What are Panfishes?

Panfish is the name for a group of smaller freshwater fish. They are very popular in terms of varieties fished for, and are a favorite group to fish for, for fishermen both young and old. Panfish are most often caught and kept for food, but also fished as catch and release.

While panfish encompass more fish, here is a list of the popular panfish and highlights of each kind.

Bluegill
Lepomis macrochirus

Bluegill fish are a vibrant colored fish and one of the most popular of the panfish. Depending on the area where the bluegills are fished, the colors can range from blue to yellow. The best fishing times of the day to fish for bluegills are during the mornings and early evenings when they are feeding and looking for food.

Pumpkinseed
Lepomis gibbosus

Pumpkinseed fish are another popular panfish. They have a bright orange to yellowish coloring with a yellow belly. Pumpkinseeds are popular with many fishermen, and can be fished with any number of baits both fresh and artificial.

Crappies

White crappie (Pomoxis annularis) and black crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus) are both sought after panfish. The white crappie has a light olive to silver coloring on the sides shading to a dark olive to the back. The black crappie has a deeper arched back with dark olive back and silvery sides. The coloring features that distinguishes the two is that the black crappie has irregularly scattered black spots while the white crappie has more distinguished black vertical lines or bands on the sides. Both feed on insects and small fish. The black crappie prefers more tame waters than the white crappie.

Yellow Perch
Perca flavescens

Yellow perch are more elongated than the other panfishes listed above. With a golden color on the sides, yellow perch have an olive coloring on their backs. Yellow perch prefer to swim in schools and feed on insects, small fish and snails. This is another good eating panfish.

Bullheads

Black bullheads (Ictalurus melas), brown bullheads (Ictalurus nebulosus) and yellow bullheads (Ictaluras natalis) are catfish that are popular panfish. All can be found to feed on what is around it (both plant and animals) but is mostly carnivorous. The black bullhead is the smallest of the three bullheads mentioned here. Bullheads all can be found in sandy to muddy soft bottomed waters