I was micro fishing for catfish bait at a local pond when I caught this dude (Orange Spotted Sunfish). This was the first recorded hook and line catch for this species in my county. The closest place they had been found was a river in a nearby county from research sampling. While it wasn’t a 10 lb bass, I got my name in some research databases and in the next freshwater fishes book for my state.
What does this have to do with the importance of fish ID? The pond I caught it in is an extremely popular fishing hole. I highly doubt I was the actual first person to make this catch. I was just the first person to know the importance of documenting it. The one I caught in the picture is a full grown adult so you do need some really tiny hooks.
There are a lot of other species like this one you may be catching and brushing of as just another bream. You never know how cool of a catch you can make with just a bobber and worm.
Posted by GuestInternational
4 Comments
A very nice catch, indeed!
Well done!
Bait
That’s awesome! I definitely struggle to ID the different species of sunfish and bluegill, especially since they tend to hybridize and since their colors can vary so widely