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RUGER

RUGER

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I remember the day I caught this one.
It's colors were just simply amazing.
That was the day I decided it would be a good idea to take my shirt off for about an hour.
I was real careful not to over do it.
Spent a LONG night freezing to death and a LONGER next day pampering a terrible sunburn. :bash: :shock:

Anyway, just a beautiful fish.
 
rsimms":3hwmz81z said:
I believe that is actually a "Pumpkinseed."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumpkinseed
Click to expand...

I actually just had a conversation about the exact name of it.
Looks like a longear sunfish to me but the picture of pumpkinseed on the twra site don't look anything like it.
I thought it was a pumpkinseed too.
Gonna verify with twra, if I hear back from them. :D

If it is a pumpkinseed, I am gonna go after the state record this year. ;)
 
I vote pumpkinseed. What some people around here call shellcrackers isn't what we call them in SC. Santee Cooper has some of the biggest shellcrackers I've ever seen. Below is what we call a shellcracker. Catch them bedding and it's one of the best times you'll have fishing.
 
Beautiful fish! Here is one I caught last summer.
 

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Here is "official" key to identifying different sunfishes from TWRA Biologists.

However, in many cases it is difficult to follow the key without the fish in hand.
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Lepomis are members of the sunfish family separated from crappie and rockbass in that they have only three spines on their anal fin. They are separated from their other cousins, the black basses (largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted), by body shape.

Use the following key to help distinguish between the seven species of Lepomis found in east Tennessee. It has been derived from The Fishes of Tennessee by David Etnier and Wayne Starnes and with help from Rick Bivens.

We receive many calls from anglers that believe they have caught a state record pumpkinseed, but all recent reports were misidentified sunfish from outside the pumpkinseed's home range. They have only been documented in the northeast corner of the state in the general area of South Holston and Boone Reservoirs.

Note that color varies significantly within species and is not a very reliable characteristic. Also, natural hybrids of sunfish are very common which makes their identification even more troublesome.
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1. Pectoral fins long and pointed, extending to or beyond the anterior rim of the eye when bent forward - go to 2.

Pectoral fins shorter and tips rounded - go to 4.

2. Dark spot on the back portion of the dorsal fin; body with vertical bars - bluegill

No dark spot and body without bars - go to 3.

3. Pectoral fins very long and extending to or beyond the dorsal fin base - redear (shellcracker)

Pectoral fins shorter not extending to the dorsal fin - pumpkinseed

4. Tongue with a tooth patch - warmouth

No tooth patch - go to 5.

5. Lateral line scales 43-50; relatively large mouth, jaw extending to or well beyond front rim of eye- go to 6.

Lateral line scales 32-43; small mouth; white margin on the opercular lobe - longear

6. Large mouth; body "bass-like"; dark spot on the back portion of the dorsal fin; opercular lobe bony and inflexible - green sunfish

Mouth smaller, deeper body, no dark spot on dorsal fin; opercular lobe fleshy - redbreast

Pictures on this page: http://www.tnfish.org/FishIdentificatio ... on_Key.htm
 

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