Bluegill vs. Bream: Different Name, Same Fish

Throughout my travels across the country, I have heard anglers give a common sunfish different names. In the South, some anglers call the sunfish a bream and others dub it a perch, while in the North and Midwest it is called a bluegill.

Well here is Wikipedia’s definition of this panfish: “The bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) is a species of freshwater fish referred to as ‘bream’ or ‘brim,’ ‘sunny,’ ‘copper nose,’ or incorrectly ‘perch.’ It is a member of the sunfish family Centrarchidae of the order Perciformes. It is native to North America and lives in streams, rivers, lakes and ponds.”

Lepomis macrochirus is a mouthful to say so its common name became bluegill because of its blue coloration under its chin and lower part of its gill cover. You can also identify a bluegill by its slab-sided body and small mouth with the upper jaw not reaching past the front of its eye. The Bluegill has a spinous dorsal fin with 10 spines connected to a soft dorsal. Its pectoral fin is long and pointed and the fish has a prolonged ear flap.

In addition to the blue coloring around the gills, the bluegill has dark olive-green colors on its back and sides with yellow or reddish-orange on its breast and belly. The sunfish’s sides are often marked with dark vertical bars.

Bluegill/bream commonly reach a length of 9 inches and a weight of about 12 ounces. If left alone, bluegill typically live between 6-8 years but can live up to 11 years old. The all-tackle world record for bluegill is 4 pounds, 10 ounces.

Targeting bluegill/bream is an excellent way to introduce children and novices to fishing because the fish bite a variety of small natural and artificial baits. You can catch bluegill on crickets, grasshoppers or worms set below a bobber with a cane pole or fly fish with wet flies, dry flies or popping bugs.

Bluegill/bream can be caught throughout the year, but my favorite time to catch these sunfish is during the spawn when the big bull males are protecting their nests. Casting a cricket or worm on a bobber to the nests is a guaranteed catch then.