Green Sunfish

A few years back while carp fishing I noticed this gorgeous sunfish on a bed. In the water I could see its fins tipped with a bright orange edge. I caught the fish and found out it is a Green Sunfish. Green Sunfish are native to the middle part of the country. They can be found as far north as Minnesota and down to the Gulf of Mexico. However, in our area someone must have let them go because they are not native.

There is a difference between introduced and invasive. Many species we have here are introduced. There weren't black bass in many parts of the country until transported by people to fill lakes. Brown trout are native to Europe and Rainbows are from the western part of the country on the Pacific slope. There are of course many fish and animals that are invasive and can take over a habitat. Starlings, House Sparrows, and Mute Swans are my nemesis as a birder. These Green Sunfish I believe are either in the category of invasive or soon will be. Like Mute Swans, they are beautiful.

That first year I caught the Green Sunfish, there must have been more, but I just saw the one. A lot of years I will see how many species I can catch. My best year was 33 species in MA/RI/NH. This involved being invited on my friends boat for Sea Bass and Fluke, but also chasing Golden Shiners, Common Shiners, and other less sought after small fish. Every year I'd go to the same spot and catch the Green Sunfish.

The sun angle was better for seeing in the water than
for pictures, but you can get an idea of how many fish
were there.

The last time I went two years ago, I could clearly see sunfish swimming in the shallow water. There were quite a few and catching a couple on worms was easy. It didn't take a genius to see the population was rising.

I went to the same spot today. Before I walked down to the water, I could see many in six inches of water. Instead of worms, I brought my little six foot, 2 weight fly rod and a pheasant tail fly. It didn't take long to catch one. I didn't need to cast. In fact, I had to stand back from the shoreline despite my rod only being six feet because they were hugging the shoreline. I could see into the water very clearly because of the sun angle. In about eight feet of shoreline I could easily see fifty sunfish. I caught a few mostly for science.

I caught a few pregnant females as small as two and a half inches. The males were roughly 5-6 inches. The bigger males easily bullied the littler ones out of "their"spot. Most of the fish had the bright orange fins. Others has dark lines down their side. At first I thought they might be hybrids but after catching a couple I saw the bright orange fins. There is no doubt, these fish are taking over this waterbody and driving out native sunfish.