If you see a small disc-shaped fish with an orange belly and squiggly blue lines on its face hovering over a sandy patch in a pond, you found a Pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus). It is one of the most colorful native fish in eastern North America and the fish that most kids catch first on a summer dock.
What it looks like
Adults are 10 to 20cm long, palm sized, and shaped like a flat oval. The back is olive green with darker mottling, the sides are speckled with orange and yellow, and the belly is bright orange to gold. The face shows wavy turquoise blue lines running from the snout back to the gill cover. The defining mark is a bright red or orange crescent on the back edge of the gill cover, which separates pumpkinseeds from the closely related bluegill.
When and where
- Season: Spring through fall, hiding in deeper water in winter.
- Habitat: Quiet lakes, ponds, slow rivers, backyard fishing docks, weedy shallows.
- Best time: Sunny mid-day in summer, when males guard nests in the shallows and let you watch from above.
Sand bowl nests in plain sight
In early summer, male pumpkinseeds fan out shallow circular nests in sandy patches, often only a meter from the shore. Each nest is a clean dish about 30cm wide, surrounded by darker untouched sand, and you can spot a row of these dishes from a dock. The male hovers over his nest and chases away every other fish that comes near, including pumpkinseeds bigger than himself. After a female lays eggs, the male keeps guarding for another week until the fry swim away.
Spot one this weekend
Pumpkinseeds are Common across the northeast and Midwest US and southern Canada. Walk a dock or fishing pier and look straight down into the shallows on a calm sunny day. The orange belly and turquoise stripes light up against the sand. A simple worm on a small hook will catch them within minutes if your family wants to try fishing. Release gently and let the kid watch the fish swim straight back to the same spot.