Shell cracker red ear sunfish

Redear sunfish lepomis microlophus species profile. The redear sunfish lepomis microlophus, also known as the shellcracker, georgia bream, cherry gill, chinquapin, improved bream, rouge ear sunfish and sun. All fishing buy, all about redear sunfish, habitats. Redear sunfish are important for lake and pond management because they are specialized for eating snails and crustaceans. Shellcracker, bluegill bedding times near outdoors. The nickname of the redear sunfish, shellcracker, comes from its preferred diet of snails and other mollusk types. By eliminating the snail population, the redear bream will. Mar 31, 2017 we would anchor the boat, put a gob of red wigglers on the hook and cast out about six different outfits, put them in rod holders and then sit back and watch for the line to twitch. Specially modified teeth in the throat allow them to crack mollusk shells. It is known as shellcracker in most of the southeast. They also eat other food like insects, worms, and crawfish, but feed on the bottom. The back and sides are golden or light olive green. It is the rare angler who didnt start their fishing career by catching bream, primarily bluegill and redear sunfish shellcrackers.

It is called shell cracker, georgia bream, cherry gill, chinkapin, advanced bream, rouge ear sunfish and sun porch, which is a freshwater fish in the centraarchidae family and native to the southeastern united states. What is the difference between bluegill vs sunfish giga fishing. Redear look different from bluegill, and they also have their own unique behavioral characteristics which we will discuss. Lake havasu is the location of over a dozen fishing tournaments and activities a year. Redear shellcracker at dunns fish farm we know that your satisfaction is essential to our success. Just wondering if anyone has had any success using hair jigs. They prefer snails and clams, giving them their common nickname. Growing up fishing the upper midwest, redear sunfish were one of those other panfish, like. Redear sunfish to biologists, or chinquapin to louisiana anglers, these feisty fish typically favor deeper haunts, but when a. Redear bream, are often referred to as shellcracker, because of their preference for snails. While redear sunfish can be found in nearly all of the local lakes, they seem to prefer the clearer bodies of water like miramar, murray and san vicente. The redear sunfish is a molluscivorous species of the centrarchid family. The redear sunfish lepomis microlophus, also known as the shell cracker is a freshwater fish in the centrarchidae family and is native to the southeastern united states. The redear sunfish is deep and slabsided, with a small mouth, the upper jaw not reaching past the front of the eye.

Redear sunfish the ultimate bass fishing resource guide llc. If you are a lover of fishing, you most definitely have come across multiple types of fish all along. Severe cold fronts can turn spawning shellcracker to a neutral mood. Whatever you choose to call them, you can recognize them by the prominent red mark on the back edge of the gill cover. Redear sunfish often utilize snails as a major food item, hence the common name shellcracker. The pumpkinseed also has a red or orange tab, but pumpkinseeds have wavy blue lines near the mouth and dark spots on their soft dorsal fin that redear sunfish do not have. Lake perry is checked regularly by biologists for restocking needs and fertilized yearly. The species is usually found near the bottom in warm water with little current and. The redear sunfish is often difficult to catch, in part because this sunfish prefers to stay close to the bottom in deeper water up to 10 feet in depth, and if it feels any resistance on the. This family of fish contains many species, including bluegill, largemouth bass and white crappie, just to name a few. Some other sunfish, as well as the redear sunfish, are often called bream, or sometime, named as perch, mistakenly.

Here is a pic of a cross between shell cracker and a bluegill. These panfish are abundant, strong fighters for their size, usually willing to bite, and taste great when rolled in corn meal and deepfried. What is the difference between bluegill vs sunfish. They have a distinct red coloring around its ear flap.

Redear sunfish, or shellcrackers, are giants of the sunfish clan. I spend a lot of my lunch breaks fishing a small storm drain adjacent to a wooden dock behind my house, but the usual bass and bluegill targets took a backseat to the unexpected appearance of bedding shellcracker. Redears also feed on nymphs and other aquatic insects. As their name tells, they eat snails and muscles, crushing the shell with a tough muscle in their gullet. Biologically speaking, the shellcracker are known as red ear sunfish. Mar 11, 2019 i have designed these packages for the pond owner that wants their body of water to produce big bass for sport fishing, big pan fish blue gill and hybrid blue gill for the table and fly fishing, perch for the taste of lake erie, shell cracker for parasite control in the water and fish, white amur for vegetation control, minnows for that. The redear is similar in shape to the bluegill, but lacks the dark spot at the base of the posterior portion of the dorsal fin and has a red or orange border around the ear flap. Seemed every time i turned off the camera i caught a fish. A deep sided fish with a black ear flap rimmed in red or orange. Most redear are caught during the spawning season by fishing with red worms on the bottom. The body coloration is light olivegreen to gold, with red or orange flecks on the breast.

Thinking of tying some 2 black hair when the shellcrackers go on bed. May 22 2017 fishing and giant redear sunfish youtube. Also known as shellcracker or chinquapin perch, stumpknocker, or yellow bream, their scientific name is lepomis microlophus. We would anchor the boat, put a gob of red wigglers on the hook and cast out about six different outfits, put them in rod holders and then sit back and watch for the line to twitch. It lives in vegetated littoral zones of small to large lakes, marshes, and reservoirs, and streams or rivers with sluggish to slowmoving flow french and morgan 1995. Redear prefer hard bottoms, congregating in deeper water than bluegill. We are please to offer 3 sizes of redear sunfish, also known as shell cracker.

Fishing conditions on lake havasu are ideal almost yearround. They are bigger than other sunfish, 7 to 10 inches in length, 1 to 2 pound weight. Redear sunfish lepomis microlophus is a member of the sunfish family. Since it is a popular sport fish, it has been introduced to bodies of water all over north america. Teresa gardner of spring valley entered the record books on monday with the largest redear sunfish ever caught in san diego county. In natural waters, it is confined to the southern half of missouri, but it is widely stocked in small reservoirs and ponds. Pond stocking shouldnt be so ive come up with fish stocking packages that simplify the whole process. Big shellcrackers redear sunfish personal best and. Jun 05, 2017 after my last pursuit of searching for some big ol sunfish and coming up a bit short of any trophy sized tough guys, i decided i needed at least one more trip to dedicate to hopefully finding some. Although black bass are technically in the sunfish family, they are not considered to be bream. Mar 28, 2017 teresa gardner of spring valley entered the record books on monday with the largest redear.

Shellcracker, stump knocker, yellow bream, cherry gill, chinquapin identification. However, insect larvae and cladocerans may also be found in. The redear, or shell cracker as it is called in the southern us, has generally the same shape and coloration as the bluegill except for the ear flap which has a red edge that wraps around the back portion. Sep 24, 2010 it is the rare angler who didnt start their fishing career by catching bream, primarily bluegill and redear sunfish shellcrackers. Pending worldrecord redear sunfish plucked from lake. How to tell a bluegill from a shellcracker youtube. Hector brito caught this worldrecord redear sunfish at lake havasu in 2014. A twra fish biologist confirmed this as a cross between the two. When using this method, watching your line for the strike is a must. Big shellcracker redear sunfish fishing with 1 lb line and. Redear sunfish to biologists, or chinquapin to louisiana anglers, these feisty fish typically favor. I have designed these packages for the pond owner that wants their body of water to produce big bass for sport fishing, big pan fish blue gill and hybrid blue gill for the table. Redear sunfish panfish florida bass fishing experts. How to catch bluegill and redear sunfish the fishing advice.

After my last pursuit of searching for some big ol sunfish and coming up a bit short of any trophy sized tough guys, i decided i needed at least. Redear sunfish description, diet, lifespan and record sea. With the expansion of the range of zebra mussels, and the damage they cause, i began reading up on which native animals eat them. The most common of these are bluegill, redear sunfish shellcracker, redbreast sunfish, spotted sunfish stumpknocker and warmouth. However, insect larvae and cladocerans may also be found in their diet.

The following article is a must read, and will give you the insight you need for your next pond management decision. Locally known as shellcracker, redear sunfishes are one of alabamas least colorful but most. In bream, some anglers found all they ever wanted in a fish. Shellcracker grow larger than bluegill, with fish over 1 pound. They have a small mouth, and their ear flaps have a white rim surrounding them with a red orange spot on tip, giving the redear sunfish their name. Jan 21, 2019 winter bluegill and shellcracker fishing 2019. The shape and size of their bodies, mouths and fins are similar to bluegill. According to the arizona game and fish department, a pending worldrecord redear sunfish was hauled out of lake havasu, weighing in at a whopping 5. Redear sunfish, which are kissing cousins to the bluegill, are commonly stocked with bluegill in most new ponds.

To crack hard shells, redears have specially modified teeth in their throat and is how the red ear received the name shell cracker. None of their close relatives grows as big, and none. After my last pursuit of searching for some big ol sunfish and coming up a bit short of any trophy sized tough guys, i decided i needed at least one more trip to dedicate to hopefully finding some. They are able to spit out the shell, retaining only the flesh of the shellfish. This method aslo works well on red worms and crickets. Redear sunfish lepomis microlophus do they have any other names.

May 01, 2015 it was a rare opportunity that i couldnt waste. The accepted common name by the american fisheries society is redear. Redear sunfish have a dark olive compressed body, fading to light green and silver on the sides with dark spots and sometimes stripes, often seen on younger fish. Mar 29, 2019 the scientific name for this species of sunfish is lepomis microlophus. By eliminating the snail population, the redear bream will have effectively broken the cycle of the worm.

Does anyone use hair jigs for shellcracker or redear i make my own crappie hair jigs, but have never used them for shellcracker. The redear sunfish lepomis microlophus, also known as the shellcracker, georgia bream, cherry gill, chinquapin, improved bream, rouge ear sunfish and sun perch is a freshwater fish in the family centrarchidae and is native to the southeastern united states. Due to its high sporting characteristics the redear sunfish lepomis microlophus has become a popular species among anglers throughout north america. Redear sunfish, its habitats, characteristics, fishing methods. The nickname of the redear sunfish, shellcracker, comes from its. Redear sunfish are caught most often on earthworms around the full moons of march and april when their spawning activity peaks. Big shellcracker redear sunfish fishing with 1 lb line. The red ear spends much of its time in deep water and seldom feeds on surface insects like the bluegill. Like the bluegill, do large male redears also get the larger gill cover tab theirs having a red orange edge than the female re. As quoted from the book secrets to catching more and bigger bluegill. Catching bluegill and shellcracker on kentuckhy lake. Tackle shop 16 species panfishfishing hotspots for monster shellcrackers. None of their close relatives grows as big, and none fight harder than these scarleteared beauties.

Shellcracker fishing tips sheelcracker fishing florida. They can be distinguished from other panfish by their bright orange red margin on the tip of each gill cover, a more slender body than the bluegill, and a typical greenish color blending to pale yellow on the lower body and abdomen. Pending worldrecord redear sunfish plucked from lake havasu. The scientific name for this species of sunfish is lepomis microlophus. The redear sunfish is deep and slabsided, with a small mouth, with the upper jaw not reaching past the front of the eye. Redear sunfish are also called shellcracker, georgia bream, cherry gill, chinquapin, improved bream, rouge ear sunfish and sun perch. Among the fish species thriving in the lake are largemouth bass, striped bass, bluegill, redear sunfish, channel catfish and flathead catfish. The distinct red gill flap separates them from bluegill and usually theyre larger and somewhat longer. How to catch bluegill and redear sunfish best techniques. Historically they were not found upstream of the mouth of the wabash river in the ohio river system. Thats why we work hard to bring you the information you need to know to manage your pond or lake. I have fried them with a beer batter mix, available at the grocery store.

They are called redear due to the red or orange colored border on the ear flap. Big shellcrackers redear sunfish personal best and possible. Gamefish redear sunfish shellcracker gamefish 1 to 3. Introduced into virginia waters, redears prefer cleaner water lakes and ponds than other sunfish, and quieter waters that have an abundance of submerged vegetation. It is documented that red ear sunfish eat zebra mussels, along with blue catfish and some type of foreign goby. The ear flap is black with a whitish border and a prominent orange or red spot. Information for information on the best bait, lures and times to fish for different species. Bream is the common term used throughout the south when referring to bluegill. Gamefish redear sunfish shellcracker gamefish 1 to 3 size.

Redear sunfish primarily feed on the bottom and seldom feed on surface insects, especially compared to bluegill. The species is usually found near the bottom in warm water with little current and abundant aquatic vegetation. Redear sunfish body color varies, depending on water quality, sex and age. A sunfish that can reach several pounds and wont overpopulate.

Typically, you will come across a sunfish or a bluegill. The dorsal fin usually has 10 spines, but may range from nine to 11, whereas the anal fin has three spines. Redear or shellcracker are typically added at a rate of 5 to 15 percent of the total bream stocked. Shellcracker, or redear sunfish, are the biggest of the beam, with the world record a 4 pound ounce monster caught in florida in 1986. The world record redear sunfish is well over 5 pounds and was caught at lake havasu on the arizonacalifornia border about 300 miles northeast of san diego. Redear sunfish are caught most often on earthworms around. Redear have blunted molaform teeth that allow them to crack the shell open then consume the snail. Redear sunfish description, diet, lifespan and record. This gaming fish is similar in appearance to the bluegill relative but typically is found to be darker in color and larger in size. A bright red mark on the back edge of the gill cover is very distinctive. More recently it has been discovered that the redear sunfish is capable of adding quagga mussels to its diet. During the spawning season of the re, its easy to tell the males from the females because they get a very dark, almost black breast, while the females get bright yellow. We did catch shellcracker, bluegill, white perch, and catfish. Redear and other sunfish, sometimes called bream, are.

The common fish that are caught by the regular fisherman are the smallsize species. The redear sunfish lepomis microlophus, also known as the shellcracker, georgia bream, cherry gill, chinquapin, improved bream, rouge ear sunfish and sun perch, is native to the southeastern united states, but since it is a popular sport fish it has. Like many fishes, newly hatched redear sunfish feed on. All fishing buy, all about redear sunfish, habitats, fishing. Redear sunfish get their name from the red gill flap but most southern anglers refer to them as shellcracker as they feed on small, freshwater mussels that inhibit the lake bottom. The local twra lakes at williamsport have quite a few of these. Redear sunfish are not native to ohio, but have been stocked in ohio waters since 1931. They have a special set teeth in their throat that allows them to grind up snail shells. However, it has many common names, depending on which region of the country you are in. Lake perry is well stocked with florida largemouth bass, bluegill, coppern ose bluegill, shell cracker red ear sunfish, crappie, and channel catfish. May 04, 2011 redear sunfish are mostly known by the red trim along the opercular gill flap. Shellcracker grow larger than bluegill, with fish over 1 pound common. Snails can carry grub parasites that threaten your fish health, so stocking redear sunfish is a great way to control snail populations, produce.