Wherever you live, summertime is sunfish time. Time to relax and take the kids out for a fun time on the water. Whether it's a farm pond, small creek, reservoir, or lake, the members of the sunfish clan offer the fastest fishing of all. Much has been written about fishing techniques for bluegill, but other sunfish have been ignored. The aggressive nature, abundance, and large average size of the pumpkinseed, however, put them on par with any other panfish swimming.

Tackle

 

Rod: 5 1/2- to 7-foot light- or ultralight-power spinning rod.

Reel: small-capacity spinning reel.

Line: 2- or 4-pound-test limp mono.

 

Rigging

Pumpkinseeds use flat teeth located in their throats to crush snails and other shelled invertebrates. Some biologists have even considered them a potential tool in the battle against invading zebra mussels. But they'll also take minnows and often bite large jigs and spinnerbaits targeting bass. The best baits for numbers of fish are natural baits like worms, grubs, and nymphs or small lures like spoons, spinners, and nymph-imitating flies fished near the bottom. A small clear casting bubble increases casting distance and allows weightless baits to drop slowly through the water column-a proven trigger of big pumpkinseeds.

Location

In northern waters from Maine and Nova Scotia to eastern North Dakota, and from Montana to Washington and British Columbia, pumpkinseeds cruise shallow flats, weedy bays, and slow rivers. Their native range also includes the Atlantic Coast states south to central Georgia, and midwestern states south to Illinois.

Presentation

Pumpkinseeds, especially larger ones, are most concentrated and accessible just before and during spawning. Like bluegills, pumpkinseeds move to spawning areas when water temperatures reach 68F to 70F. In the southern part of their range, this process may begin in late April or early May, and as late as mid- to late June in Canada. Pumpkinseed spawning colonies aren't so large as bluegill colonies, and solitary nests are common. Hybridization with bluegills sometimes occurs, producing an interestingly colored fertile hybrid possessing varying characteristics and the colors of either parent.