Guide To Popular Panfish Fishing Options In West Virginia

All about fishing for sunfish in WV lakes and ponds.

Throughout the state of West Virginia you can find waters with populations of sunfish, including bluegill, redbreast sunfish, redear sunfish, rock bass, white bass and yellow perch.

Panfish & Perch Lakes

You can catch sunfish most everywhere in West Virginia. Fish for them in ponds, creeks, rivers and lakes. Major WV lakes with sunfish include Beech Fork Lake, Bluestone Lake, Burnsville Lake, Cheat Lake, Jennings Randolph Lake, Moncove Lake, Mount Storm Lake, O’Brien Lake, Stonewall Jackson Lake, Summersville Lake and Tygart Lake.

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.

West Virginia State Record Sunfish

The state record bluegill was caught from a private pond.

The state record rockbass was caught in Big Sandy Creek.

The state record white bass came from New River.

The state record yellow perch was caught from Summersville Lake.

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 West Virginia, 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.

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.

Sunfish information in other states.