on the inside or bank side of the weed line but larger fish can often be found on the outside as they wait for schools of sunfish and bass fry to stray out into deep water, providing a helpless meal.



It only took a few second to catch the first small sunfish on a small bit of night crawler. One bait goes along way when these fish are on the bite.



The Blue Lake fish have an odd yellow hugh about them where most sunfish tend to be shades of green, orange and brown. I also notice these Blue Lake sunfish have a larger mouth than most types and could possibly be a cross I have encountered before that is half warmouth and half sunfish. Warmouth are present in Oregon and are easy to spot by their almost bass like mouth and brown color with tan tipped fins similar to the photo shown below. This yellow strain seems to be somewhere in the middle and might even have a touch of pumkin seed bluegill, that I have also encountered here in Blue Lake and other Northwest sunfish locations.



When fishing for sunfish with bait my rig is very simple but one thing about this rig is simply the most important thing I have found in over 30 years in sunfishing for both you AND the sunfish. IM talking about the long shank hook you see in the photo below. This hook is easy to work with and when used with a night crawler can keep 'YOU' from damaging their tiny gills and vital organs while extracting the hook. The long shank hook also allows a section of night crawler to look natural and grub like on the hook while fishing. The larger size of the night crawler bait is also harder for the sunfish to swallow than the other alternative baits I mentioned. Lets remember for a second that conservtion matters in all species and while some might not think much of the little sunfish that are being caught and released, lets acknowledge that the sunfish is a valuable part of the food chain in most water across the U.S. and in many cases game fish in lakes such as bass and catfish rely a great deal on sunfish as a food source during certain times of the year.





At Blue lake fish are easy find and our fill of watching bobber downs came in only a few hours or so. In that time we release around 20 sunfish and a few bonus small largemouth bass. Small bass will often turn up in the mix especially when casting near weed lines where bass hide and wait to ambush their prey.



Ultra light spinning tackle will handle sunfishing just fine. I use 6 lb on my UL rods so that if a carp or adult bass takes the bait I still have a chance to win the battle. Most fish that swim in fresh water will eat a night crawler so you just never really know what your going to catch next. If your looking for just sunfish remember to look right at your feet and not out into the lake where trout might be. Look for depressions in the shallows that might indicate a spawning bed. Spawning beds can provide some of the best sunfishing of the season but will be limited to late spring and early summer in most areas in the Northwest. Under downed trees along the bank or over hanging ledges and docks can also provide good fishing all season long. Do not let human activity discourage you either, these are a static fish that relates to structure and will tolerate alot of excitement before moving along to avoid the disturbances.



This is easy fishing to try with begginers and youth anglers that are hard to keep occupied during fishing trips. These tips will work great on all of the species of sunfish, bluegill and perch that reside here in the Northwest. Please remember to purchase long shank hooks. This will not only make your day easyer when your primary job is your family's "fish releaser" but will make a big difference in the life of the little sunfish you release back into the water they call home.