Let's Talk About Sunfish.

I'm Certainly No Expert, But I Do Love To Talk:

I'd like to share a few of my thoughts on sunfish, a family of invasive fish found readily throughout the lower mainland. But the truth is that i am no expert, i have learned a fair bit about these fish online, relative to their natural habitats. But the information i have regarding them in the lower mainland is mostly derived from my own fishing experiences and is still a bit limited. Apart from a few curious and random sightings earlier in my angling adventures I didn't really come face to face with these fish until i began targeting largemouth bass a couple years ago. After a few chance encounters with fish species i had read very little or nothing about online in regard to them being in the lower mainland i decided to start targeting different sunfish to see what i could learn or discover. And though i feel there is still much to learn, sunfish have quickly become some of my favorite fish to target. From their often beautiful colorations and markings to their aggressive behaviour and interesting nesting habits, they are a rewarding group to target, not just for beginners but for seasoned anglers as well. And speaking of seasoned, let's not forget their tendency to be great table fare. So let's get to it, I think a few of you will find what i've seen so far of interest.

Which Species Of Sunfish Am I Referring To:

The members of the sunfish family i have come across and positively identified so far are Pumpkinseed, Black Crappie, Bluegill, and Largemouth Bass. However there have been a few catches that i have been unable to identify and i am unsure if they are either male/female variants, hybrids or different species altogether. I do believe that if i continue targeting sunfish and my experience in identification grows i will eventually find other species. There is a world of information available online dealing with all aspects of these fish, information that greatly eclipses my personal knowledge. And i recommend anyone interested in targeting sunfish to do some Googling of their own. I will however give a brief overview of the positively identified ones.

Bluegill:

One of my favorite fish, Bluegill are beautifully colored, and taste delicious. They also fight a lot harder than their size would suggest. Oftentimes while hooked into a Bluegill i'll assume i've hooked a decent little 12 inch Largemouth, only to land it and realise its a 4 inch fish. Their bodies seem a lot more rigid than the other sunfish i've held and tend to be thicker than both the Pumpkinseed or Crappie, the largest i've caught so far was just under 7 inches. I've had a lot of success fishing for these with A small jig head paired with a one to two inch curly tailed grub or a small creature bait, retrieved with an erratic motion attempting to imitate an injured prey.

Bluegill.

Bluegill.

Largemouth Bass:

This fish hardly needs an introduction, it is easily one of the most popular game fish in the world. And until i caught my first one i didn't totally get it. A lot of the bass fishing shows we see on T.V. and even on youtube quite honestly seem a little silly at times, it's just not a culture we've had much exposure to here in the lower mainland. I get it now though. They hit hard, explosively even and fight with an aggression i've rarely seen in even the biggest trout, steelhead included. And they will readily strike a huge variety of baits and presentations. I've even had one strike my hook as i was retrieving a mass of weeds i had snagged. Another great aspect of bass fishing in the lower mainland, is that they tend to become most active in the summer when water temperatures warm up and trout become less active, providing an exciting "backup fishery" when fishing for trout isn't as productive, or necessarily even safe for the trout. The Largemouths body is more elongated than the other sunfish and it's the largest growing. I've heard many reports of Largemouth in the area reaching the 8 to 10 pound range. My largest however was just a little under 3 pounds. I have seen larger fish while looking over the edge of my kayak though so hopefully i can get into some bigger ones this coming season. Every presentation i have tried works, depending on conditions, but my favorite right now is a Texas rig with a dark red curly tail worm 5 to 6 inches long. That said, there are few things in life as exciting as running a frog across a mat of lily pads and having a bass come up and smash it from beneath. the first time that happened to me i was hooked on bass for life.

Juvenile Largemouth Bass.

Largemouth Bass.

Black Crappie:

No fish i've come across before has confused me as much as Crappie have, at times you can't keep these schooling fish off your hook, literally catching one every cast. Other times however they are timid and elusive, seemingly putting the hook in their mouths only to spit it out when you attempt to set the hook or retrieve... The best method i've found to land Crappie while they are in this mood is to let your bait sit under a tiny float, when you see it bob and go under. Wait. Give the fish a couple seconds to take the bait and swim away, then slowy retrieve to set the hook and bring the fish in. Anything more aggressive will usually result in failure. Even when the bite is good they typically like a slower retrieve and i will often fish a jig under a float so that i can reel as slow as possible without risking snagging bottom. They also have fairly soft mouths that rip easily, so a hard hook set is careless and unnecessary.

Black Crappie.

Black Crappie.

Pumpkinseed:

Easily identified by its exquisite blue "lightning bolt" markings along the head and small red dot on the gill plate this is the smallest of the sunfish i've seen so far, most being in the 3 to 4 inch range. They are often visible in the shallows even when other larger sunfish are hidden and i have used them successfully in the past to locate and target Largemouth. They respond to similar fishing tactics as Bluegill.

Pumpkinseed.

Pumpkinseed.

Where To Find Them:

I'm not going to waste our time explaining locations that are well documented, such as Mill lake for Largemouth bass or Whonnock lake for Black crappie, information on such locations can easily be found online. I'd like to focus on what i've seen in regards to the lower Fraser River and its tributaries. I have managed to find sunfish in any and all waterways i've searched that are connected to the Fraser. I'd like to stress that point because i've seen quite a few debates online where many anglers seem convinced that these invasive species are confined to certain areas, and that just isn't true. These fish are well established throughout the lower mainland and the major connecting factor seems to be the Fraser river. I've hiked these river banks for many many kilometers and fished hour upon hour before deciding that this is the case. From the Alouette and the Pitt to Kanaka, the Stave and the Coquitlam and in all the sloughs and ponds in between, there are sunfish everywhere. When it comes to sloughs and low lying ponds sunfish can almost always be caught once water temps have warmed up enough for the fish to become active. The same is true for the lower, slower moving and warmer portions of the creeks and rivers. Most of the time you will not be able to be able to find sunfish higher up in these streams, however i have noted a couple examples during extended heatwaves where some of these fish have made their way higher up than "normal". One such example is of what i am guessing were Pumpkinseed on Kanaka well up from the 240th street bridge. I was however unable to get any of them to take a hook.

This distribution seems to be true for all the above mentioned species, and where you find one species you will undoubtedly find others. Although, and i don't know if this is a fact about population density or a reflection of my own fishing skills, but there seems to be more Largemouth and Pumpkinseed than Bluegill and black Crappie in the tributaries of the Fraser. Or maybe the latter two are just harder to catch? It is still too cold to consistently target them successfully this time of year, spring is on its way however and summer is just around the corner. I'm sure a couple more seasons of targeting these fish and i'll have more conclusive answers.

A Note On The Invasive Nature Of These Fish:

Please keep in mind that these fish are Invasive nonnative species and it is illegal to transport them alive or to stock them in any private or public water. DO NOT FOR ANY REASON TRANSPORT THESE FISH ALIVE! Yes they have spread far and wide but it is not only highly illegal but also unethical to further that spread. That said, it is also currently illegal to harm these fish for any reason other than to eat them. Please act in a respectful matter and return all the fish you catch, native and nonnative, safely back into the water they came from.

Now, as to how these fish got here and who planted them in our waters. I have no idea. I do know that Largemouth were stocked in the lower mainland in the distant past by the government to establish a new and exciting fishery, just as was done in the Okanagan. But that doesn't explain the other sunfish. There are rumors online that suggest some shady angling communities have introduced Largemouth bass as a target species and either Pumpkinseed or Yellow Perch as feeder fish for the bass. I haven't been able to find any solid information to support this though. But logic would dictate that there is some truth to this sort of "bucket brigade" stocking of the smaller sunfish, as the fish are there and they had to come from somewhere.

Largemouth bass are regulated in our fishing region(2), with a limit of 4 "Largemouth and/or Smallmouth combined", but it may as well read "4 largemouth" as there doesn't seem to be any smallmouth in our region... While Crappie have a limit of 20... it isn't specified whether this refers to black or white Crappie, but i'm assuming you'll only encounter Black Crappie. 20 is a decent number of fish, and if you can get into some bigger ones they make a fine food source. As far as i can tell the other sunfish are unregulated. This hardly impacts Pumpkinseed though as they are often very small and would be quite a chore to prepare as food, even though i have read that they are good eating. Bluegill are another story, they can get large enough in our area to either fillet or cook whole, and they are great eating... not a bad fish to fill your freezer with while helping to limit the impact of invasive species in our environment. And incase anyone was wondering, that is exactly how i feel about Bass. I'm sure the huge ones are like most big fish, not really that appetizing, so ill let them go as is legally required of me and also it feels right to me morally, i typically do not kill any animal for fun or pointless self gratification. And the tiny ones are... well... tiny. But harvesting the ones that are in between is a great way to bring home some dinner while helping ensure that juvenile trout and salmon have a better shot at reaching maturity.

So, That Said...

I hope some of this information is useful to any of you interested in targeting Sunfish in the lower mainland. Like i said previously my knowledge about these species in our area is still limited and this will definitely be a topic i update often as i educate myself. Feel free to comment or contact me with any thoughts, or correct me if i am wrong in any of the above points, pooling our collective experiences can be a great way to build on an interesting subject that doesn't have a lot of information available. So good luck to you if you will be targeting new and different species this coming year. It can often be frustrating and time consuming, but it's definitely worth it.