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Legendary Species · Bass, carp, pike and panfish

Panfish

Bluegill Lepomis macrochirus[1] · Pumpkinseed Lepomis gibbosus[2] · White crappie Pomoxis annularis[3] · Black crappie Pomoxis nigromaculatus[4] · Yellow perch Perca flavescens[5] · Rock bass (northern rock bass) Ambloplites rupestris[6]

The bluegill's spiny dorsal fin has 10 spines joined broadly to the soft dorsal, which often has a black blotch near the base of its last rays.[1]

  • 158waters list it
  • 13states and regions
  • 10agency sources
An underwater photograph of a sunfish hovering over a rocky bottom, deep-bodied with a dark ear flap
A bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus), photographed by Ryan Hagerty for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Photo: Ryan Hagerty/USFWS, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Identification

Bluegill

  • The bluegill's spiny dorsal fin has 10 spines joined broadly to the soft dorsal, which often has a black blotch near the base of its last rays.[1]
    What the source says
    “The spinous dorsal has 10 spines, broadly connected to the soft dorsal, which often has a black blotch near the bases of its last rays.”

Pumpkinseed

  • Pumpkinseed are told from bluegill by aqua-blue lines radiating from the mouth and nose, and a red spot on the tip of the gill flap.[2]
    What the source says
    “Has a red spot on tip of the gill flap. Pumpkinseeds can be distinguished from bluegill by the aqua-blue lines that radiate from the mouth and nose.”
  • Maine's agency describes the pumpkinseed gill cover as mostly black, with a black tip rimmed by a small half-moon of bright red.[8]
    What the source says
    “The opercle, or gill-cover, is mostly black with a trailing tip that is black and rimmed with a small halfmoon of bright red.”

Black crappie

  • Black crappie are silvery with irregular speckles and blotches rather than bars, and have 7 or 8 dorsal spines.[4]
    What the source says
    “The black crappie is silvery with a color pattern that is mainly irregularly arranged speckles and blotches (not vertical bars). The dorsal fin has 7 or 8 spines.”

White crappie

  • White crappie are silvery with 5 to 10 faint, regularly spaced vertical bars and usually 6 dorsal spines.[3]
    What the source says
    “White crappie are distinguished from black crappie by the silver coloration, with 5 to 10 often faint, dark, regularly arranged vertical bars. The dorsal fin usually has 6 spines.”

Yellow perch

  • A key yellow perch marking is 6 to 8 evenly spaced dark bars that cross the back and run down the sides.[5]
    What the source says
    “Coloration: A key ID feature is the 6–8 regularly spaced dark bars that cross the back and extend vertically onto the sides.”

Rock bass

  • Rock bass have a large mouth, red eyes, and six anal spines where other sunfish have three.[10]
    What the source says
    “Elongated in shape, large mouth, six spines on anal fin as opposed other sunfish which only have three, red eyes.”

Habitat and range

Bluegill

  • Bluegill favour warm water of 64 to 70 F with plenty of cover such as weed beds, submerged logs or drop-offs.[7]
    What the source says
    “Bluegills favor warm waters (64 to 70 degrees F) with plenty of cover such as weed beds, submerged logs, or drop-offs.”

Black crappie

  • Black crappie use open water with submerged timber or plants, like white crappie, but tolerate muddy water and silt less well.[4]
    What the source says
    “Like the white crappie, the black crappie occupies open water with submerged timber or aquatic vegetation in standing water bodies and slow-flowing backwaters of large rivers. However, the black crappie is less tolerant of turbid water and siltation.”

Yellow perch

  • Michigan DNR says perch are rarely taken from water deeper than 30 feet, and use shallower areas in spring and fall than in summer heat.[9]
    What the source says
    “They are rarely taken from waters more than 30 feet deep, although in spring and fall they inhabit shallower areas than they do in the heat of the summer.”

Rock bass

  • In Missouri, larger rock bass hold around boulders, logs and weed beds in deep pools, and are most active at dawn, dusk and night.[6]
    What the source says
    “Larger individuals are found around boulders, logs, and vegetation beds in deep pools. Most active twilight hours of dawn and dusk, and at night.”

Life history

Crappie (both)

  • In Missouri, crappie spawn from about mid-April to early June, once water passes 56 F, in coves sheltered from waves.[3]
    What the source says
    “In Missouri, crappie (both white crappie and black crappie) spawn from about mid-April to early June, when water temperatures exceed 56 F. They spawn in coves protected from wave action and require silt-free substrates.”

Fishing for it: what the agencies say

What agencies and extension services say about catching it, with the source for each line.

  • Michigan DNR says fly anglers using popping bugs, rubber spiders or nymphs can find fine sport on pumpkinseed, which spawn in community nests from late May.[2]
    What the source says
    “Like bluegill, pumpkinseed are community nesters, with spawning beginning in late May. They are often taken from the same areas as bluegill when bedding and in lakes with populations of both sunfish, a typical catch would include members of both species. Fly fishers using popping bugs, rubber spiders or nymphs can be rewarded with fine sport.”
  • Michigan DNR suggests a small crayfish imitation for rock bass, which eat baitfish, aquatic insects and crayfish.[10]
    What the source says
    “Rock bass are equal opportunity feeders, and naturally consume a variety of baitfish, aquatic insects, and crayfish. Try a small crawfish imitator.”
General advice (ours, not an agency's)
  • Ask a local shop which flies are working on that lake or river this month.
  • Check the state's size, possession and transport rules before you keep or move a fish.
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Where to fish for panfish

Our 158 water pages whose agency species list names panfish (each list links to the agency page it comes from). A species missing from a list does not mean it is absent: many agencies publish no list for a water.

United States 158 waters

Destination hubs

Hubs that list one of these waters, or that a water page is near: each has guides, shops, licences and trip planning for the area.

Sources

Every fact on this page is our paraphrase of the page cited beside it, read on the date shown. Rules and seasons change: check the agency's current regulations before you fish.

  1. Bluegill | Missouri Department of Conservation Missouri Department of Conservation, read Oct 24, 2026.
  2. Pumpkinseed Michigan Department of Natural Resources, read Oct 24, 2026.
  3. White Crappie | Missouri Department of Conservation Missouri Department of Conservation, read Oct 24, 2026.
  4. Black Crappie | Missouri Department of Conservation Missouri Department of Conservation, read Oct 24, 2026.
  5. Yellow Perch | Missouri Department of Conservation Missouri Department of Conservation, read Oct 24, 2026.
  6. Northern Rock Bass | Missouri Department of Conservation Missouri Department of Conservation, read Oct 24, 2026.
  7. Bluegill Michigan Department of Natural Resources, read Oct 24, 2026.
  8. Pumpkinseed Sunfish: Species Information: Fisheries: Fish & Wildlife: Maine Dept of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, read Oct 24, 2026.
  9. Yellow perch Michigan Department of Natural Resources, read Oct 24, 2026.
  10. Rock bass Michigan Department of Natural Resources, read Oct 24, 2026.

7 states and regions have a page of panfish waters of its own (five or more waters).