Longear Sunfish #2

[Johnsfolly]

Here is a great longear sunfish that my daughter caught last year in the Maries River, probably just under four inches.

Here is one that I caught from the Spring River in SW MO in 2016 . This guys was a little over 5 inches, but has the most turquoise that I have seen with this species.

[Bushbeater]

These are beautiful fish, but I'm gonna show my ignorance by asking why they are Sunfish. I thought the difference between Sunfish and Bluegill was basically the mouth size and body shape and to me these are Bluegill.

[Huntingducks117]

10 hours ago, Johnsfolly said:

Here is a great longear sunfish that my daughter caught last year in the Maries River, probably just under four inches.

Here is one that I caught from the Spring River in SW MO in 2016 . This guys was a little over 5 inches, but has the most turquoise that I have seen with this species.

Wow that top one is a really pretty one. 

[jdmidwest]

22 hours ago, Bushbeater said:

These are beautiful fish, but I'm gonna show my ignorance by asking why they are Sunfish. I thought the difference between Sunfish and Bluegill was basically the mouth size and body shape and to me these are Bluegill.

Both are sunfish, main distinction is the gill flap extension out further than bluegill.  And the color is different, among other things.  It is a species of the Mississippi watershed, bluegills are more wide spread and commercially farmed.  Bluegill are more related to the red ears.  They are different on the tree of life.  There is a mouth distinction, but they are both similar.  Lateral line arches on the bluegill, spines and rays of fins are different.

And the fact they tend to hurt the smallmouth populations put them on my good to eat list.

[Gavin]

Nice tie! Lots of time in that one. There are some big longears in Big River and tributaries....but I wont eat them. They eat a ton of small insects and have a really high lead content according to the former stream biologist who sampled and tested them for lead content. One of the most colorful fish in the ozarks, next to the darter species.

 

 

[Harps]

On 7/8/2018 at 10:30 PM, Bushbeater said:

These are beautiful fish, but I'm gonna show my ignorance by asking why they are Sunfish. I thought the difference between Sunfish and Bluegill was basically the mouth size and body shape and to me these are Bluegill.

Many of our natives are of the freshwater sunfish family — Bluegill, Longear, Green, Largemouth, Smallmouth, Goggle-eye, Rock Bass, Crappie, and more.....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrarchidae

 

[Johnsfolly]

6 hours ago, Harps said:

Many of our natives are of the freshwater sunfish family — Bluegill, Longear, Green, Largemouth, Smallmouth, Goggle-eye, Rock Bass, Crappie, and more.....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrarchidae

 

Most folks aren't aware that largemouth, spotted, and smallmouth bass are in the sunfish family. White, yellow, and striped bass are true or temperate bass found in Arkansas and Missouri.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moronidae

[Ham]

And chocolate milk comes from brown cows

[Huntingducks117]

On ‎07‎/‎09‎/‎2018 at 11:23 PM, Gavin said:

Nice tie! Lots of time in that one. There are some big longears in Big River and tributaries....but I wont eat them. They eat a ton of small insects and have a really high lead content according to the former stream biologist who sampled and tested them for lead content. One of the most colorful fish in the ozarks, next to the darter species. 

 

 

Thanks!  yeah that one took me about 3 hours to tie.  I had no idea about the lead content in Longears.  That is interesting, usually they don't big enough to mess with for me to want to eat them.  Yes, they are a beautiful fish for sure.  One of my favorites. 

 

[tjm]

Bushbeater, this has pics and can help you identify many of the sunfish we have and where they can be found.  https://mountainstomarsh.com/2012/02/15/sunfish-id-and-species-list/