Redear Sunfish

Redear sunfish, also known as shell cracker, are close relatives to the bluegill and can provide additional largemouth bass forage and fishing. This species can be identified apart from bluegill by red-orange markings on the outside edge of its ear flap with no vertical bars along its sides and no dark spot on its soft dorsal fin. Redear sunfish typically get larger than bluegill, but they do not reproduce as frequently. Redear sunfish spawn from about April through August in Arkansas. They feed primarily on zooplankton, bottom-dwelling insects and snails. Like bluegill, redear sunfish are fun to catch and enjoyable to eat. Redear sunfish also help prevent parasite grubs in sportfish filets by eating snails. Without snails, these grubs cannot complete their lifecycle and therefore cannot persist. Ponds stocked with redear sunfish rarely have issues with parasitic grubs.