Sunfish Fishing in New Hampshire for Bluegills, Pumpkinseed Sunfish, Rock Bass, White Perch, Yellow Perch and Other NH Panfish.

One or more species of sunfish populate virtually all warm water streams, ponds and lakes throughout New Hampshire and around the world for that matter. They can survive in waters that provide their natural food source of minnows, crustaceans, insects and worms. Their competitive nature amongst themselves for food, makes them relatively easy to catch.

Sunfish Lakes In New Hampshire

While panfish can be found in most every type of water, major lakes typically contain larger populations of one or more species of sunfish. Major New Hampshire lakes with healthy populations of panfish include Bow Lake, Conway Lake, First Connecticut Lake, Great East Lake, Lake Francis, Lake Wentworth, Lake Winnipesaukee, Mascoma Lake, Massabesic Lake, Merrymeeting Lake, Moore Reservoir, Newfound Lake, Ossipee Lake, Silver Lake, Squam Lake, Sunapee Lake, Umbagog Lake and Winnisquam Lake.

The New Hampshire state record bluegill was taken out of Goodwin Pond, the NH state record pumpkinseed sunfish and white perch were both taken from Winnipesaukee and the state record yellow perch from Heads Pond.

Panfish are prolific spawners and repopulate the waters as fast as they are harvested. A common problem with panfish fishing is that the waters are under-fished causing panfish to overpopulate. As a result they tend to stay small in size due to lack of food source.

The list of panfish is comprised of many fishes each called by a variety of names. The bluegill tops the list and is the most common.

Bluegill
Lepomis macrochirus

Check for New Hampshire bluegill fishing articles in the articles section.

Crappie are also considered panfish. For details on crappie visit our crappie fishing section.

Pumpkinseed Sunfish
Lepomis gibbosus
World Record: 1.4 lbs

Rock Bass
Ambloplites rupestris
World Record: 3.0 lbs.

White Perch
Morone americana
USA Record: 4.6 lbs
The white perch is named for its color which ig generally white or silver with shades of adaptive color from its environment to help it hide from predators. They are a good tasting fish and are even fished commercially. They are quite prolific and can be considered a nuisance in some waters. They prefer water temperatures from 62 to 70 degrees. Also known as perch, silver perch, perch and grey perch. White perch make a great fish fry with nice filets coming from ones approaching a pound. Use light tackle to fish for white perch. For bait, use worms, minnows, jigs, spoons and small lures imitating baitfish.

Yellow Perch
Perca flavescens
USA Record: 3.75 lbs

For general information on local fishing visit the New Hampshire Fishing home page.

If you have information, articles or photos relating to panfish which you would like to see published here, please submit them for consideration.

NH Sunfish Fishing - All About Fishing for Bluegill & Other Panfish in New Hampshire.

4 lbs - 12 oz

2 lbs - 1 oz

60 - 85 Degrees

Prefers slightly stained to murky water with little or no current. Survives in most warm bodies of water.