Redear Sunfish
Redear Sunfish (Lepomis microlophus) is a freshwater species. The first thing to check: a bright red or orange crescent on the trailing edge of the black ear flap — red on males, oranger on females. The look-alike to rule out is Bluegill: the bluegill's ear flap is solid black with no coloured edge, and it carries a dark spot on the rear dorsal.
Last updated
| Scientific name | Lepomis microlophus |
|---|---|
| Also called | shellcracker, chinquapin |
| Water | Freshwater |
| Group | Sunfish |
| Temperature | Feeds well from 65 to 80 °F. Beds a little earlier and deeper than bluegill. |
How to identify a Redear Sunfish
- A bright red or orange crescent on the trailing edge of the black ear flap — red on males, oranger on females.
- No dark blotch at the base of the soft dorsal, which separates it from a bluegill at a glance.
- Heavy pharyngeal teeth in the throat for crushing snails, which is where the name shellcracker comes from.
If you would rather not work through a key on a wet deck, photograph the fish and let the app name it — you get the common and the scientific name back, and the record is filed before you release.
Fish it is mistaken for
| Species | How to tell them apart |
|---|---|
| Bluegill | The bluegill's ear flap is solid black with no coloured edge, and it carries a dark spot on the rear dorsal. |
| Pumpkinseed | A pumpkinseed has wavy blue lines across the cheek and orange spotting over the whole flank; the redear is plainer. |
Read the full entry for Bluegill.
Where it lives
Southeastern and central United States, widely stocked west. Feeds on the bottom over sand, shell and gravel in lakes and reservoirs, usually deeper than bluegill.
Temperature
Feeds well from 65 to 80 °F. Beds a little earlier and deeper than bluegill.
The conditions that matter
Because redear feed on the bottom on molluscs, they are less weather-driven than bluegill and more tied to substrate and depth. Water temperature drives the spring bedding window; the bite is often best on the settled, high-pressure days that shut down other panfish.
Global Fishing League records 18 weather and water readings against every catch automatically — tide stage, barometric pressure, water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, swell, current, moon phase and more, taken at your GPS position at the moment you log the fish. Over a season that turns a hunch about redear sunfish into a pattern you can read.
See every reading recorded with a catch, or the guides to what each reading means.
Size limits, bag limits and seasons
Size limits, bag limits, slot limits and seasons are set by your state wildlife agency — and for many offshore and migratory species by federal regulators — and on many waters they differ from the statewide rule. They also change between seasons. Check the current regulations for the exact water you are fishing before you keep a fish — we do not republish limits here, because a number that is a season out of date is worse than no number.
What the app does do is make your side of it accurate: every catch carries a length measured from the photograph, a GPS position and a timestamp, exportable if you ever need to show your work for a tournament or a record claim. It is also what a Global Fishing League entry is built from — a record that verifies itself, without publishing where you caught the fish.