Well since the sunfish bite is really slow I figured I would throw out a topic for discussion.

I fish a golf course with 7 ponds. Some of them are unique. One has only bass. One has bass and bluegill only. On has bass and green sunfish only. The others have a mixture of bass, bluegill, green sunfish, redear and hybrid sunfish.

I noticed over the last 4 weeks that bluegill will sometimes bite when green sunfish will not bite at all.

So what are some of the unique patterns and behaviors you see different between the species? Are there differences in fishing techniques?

I know that after the rain and cold that fish are hitting of the bottom just on the edge of rushing water. I caught blue gills,long ear,red belly,bass, and war mouth yesterday.

I know exactly what you mean I know a group of sandpits just like that the bass in one are super agressive and the other they are really hard to fish and smart. The one with the agressive fish is shallower and has a lot of really big hybrid sunfish and blue gills. The one with the smart elitist fish is deep and has true blue gills mostly. Both really clear. Just like people neighborhoods right next to each other can have very different people.

That's great information and makes absolute sense. Just the other day Chuck was catching them in a very similar situation. 4 to 5 ft of water, near the edge of current, a couple days after a rain. I'll put that information to good use today!!!

More great information!!! I noticed the same thing. There is one pond that holds all the biggest fish and I only catch them on unique occasions. It is deep and clear. It drives me nuts, I try every fly in my box.

The other thing I noticed is that the fish seem to grow bigger in the clear ponds vs. the murky ponds. Water quality rather than depth of pond seems to be a bigger factor in growth. I catch some of the biggest greenies and bass in a small, shallow, extremely clear pond.

Weather (Winter,Fall,Spring,and Summer),and water conditions are the major factors in fish patterns. Sunfish for the most part will stay pretty active throughout the warmer months and during their spawn. Water temperature plays a very big part in fish patterns also. Just my two cents.

No question Chuck, I definitely need to start measuring water temperature. I have been focusing on the shallower ponds or shallow areas of a pond after a couple days of sunlight. Since the cold spell began the deeper ponds just haven't been productive for me.

Dealing with river/creek dynamics is far more complicated than that of a pond. That's where experience really pays off!!

I still don't have em figured out. The one thing I do know,the more you fish the easier it gets!

That's because you know every one of their hiding places in a 100 square mile area around your house, LOL!!!

Yes. Every species of sunfish has its own unique characteristics, preferable forage and hunting style. And even within those species they can differ between regions, bodies of water and even section of the same body of water. The Longear comes to mind when it comes to how extreme one species can differ over long and short distances.

The Bluegill is probably the most adaptable of the sunfish species. If the water is fairly clean and there is a enough forage, they will make it. You'll notice that their jaws typically position their mouths to open ^ as opposed to the typical Redear which jaws typically open the mouth down. This feature points to the fact that bluegill will "feed up", that is they will position themselves below their prey and typically are more successful feeding up most of their lives. Big adults are more "equal opportunity" feeders. This is why you will normally have more success with a light jig or a floating or suspending fly compared to a heavy jig or fast sinking fly. Also why the drop shot rig is more effective than a jig on bottom or split shot rig. Bluegills tend to be more sight orientated than smell orientated (not to mention very curious) so exploit this with colors, shapes and appendages.

Redear stay on the bottom and more of them can be found in numbers in depths deeper than 8' than most other sunfish. As said above, they typically have a down turned mouth so try to position your bait or lures close to the bottom. Preferably, hard bottom or where the bottom comes makes a sudden change like stumps, poles, drop offs, ditches, etc.. Redear use the smell senses as much or more so than sight and feel to feed. If your bait/lure has a foreign smell, it will spook these fish more often than attract them. Redear tend to tolerate current more than Bluegill but not as much as Redbreast. Redears do well in smallish bodies of water (small lakes, ponds, creeks, streams, etc..) but do much better in larger rivers systems, lakes and reservoirs.

Speaking of Redbreast, this species is most comfortable in current as opposed to still waters. Its the third of the "Big 3"; Bluegills, Redears and Redbreasts. It often has a down turned mouth but feeds up about as often as it feeds down. It is very opportunistic. Living most, if not all of its life in riverine environs it is more likely to chase down a bait or lure. The Redbreast is also the most likely to try to take a bite out of anything that will remotely fit in its mouth. No lure under 3" intimidates this fish and even some over can get bit if they are in the mood. Redbreast are not native to Texas and can be found in good numbers and larger sizes in the Hill Country and the areas East and to the South. I've caught Redbreasts in Houston and East Texas but not in large numbers and definitely not a lot of big ones like I have on the Guad.

I'll try to cover Longears and Green Sunfish tomorrow.

Well stated "Jagg"!

Wow!!! Great post Jagg

I look forward to the next post.

Ok. One thing I didn't mention about the Big 3 is how they act seasonally. Like Banker said, Bluegills do tend to go fairly dormant all thru Winter except for few stretches of unseasonably warm, sunny days. Texas winters will have much less of an effect on Redears. They wont feed as aggressively or as often, but will definitely feed thru the Winter more often and will not stray as far from Fall transition haunts and patterns as other sunfish species will. Redbreasts are more of a wildcard. Its not so much how they will change; its more how the river changes around them. As a rule they will still feed thru the Winter if there is a fairly good current flow. If the current slows to a crawl, they don't need as much fuel. And, as the water cools, their metabolism slows so they don't need as much fuel. If there is a strong storm that floods the system, they will get to their typical current breaks, deep pools and backwaters and will only feed as much as they have to.

Ok, Longears. Like Redbreasts you'll find Longears in riverine waters and systems throughout Texas. It seems like the more remote out of the way smaller rivers along with creeks and streams have the larger Longers while larger River systems (at least large, broad sections of rivers, as opposed to smaller, skinner sections of large rivers) will have fewer and smaller Longears. Unlike the Big 3 very few Longear will ever reach a size big enough to not be considered prey for larger predators in the system. Considering that, expect to find these fish in places where you'll find other prey. Thick cover like a brush pile or places where grass and veg grow thick can hold Longear. Also, if you find rockpiles, Longear will use rockpiles that have big enough crevices to swim in and out of without being chased into them by larger predators. There are some limestone ledges and piles in the SA River that Longear often occupy because they are close to or in the deep pools that will have lots of goodies for them to eat and lots of predators that can eat them. Longear also use the cover of darkness as a favorite hiding space. Tree lined banks and under cut banks will often hold more than a few Longears. Also like Redbreasts, Longears can and will feed more often than bluegills in Winter if the river, creek and/or stream permits. I've done well in January on a creek in SA when I anchored my canoe down stream from a large brushpile on the deep side of a creek bend. I caught Longear almost every cast from that brushpile just casting a drop shot rig rigged with a tiny blue and green crawfish on the business end. Just dragged that rig across the bottom where the creek bed met the deepest edge of the brushpile. If the creek or stream is swollen and roaring with run-off, there are much safer places where you can be. Besides, the Longears will be tight to current breaks and not likely to bite even the best live bait offerings.

I'll cover Green Sunfish later.

I did not know that golf ponds are legal to fish . I live in Flower Mound , where are these ponds ??

Thanks jagg, really outstanding posts. I look forward to the Green sunfish post.