Pumpkinseed
PanfishLepomis gibbosus · also called sunny, punkie
The pumpkinseed is separated from the bluegill by one small feature that is completely reliable: the coloured spot at the tip of the ear flap. Bluegill ear flaps are solid black.
Quick facts
- Appearance
- One of the most colourful freshwater fish in North America — olive with orange and blue speckling, wavy iridescent blue lines across the cheek and gill cover, and a red or orange crescent on the trailing edge of the black ear flap.
- Typical size
- 0.2–0.8 lb
- Waters
- lake, pond, river
- Regulations
- Usually managed with other panfish. Hybrids with bluegill are common and show intermediate ear flaps.
How to confirm it
- Red or orange crescent on the trailing edge of the ear flap.
- Wavy iridescent blue-green lines radiating across the cheek.
- Orange spotting across the flanks.
- No dark blotch at the base of the soft dorsal fin.
What it is confused with
One check settles each of these.
The ear flap. Solid black means bluegill; red or orange tipped means pumpkinseed.
Why this matters beyond curiosity
- Look-alike species often carry different limits. Walleye and sauger, black and white crappie, pike and muskie, blue and channel catfish — each pair can have different sizes, seasons and daily limits in the same water.
- Check it before the fish goes in the livewell. Most of the tests on this site take seconds and are far easier on a fish you are still holding.
- If you cannot tell, release it. That is the answer that is never wrong, and it is the one a warden will not argue with.
- Regulations are set by your state or province and change annually. This site identifies fish; it does not tell you the rules. Check the current regulations for the water you are on.