Red breasted sunfish

[Fish Sticks]

Have been trying to find some red breasted sunfish to catch, photograph and take my daughter to learn how to swing wets. Have tried the Swatty and Susquehanna but there are not a ton of sun fish and all the ones I catch for most part are blue gills or hybrids. When you read about native fish of the Susquehanna red breasted sun fish always come up.

They seem to bite further into cold water snaps than blue gill, their beautifully colored, and they fight pretty hard. Have read that flatheads have been documented to cause their decline in other places in the bay watershed like the james river in Virginia where red breasts make up majority of their diet. Or don’t know if not seeing them in significant numbers because I am fishing the Susquehanna below Harrisburg and need to go up to duncannon or liverpool where its “cleaner”? Swatty is pretty dirty too with AMD/ton of homes with faulty septic on headwaters, manure/monsanto product(now bayer)/ sediment mix coming in on the mid portion with impenetrable surface galore at the bottom near hummelstown hershey. Ive fished other cleaner streams in other parts of the state that aren’t drivable regularly for me but seem to have more of em.

There may be no where near me that still has a ton of em but if anyone has any watersheds or general areas within 45 min to an hour of hershey Pa to look in, especially with some slow shallow water for a kid, it would be appreciated.

 

[sarce]

Try smaller waters where they'd have less predation (if flatheads are the reason they aren't in your two regular spots). Your nearest stocked trout stream probably has a bunch of redbreasts in the summer. Also, they could be spawning right now and concentrated in specific areas. On a MD river about the size of Swatara I've found them guarding beds in big numbers in slack water on the downstream side of islands.

Good luck, hope this helps. They are a blast on light tackle!

 

[purplewoolly]

Yes, smaller waters, tribs to tribs. I PM’d you.

 

[Fish Sticks]

Try smaller waters where they'd have less predation (if flatheads are the reason they aren't in your two regular spots). Your nearest stocked trout stream probably has a bunch of redbreasts in the summer. Also, they could be spawning right now and concentrated in specific areas. On a MD river about the size of Swatara I've found them guarding beds in big numbers in slack water on the downstream side of islands.

Good luck, hope this helps. They are a blast on light tackle!

Thanks all good points, yea the predators thing is real I got to imagine. I think they would have only evolved with intermittent stripers, a few smaller catfish species, and plus or minus pickerel as predatory fish. Besides that probably would have just been eels, shad, herring, log perch, yellow perch, fall fish, white sucker and them?

Any who, yea the stocked trout stream sections in the summer is a legit recommendation. I have a feeling lower clarks if I can find some access close to the river would be good. Also lower breeches down near the dam in new cumberland area will likely give a try too. Maybe will check out conewago creek in Lancaster county just below gretna.

 

[Dave_W]

Try smaller waters where they'd have less predation (if flatheads are the reason they aren't in your two regular spots). Your nearest stocked trout stream probably has a bunch of redbreasts in the summer. Also, they could be spawning right now and concentrated in specific areas. On a MD river about the size of Swatara I've found them guarding beds in big numbers in slack water on the downstream side of islands.

Good luck, hope this helps. They are a blast on light tackle!

This is good advice. ^

I love redbreasts and spend much of the summer targeting them in creeks.

 

[Mike]

This might help. There are other WW stream reports under Area 6, but no streams in York and Lancaster Co were sampled for those reports were better than these for RBSF. We also sampled Pequea and Mill Cks in Lancaster Co prior to these surveys and I don’t have any particularly good memories of RBSF in those. Best ever by far in comparison to the rest of the state was once the Delaware River, especially in the 1989’s. You didn’t even think about those fish if they were not 8 inches long. They were beauties. The Schuylkill was pretty good to in places, but have not fished those spots in quite a long time so I can’t speak to today. Bald Eagle Ck in Centre Co had some decent RBSF when I surveyed it in the late 1970’s ( between Port Matilda and Spring Ck).

https://pfbc.pa.gov/images/reports/2013bio/6x12_19wwstreams.pdf

 

[Fish Sticks]

This might help. There are other WW stream reports under Area 6, but no streams in York and Lancaster Co were sampled for those reports were better than these for RBSF. We also sampled Pequea and Mill Cks in Lancaster Co prior to these surveys and I don’t have any particularly good memories of RBSF in those. Best ever by far in comparison to the rest of the state was once the Delaware River, especially in the 1989’s. You didn’t even think about those fish if they were not 8 inches long. They were beauties. The Schuylkill was pretty good to in places, but have not fished those spots in quite a long time so I can’t speak to today. Bald Eagle Ck in Centre Co had some decent RBSF when I surveyed it in the late 1970’s ( between Port Matilda and Spring Ck).

https://pfbc.pa.gov/images/reports/2013bio/6x12_19wwstreams.pdf

Thanks! cool to see surveys and other fish present. Will check it out. I should check out the schuyllkill as well.

 

[Wild_Trouter]

I don't know how it is holding up these days. but the Lower Conodoguinnet in Enola just upstream from mouth of Susky used to be good. Same goes for Sherman's Creek in Shermansdale. Hope this helps

 

[Mike]

Now Wild Trouter reminded me of my earlier days with the PFBC. Licking Ck, Fulton Co had good populations of RBSF and RB. If I remember them from 1976, the populations must have been pretty good to have made such an impression.

 

[Fish Sticks]

Those are some good leads, i will bring my photarium and get some pictures of those beautiful fish. And i’m sure my daughter will have a blast.

 

[sarce]

If you find a spot that is really loaded with them, try throwing a double green weenie rig...😂
Or try a 3 fly rig if you want total and utter chaos. They like to follow their hooked friends to try and steal the food. You could in theory probably tie 10 flies and let the first hooked one swim around long enough and you'd eventually have 10 on your line. But I think more than 3 might be illegal, lol.

 

[Tups]

In southern Chester County fish Big Elk Creek. Nice popn of RBSF there. Very easy for a kid to wade, pretty scenery. Plenty of small fall fish and a few black bass too. Great size stream for swinging wets. This was my favorite place for RBSF before I moved to Central Pa about a year ago. On a map find the intersection of RT 841 and Springlawn Rd. Springlawn Rd. is actually a walking trail and is gated at the intersection. Parking for half a dozen vehicles at the gate. The trail and surrounding lands are now part of White Clay Creek SP so access is great. Springlawn follows the Big Elk for about 3 or 4 miles before entering Maryland.

 

[dc410]

I have also had more luck on Redbreast Sunnies in the back water eddies of some of the smaller tribs. It’s been awhile since I got after them but always enjoyed their beauty as well as the scrappy fight on a fly rod. They are just a really cool fish.

 

[barrybarry]

From last Wednesday evening. I don't typically take photos of Panfish, but this one was so bright I had to. The ear flap wasn't as dark as several I see posted but I've always called these red breasts.
I find the Susquehanna fishes better for panfish from now until September/October. You may have hit it the river a little too early. Wait until the weeds get a little thicker. This one came from a stocked trout stream close to the river.

 

[redietz]

The ear flap wasn't as dark as several I see posted but I've always called these red breasts.

The length of the flap means more in id'ing a redbreast than the color.

 

[jifigz]

The Juniata has a lot of red breasted sunnies. I fish for them a lot..

 

[Fish Sticks]

I have also had more luck on Redbreast Sunnies in the back water eddies of some of the smaller tribs. It’s been awhile since I got after them but always enjoyed their beauty as well as the scrappy fight on a fly rod. They are just a really cool fish.

View attachment 1641226037

Wow thats gorgeous

 

[Fish Sticks]

From last Wednesday evening. I don't typically take photos of Panfish, but this one was so bright I had to. The ear flap wasn't as dark as several I see posted but I've always called these red breasts.
I find the Susquehanna fishes better for panfish from now until September/October. You may have hit it the river a little too early. Wait until the weeds get a little thicker. This one came from a stocked trout stream close to the river.

Great looking fish!

 

[Fish Sticks]

In southern Chester County fish Big Elk Creek. Nice popn of RBSF there. Very easy for a kid to wade, pretty scenery. Plenty of small fall fish and a few black bass too. Great size stream for swinging wets. This was my favorite place for RBSF before I moved to Central Pa about a year ago. On a map find the intersection of RT 841 and Springlawn Rd. Springlawn Rd. is actually a walking trail and is gated at the intersection. Parking for half a dozen vehicles at the gate. The trail and surrounding lands are now part of White Clay Creek SP so access is great. Springlawn follows the Big Elk for about 3 or 4 miles before entering Maryland.

Thanks so much thats near where her grandparents live!!!

 

[Fish Sticks]

If you find a spot that is really loaded with them, try throwing a double green weenie rig...😂
Or try a 3 fly rig if you want total and utter chaos. They like to follow their hooked friends to try and steal the food. You could in theory probably tie 10 flies and let the first hooked one swim around long enough and you'd eventually have 10 on your line. But I think more than 3 might be illegal, lol.

I love green weenies and mops for d**** near everything, theres probably guys out in blue water crushing black sword
Fish on weenies!