Wildlife Watching Wednesday: Bluegills, The Ever-Popular Panfish

By: Tom Berg

The bluegill is one of the most popular species of fish in the Midwest, if not the entire country. Bluegills are part of the sunfish family, and they are often called panfish. This is because they have a relatively tall, flat-sided shape and they fit well in a frying pan when it is time to cook them for dinner! Most bluegills that are kept for the table measure between 7-9 inches long.

Bluegills get their name from the beautiful blue coloration on their cheek and gill plates. The black lobe, or “ear”, on their gill plate is pure black and does not have a red or orange margin like other sunfish. They often have several darker vertical bars on their sides, and have a yellow or orange breast. Spawning males have a bright orange breast.

Bluegills are known by many different names. Some of the more common names include sunny, bream, brim, blue sunfish and copperbelly. They are very common in most lakes, reservoirs, ponds, and many rivers and streams. Shallow, weedy areas are preferred locations for them, as the aquatic vegetation provides good hiding places for them so they can avoid larger predator fish. These areas are also good places for them to hunt for their own food.

Kids who go fishing for the first time often record a bluegill as their first catch. Bluegills always seem to be hungry and will eat almost anything they can fit in their small mouths. Aquatic and terrestrial insects make up much of their natural diet, along with minnows and other tiny fish. They eagerly eat a variety of small live baits that fishermen present to them, such as worms, nightcrawlers, grubs and crickets.

Bluegills are extremely abundant throughout their native range (east of the Rocky Mountains), so go fishing and feel free to keep enough bluegills for a good old-fashioned fish fry. It’s hard to beat a plate full of boneless bluegill fillets, coated with cornmeal and flour and fried to a golden brown! 

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