Guide To Popular Panfish Fishing Options In Florida

All about fishing for sunfish in FL lakes and ponds.

Throughout the state you can find waters with populations of sunfish, including bluegill, flier sunfish, redbreast sunfish, redear sunfish, spotted sunfish, warmouth and white bass.

Panfish Lakes

Blue Cypress Lake, Crescent Lake, Crooked Lake, Deer Point Lake, Doctors Lake, East Lake Tohopekaliga, Jim Woodruff Reservoir, Lake Apopka, Lake Conlin, Lake Eustis, Lake George, Lake Griffin, Lake Harris, Lake Harney, Lake Hatchineha, Lake Istokpoga, Lake Jackson, Lake Jessup, Lake Kissimmee, Lake Marian, Lake Miccosukee, Lake Monroe, Lake Okeechobee, Lake Santa Fe, Lake Seminole, Lake Talquin, Lake Tohopekaliga, Lake Wier, Lake Weohyakapka, Lochloosa Lake, Newnans Lake, Orange Lake, Rodman Reservoir, St. John's River and Tsala Apopka Lake are just some of the major lakes with healthy populations of panfish.

Top Producing Panfish Lures & Bait

Check out the top producing lures and bait for bluegill, redear sunfish, rock bass and warmouth, as well as other smaller sunfish. Click here for the best lures for white bass, yellow bass, white perch and yellow perch.

Click the images and links above for species details.

Florida State Record Sunfish

The state record bluegill was caught from Crystal Lake.

The state record flier sunfish came from a pond.

The state record redbreast sunfish came out of the Suwannee River.

The state record redear sunfish came out of Merritts Mill Pond.

The state record spotted sunfish came out of the Suwannee River.

The state record warmouth came out of the Yellow River.

The state record white bass came from the Apalachicola River.

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 term "panfish" comprises many species, each called by a variety of names. The bluegill tops the list and is the most common.

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

Bluegill Fishing Basics Video

The core principles shown in this video will work for most sunfish, perch and other panfish.

Sunfish information in other states.