Sunfish Fishing in Texas for Bluegills, Green Sunfish, Hybrid Sunfish, Longear Sunfish, Redbreast Sunfish, Redear Sunfish, Rock Bass, Spotted Sunfish, Tilapia, Warmouth, White Bass, Yellow Bass, Yellow Perch and Other TX Panfish.

One or more species of sunfish populate virtually all warm water streams, ponds and lakes throughout Texas 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 Texas

Quick. Name a major lake in Texas without panfish. It would be difficult to do. Major lakes with healthy populations of panfish include B.A. Steinhagen Lake, Belton Lake, Cedar Creek Reservoir, Choke Canyon Reservoir, Cooper Lake, Diversion Lake, Eagle Mountain Lake, Lake E.V. Spence, Grapevine Lake, Hubbard Creek Reservoir, Joe Pool Lake, Lake Arrowhead, Lake Bob Sandlin, Lake Bridgeport, Lake Brownwood, Lake Buchanan, Lake Caddo, Lake Conroe, Lake Corpus Christi, Lake Fork Reservoir, Lake Granbury, Lake Houston, Lake J.B. Thomas, Lake Kemp, Lake Kickapoo, Lake Lewisville, Lake Limestone, Lake Livingston, Lake Lyndon B Johnson, Lake Meredith, Lake O the Pines, Lake Palestine, Lake Ray Hubbard, Lake Somerville, Lake Tawakoni, Lake Texana, Lake Texoma, Lake Travis, Lake Waco, Lake Whitney, Lake Worth, Lavon Lake, Martin Creek Lake, Medina Lake, Navarro Mills Lake, O.C. Fisher Lake, O.H. Ivie Lake, Palo Duro Reservoir, Pat Mayse Lake, Possom Kingdom Lake, Proctor Lake, Ray Roberts Lake, Red Bluff Reservoir, Richland Chambers Reservoir, Sam Rayburn Reservoir, Stamford Reservoir, Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir, Toledo Bend, Twin Buttes Reservoir and Wright Patman Lake.

You'll also find panfish in most ponds, rivers and lakes. Purtis Creek yielded the Texas state record bluegill and the TX state record green sunfish was taken out of Tehuacana Creek. Bardwell Lake produced the Texas state record hybrid sunfish and Lake Fork was home to the state record longear sunfish. The Comal River turned out the state record redbreast sunfish and the TX state record redear sunfish and warmouth both came out of Town Lake. The Texas state record spotted sunfish was pulled out of Onion Creek and the state record yellow perch was served up by Lake Meredith.

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

Other local jargon names for the bluegill include common yellow perch, sunfish, red-breasted bream, red-spotted sunfish, long-eared sunfish, white bass as well as a host of variations and cross breeds. These fish tend to run in schools and congregate near their food supply. Panfish can be found in depths of 35 feet or more but are more commonly found in one to ten feet depths depending on time of day and weather conditions.

Check for Texas bluegill fishing articles in the articles section.

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

Green Sunfish
Lepomis cyanellus
World Record: 2.1 lbs.
A favorite for private and farm ponds, the green sunfish is native to lakes and ponds and prefers heavily vegitated areas. Their diet consists of small invertebrates, insects and larve. Use light line, size 12 hooks and worms, crickets or cut bait. They tend to run in schools so competition for food can make them easy prey for anglers. Prefers water temperatures from 70 to 80 degrees. Also known as a rock bass or goggle-eye.

Hybrid Sunfish
These hybrids are a cross between bluegills and other sunfish including green sunfish, redear sunfish, redbreast sunfish and others. A high percentage of the hybrids are male which limits the reproductive process. They prefer warm water 70 to 78 degrees and do quite well in private ponds and small lakes. They prefer areas with heavy vegitation and cover. Fish for them on light tackle with small hooks using worms, insects, prepared bait and cut bait.

Longear Sunfish
Lepomis megalotis
World Record: 1.75 lbs.
Anglers love the longear sunfish for several reasons. They feed on the surface making them vulnerable to fly fishermen, they are easy for kids to catch on worms or cut baits and they make great bait for larger predator fish. The longear sunfis prefers water temperatures from 75 to 80 degreesand is sometimes called red-belly bream, red perch, blackear and red bream. Use ultralight tackle, they'll eat just about anything edible.

Redbreast Sunfish
Lepomis auritus
World Record: 1.7 lbs.
The males are quite colorful with red, orange or yellow breasts with dark green upper bodies. Females are colored the same but in drab shades of the same colors. They prefers water temperatures ranging from 76 to 84 degrees. Redear sunfish are also commonly called longear bream, redbreasted bream and yellowbreast bream. Worms, larve, crickets, insects, cut bait and prepared bait all work well on small hooks and light line.

Redear Sunfish
Lepomis microlophus
World Record: 5.4 lbs.
The redear sunfish can be found throughout the warmer states and grows larger than most sunfish. It is typically yellowish on the sides, white on the belly and dark green or brown on the top side. The red stripe alomg the edge of the ear (opercle) is the distinguishing mark for males, and it is orange on females.
Prefers water temperatures from 70 to 80 degrees. Also known as stumpknocker and shellcracker. The usual sunfish baits like worms and grubs work well on light line with small hooks. Rarely doe the redear sunfish rise to take flies and baits off the surface.

Rock Bass
Ambloplites rupestris
World Record: 3.0 lbs.
Native to the eastern half of the USA, the rock bass is good eating and fun to catch on light tackle or a fly rod. You can find rock bass in streams and rivers where they prefer clear water eith rocky bottom and vegetation. They feed primarily on smaller fish, insects, and crustaceans. Worms, grubs and cut bait work well. The rock bass, aka goggle-eye, green sunfish and sometimes branch perch, prefers water temperatures from 64 to 72 degrees.

Spotted Sunfish
Lepomis punctatus
Green on the top and often reddish to brown on the lower sides, they have a dark or black ear covering which looks like a black spot. The spotted sunfish naturally inhabits streams, creeks and rivers. They prefer areas with gravel or sand and plenty of vegetation. Their favorite foods include invertebrates, insects and small fishes but will feed on virtually anything edible including plants. They will also rise to feed on the sirface. The spotted sunfish prefers water temperatures from 70 to 89 degrees. They are small but quite good eating. Fish for them with ultra-light tackle using virtually anything edible as bait on very small hooks.

Tilapia
Oreochromis aurea
World Record: 4.4 lbs
Most tilapias are omnivorous with a preference for soft aquatic vegetation. They are typically found in warmer waters in the southern states, both east and west. Prefers water temperatures from 70 degrees and above, and has difficulty surviving water temperatures below 50 degrees. Tilapia are of similar size and shape to crappie. Fish for them like you might for bluegills using worms, crickets and dough balls on a size 12 hook.

Warmouth
Lepomis gulosus
World Record: 2.4 lbs
The warmouth sunfish has a larger mouth than most sunfish and can eat larger prey. It is rather golden in color overall, darker greenish on the top side and kighter on the underside, with mottled spotting similar to a crappie. Adult warmouths feed on insects, mollusks, minnows and small fish. They prefer snady bottoms of quiet areas in creeks, streams and rivers and look for heavy vegitation for cover. The warmouth prefers water temperatures from 78 to 86 degrees. It is also known as goggle-eye, stumpknocker, mudgapper and warmouth bass. Fin to catch on ultralight tackle and quite a fight when you hook a fat little two-pounder.

White Bass
Morone chrysops
World Record: 6.8 lbs.
The white bass has silver sides with horizontal dark stripes and is often called sand bass, stripes, barfish and silver bass. They are a good fighter, fun to catch and they tend to run in schools. Often big schools of several hundred or more. Their primary diet is bait fish and other smaller fish but they also eat worms and insects. Fish for the white bass on light tackle with jigs, spoons, minnow-imitation lures and live bait including worms and minnows. White bass often school deep, particularly in summer and winter - moving shallower in spring and fall. Their prefered water temperature range is from 63 to 76 degrees.

Yellow Bass
Morone mississippiensis
World Record: 4.2 lbs
Often referred to as stripers or stripies, the yellow bass is generally silver or golden on the sides with yellow bellies and dark horizontal stripes. They are found in most states from the Mississippi River east and a few western states. The yellow bass prefer water temperatures ranging from 55 to 67 degrees and remain active in warmer, and sometimes colder water.They average about half a pound and tend to run in schools. Use spoons, spinners, or live minnows and experiment with depth until you find their comfort zone for the day. Light tackle is ideal.

Yellow Perch
Perca flavescens
USA Record: 3.75 lbs
Possibly the best tasting of all the panfish, yellow perch are a favorite for fish frys. They are generally yellow, to gold, to brown in color and most often lighter shades of these colors. Dark vertical bands decorate their sides. They average about a third of a pound and 6 inches long, many larger ones are often caught as well. They are often mis-named as perch, rock perch and many others. Their primary diet consists of minnows and other small fish, onsects and worms. Yellow perch prefer water temperatures from 66 to 70 degrees but remain active in temperatures outside this range. They are fun to catch on ultralight tackle and can be caught year round. They are a favorite of many ice fishing enthusiasts. Use worms, minnows, small jigs. spinners or cut bait.

For general information on local fishing visit the Texas 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. We will gladly give you credit for your contribution. If you have a fishing related business and would like to mention it within the context of the article, we will consider your request.

If you offer fishing guide services for Panfish in Texas we would like to include you as a resource for our visitors. We offer a complimentary listing for your guide service on our Texas Fishing Guides page or you can see other options to promote your panfish fishing guide services in Texas by visiting our Advertising opportunities section.

Let us list your fishing or outdoor activity-related websites in our Texas Business Directory. It is included to provide our visitors with direct access to TX fishing related resources.

How to submit Texas fishing articles.

TX Sunfish Fishing - All About Fishing for Bluegill & Other Panfish in Texas.

4 lbs - 12 oz

1 lbs - 13 oz

60 - 85 Degrees

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