Grass Perch, Pumpkinseeds,...

Whatever you want to call them, I call them grass perch. Do any of you keep them? Typically unless they are close to a pound I throw them back. Occationaly I will target them around grassy areas. I have met a lot of people, mostly from northern states, that say they do not keep them and refer to them as trash fish. I personally think they are good table fare. I guess because I can catch so many, it has decreased my interest in them. As a kid they were all I use to fish for, while wading. I was just interested in knowing some of your opinions about this fish, as they are found in nearly every body of water throughout the US. Thanks for your opinions.

Ain't nothing wrong with them fish. But, I think you already know my opinion.CF

i have never keeped a pumpkinseed before. most of them up here are way to small. most of the time they just steal my bait :( .

They eat good. I don't catch very many big ones but right now with water temps in the 40's they sure are good to eat.

Chris

I think their aggrevating myself. Especially when they are just a bunch of small ones. On a average they are around 6oz-1lb. I've seen them 2lbs and probably caught only three or four that size myself. We had a local here make the paper with a 3+ pounder. The record was caught not too far from my home waters. Maybe the bigger ones thrive in the warmer waters in the southern states. Thanks for the input, keep it coming. I'd like to here from a few more folks.

Almost all I catch are very small, but they make good catfish bait. Flatheads LOVE them.

I either throw em back or use em for cut bait.

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Originally Posted by stumpbumpers

I think their aggrevating myself. Especially when they are just a bunch of small ones. On a average they are around 6oz-1lb. I've seen them 2lbs and probably caught only three or four that size myself. We had a local here make the paper with a 3+ pounder. The record was caught not too far from my home waters. Maybe the bigger ones thrive in the warmer waters in the southern states. Thanks for the input, keep it coming. I'd like to here from a few more folks.

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Are we talking about Lepomis Gibbosus? A 3+ pound pumpkinseed would break the IGFA world record by over a pound an a half. Most state record pumpkinseeds measure in ounces not pounds. If fisherman in your state are catching 2 and 3# pumpkinseeds then your state has the best pumpkinseed fishing in the country. Why are fisherman not submitting these fish for state records? I've caught some 1# pumpkinseeds in a lake in Ontario Canada and are the biggest I've caugh to date. Have caught bluegill and redear in the 2 1/2# range, but I can't imagine a 3# pumpkinseed. Would like to see a picture of that one. Dave.

Yes the IGFA World Record is 1lb 6oz. And there are people on here probably thinking they have caught bigger ones than that, and you probably have. The problem with this fish and records, is simply what we are discussing here. People ordinarily do not keep grass perch and they are referred to as a trash fish. Here is a prime example of a fish I caught that would have been a record. While crappie fishing I marked a very large fish on the depth finder at the same time my pole bent double. I played the fish down, thinking it was a cat. To my surprise it came directly out of the water towards my face with it's mouth open. Kinda scary when your looking into the mouth of a gar. We got him all tangled in the net and eventually I had to hit it with the paddle. The paddle broke and busted its head open. I pulled this fish up while grasping the tangled net, the tail never came out of the water. The diameter of this fish was larger than my thigh. Now that is a big gar, but it wasn't a alligator gar. I cut the line and got his teeth out of the net and dropped his head back in the water. Amazingly enough, it swam to the bottom. I never reported or thought to bring the fish in, because it was a gar. I later was looking at record fish and the largest gar other than an alligator was 15lbs and this gar exceeded that, if not doubled it. By the way I just checked the record for NC and it was broke in 2002 (around the time I caught mine) the new record is 19lbs 2ozs and go figure, it was caught in the same place I caught mine, Northeast Cape Fear River. Another fish that is over looked is a green sunfish. In 98 the previous record was broken by a 6oz fish. The hoopla brought attention to that particular species of fish. A local knew he had caught bigger in his farm pond. He and his son went down and caught a 8oz fish a few weeks later. That record now stands. Do you know what a flier, green sun fish, grass perch, redear, and so on look like? Can you determine every species of fish as you decide wether or not to release it? Most can not. As you can see on this website, and everywhere you fish, most have very little knowledge of fish at all and are pulling straws to figure them out. That's why most people end up targeting one or two species. My point is simply this, with all the targeted species, most people have a lack of concern for the records of non-targeted species. That in turn causes a lot of records to be over looked. I am probably mistaken of the type of fish the 3+ pound fish is. But I am in no way mistaken on the size fish I've caught. Even though I never weighed them, my estimate puts them at 2lbs. When I go back home I will check to see the type of fish and weight. I do apologize for any misinformation.

Hey Stumpbumper, down in the south (at least where I fish) we rarely catch pumpkinseeds that are big enough to eat, but I have caught a few that were bordeline that I kept and they tasted just fine to me. It is a pretty fish though. Would look good in an aquarium or gold fish pond.
Shadow

No biggee jumper. Miss ID can be frustrating. Another thing with "all over" boards is that fish are not known by the same common names everywhere.;)
Oh yeah. Records are not the goal nor are they impressive to many (some?) people.
.....lee s.

here's a pdf file link that you may find interesting :

http://www.kdfwr.state.ky.us/pdf/kyf...vPath=C101C138

It's an ID booklet that the KDFWR puts out, identifying the most commonly found fish in KY waters. Decent pics and a little bit of info on most. It's a PDF file, so it might take a little bit to load .. but, it does show the "Flier", "Pumpkinseed", "Redear" (Shellcracker), "Green Sunfish", and others mentioned in this thread.

Here's a "records" listing for some "Sunfish" species : (just FYI)
http://www.hotspotfishing.com/record...ds-Sunfish.asp

Now ..... ya'll know what they look like - and ya know what the record weights are --- so git out thar and break some records !! .... luck2ya'll .... cp :cool:

Sure do like those fish pics, CP. Thanks! :)
....lee s.

The ones we catch are usually too small to clean, but I have eaten them and they're as tasty as any other sunfish. We pick up decent sized greens every once in a while and they go home. If I had a big aquarium, I'd put those pretty pumpkinseeds and longears in there. IMO,they are as attractive as any tropical I've ever owned. - Roberta

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Originally Posted by stumpbumpers

Yes the IGFA World Record is 1lb 6oz. And there are people on here probably thinking they have caught bigger ones than that, and you probably have. The problem with this fish and records, is simply what we are discussing here. People ordinarily do not keep grass perch and they are referred to as a trash fish. Here is a prime example of a fish I caught that would have been a record. While crappie fishing I marked a very large fish on the depth finder at the same time my pole bent double. I played the fish down, thinking it was a cat. To my surprise it came directly out of the water towards my face with it's mouth open. Kinda scary when your looking into the mouth of a gar. We got him all tangled in the net and eventually I had to hit it with the paddle. The paddle broke and busted its head open. I pulled this fish up while grasping the tangled net, the tail never came out of the water. The diameter of this fish was larger than my thigh. Now that is a big gar, but it wasn't a alligator gar. I cut the line and got his teeth out of the net and dropped his head back in the water. Amazingly enough, it swam to the bottom. I never reported or thought to bring the fish in, because it was a gar. I later was looking at record fish and the largest gar other than an alligator was 15lbs and this gar exceeded that, if not doubled it. By the way I just checked the record for NC and it was broke in 2002 (around the time I caught mine) the new record is 19lbs 2ozs and go figure, it was caught in the same place I caught mine, Northeast Cape Fear River. Another fish that is over looked is a green sunfish. In 98 the previous record was broken by a 6oz fish. The hoopla brought attention to that particular species of fish. A local knew he had caught bigger in his farm pond. He and his son went down and caught a 8oz fish a few weeks later. That record now stands. Do you know what a flier, green sun fish, grass perch, redear, and so on look like? Can you determine every species of fish as you decide wether or not to release it? Most can not. As you can see on this website, and everywhere you fish, most have very little knowledge of fish at all and are pulling straws to figure them out. That's why most people end up targeting one or two species. My point is simply this, with all the targeted species, most people have a lack of concern for the records of non-targeted species. That in turn causes a lot of records to be over looked. I am probably mistaken of the type of fish the 3+ pound fish is. But I am in no way mistaken on the size fish I've caught. Even though I never weighed them, my estimate puts them at 2lbs. When I go back home I will check to see the type of fish and weight. I do apologize for any misinformation.

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My response wasn't to question yours or anyones catch, but to question the validity of the species. As you stated, proper identification can be a problem, especially in the sunfish group, having said that, that should not be an excuse. Fisherman should know there local fish, especially if there reporting them as such.

As for me, yes! I can identify ALL the species. And I know the weight of ALL the fish I catch, because I weigh them, I don't estimate! On every fishing trip I carry a camera, scale, thermometer and fishing log to record everything about the fish I catch, i.e. the species, weight, time of day, water temp, weather conditions, ect. Why? because it makes me a better fisherman. I know most fisherman don't go to these extremes, but it works for me. Have a nice day and keep us posted on any big pumpkinseeds. Dave.

Here is one of Ala. fish that doesn't take so long to load.

http://www.outdooralabama.com/fishing/freshwater/fish/

Sorry sunfish. The idetifing species question wasn't direct AT you, more towards the readers. That's why I sent you a seperate PM relating to the response. I applaud you for your effort of logging your catch. It's something we can all do and learn from. I enjoy fishing and like you, I can identify every species I catch. Though I have chosen not to log my catches in the past, now that I am fishing new waters I plan to do so. I think it will keep me from being biased in my logging, being I'm on new water. Your question of misidentification, I think has been answered, but in case it hasn't; the answer is yes, the species I've caught and stated before are true and correct. I will, however, check the board at the local fishing hang out back home, to see if my memory serves me right on the 3+ pounder. If my findings prove me wrong, I will admit it and like I said previously, I apologize for any misinformation. I will delete any information that is incorrect.

The comments are great guys thanks.

lee s. I never misidentified any fish, but my memory of the 3+ pound fish, as written in the paper, may be wrong and I will check.

crappiepappy, thanks for the info.

Roberta, I fillet all the fish I keep. If they are too small to fillet they are released.

The green sunfish and pumpkin seeds around here are so small you don't catch them with a hook but train the cricket to grab 'em and hold on.:D Looking at that warmouth bass on there made me hungry. They grow to a pretty good size around here and put up one heck of a fight.:)