pumpkinseed
Species Facts

Science Name: Lepomis gibbosus
Other Names: Common sunfish, yellow sunfish, bream, punky
Description

Description: Gold sides with 7 to 10 faint vertical bars which tend to be more prominent on females. The sides often have blue and emerald reflections and green, orange, or red flecks. The cheeks have wavy bluish streaks, and the gill-cover lobe has an orange or red spot at the tip.

Hybrids: Commonly hybridizes with bluegill; less commonly with redbreast, redear, green and longear sunfish and with warmount.

Table Quality: White, flaky, sweet-tasting meat, very similar to that of a bluegill.

Sporting Qualities: Easy to catch; will take almost any small live bait, including worms, grubs, grasshoppers and leeches. Pumpkinseeds have small mouths, so they tend to nibble the bait. Good lures include fly-rod poppers, wet flies, small spinners, and tiny twister-tail jigs. Pumpkinseeds are good fighters, but not quite as determined as bluegills.

Habitat: Pumpkinseeds thrive in small, shallow lakes, sheltered bays of larger lakes, and quiet areas of slow-moving streams. They are normally found in shallower water and denser vegetation than bluegills and redears. Because they can tolerate cooler water temperatures than other sunfish, their range extends farther north. They prefer water temperatures from 70º to 75ºF.

Food Habits: Adult and larval insects make up most of the diet, but pumpkinseeds also eat snails and fish fry.

Spawning habits: Spawn in later spring or early summer, usually at water temperatures from 66º to 70ºF. Males build the nests on a sand or fine gravel bottom at depths from 6 to 18 inches. After spawning, males guard the eggs and fry. In one study, males were seen apparently eating fry that had strayed from the nest, but closer observation revealed that they carried the fry back and spat them out on the nest.

Age and Growth: Pumpkinseeds may live up to 10 years. They grow slightly faster in the northern states and Canada than in the southern part of their range, probably because of their preferences for cooler water. Males grow somewhat faster than females.

Tips for Fishing

As with other sunfish, a small hook baited with worms or wax worms will catch pumpkinseeds. Small artifical lures and flies also work well.