Used to catch them from a certain small lake in west Tennessee. In that particular body of water they were prolific and consistently grew to 8 or 9 inches long. Alas, they drained the lake to make repairs and when they refilled it, only bluegill and shellcrackers are present. The fishing for them (gills and crackers) is still very good, and bigger specimens of both are more common than any redbreast sunfish I can remember, but I do miss that unique fish that was a fond memory of my youth 40 years ago.