| Matt Johnson Outdoors In Search of Sunfish... North or South? |
| Matt Johnson Outdoors |
By: Matt Johnson
Both Northern Minnesota and Southern
Minnesota lakes have the potential of
growing pound-plus sunfish. Many
Northern lakes that are "untapped" will
see some excellent large sunfish
populations. However, these
populations can fluctuate and produce
trophy sunfish one year and not
produce any the next. Some lakes will
experience year classes of stunted
sunfish, and sometimes the effects
seem to be irreversible. So just how do Northern areas compare
to Southern areas when looking to land a trophy sunfish…
Many lakes that once produced big sunfish might now find
themselves falling short because of over harvesting, biological
factors, or environmental factors, especially in the smaller lakes.
The larger Northern lakes seem to withstand some of the
negative variables that are thrown at them; however, larger lakes
also need attention in order to preserve the trophy fish. So, with
that being said, if you can pinpoint those big sunfish on larger
Northern MN lakes your chance of hooking into a trophy is there.
Southern Minnesota lakes, in some areas, are a little more fertile
than the Northern lakes and can grow larger sunfish at a faster
rate. Many of the field or "farm" ponds/lakes of Southern
Minnesota hold some monster sunfish that will push the 1-pound
mark. Certain characteristics allow for these fish to grow fast, but
I wouldn't go as far to say they are in a totally different league
than the Northern lakes. The lakes even further South (like South
Carolina, Nebraska, Missouri, etc) experience much warmer
temps all year round, allowing the fish to grow exceedingly fast
compared to the Northern lakes (which includes all of Minnesota).
Expect to find more seven year-old sunfish in the Northern states
than in the Southern states. A three year-old sunfish down South
is typically larger than a three year-old sunfish up in Minnesota,
same with crappies. Not a whole lot of crappies live to be ten
years old down in Florida, Louisiana, etc, but you will see many
(relatively speaking) ten year-old crappies in Minnesota, across
both the Northern belt and the Southern belt. Fish grow slower in
Northern areas, as a general rule, and the Southern U.S. fish
don't experience as much of a metabolic slow-down like the fish
experience up here during the winter months.
Water temps and activity levels down South will remain much
higher on average than up in Minnesota. The diet of a panfish
down South is also meatier and more frequent. Many Northern
panfish feed heavily on plankton, zooplankton and other micro-
organisms (similar to the Exude Nymph), where down South you
see a lot of scuds, minnows (like the Exude Micro Shad and
MisterTwister Sassy Shad), crawdads (like the Exude Micro
Crawfish), larger insects (like the Exude TwisterMite), etc,
devoured on a more regular basis. Sure, Southern state panfish
still eat their fair share of micro-organisms, but they also snap up
a lot more larger morsels as well, and on a more consistent basis.
Same goes for Northern state panfish, where they also eat their
fair share of minnows and larger forage items, but not on a
twelve-month regimen.
Now, when comparing Northern Minnesota to Southern
Minnesota you won't see as drastic of a change as you would by
comparing Minnesota with Southern U.S. lakes. I do believe that
some of the Southern Minnesota lakes have a better potential of
producing larger sunfish on a consistent basis and more rapidly
than Northern Minnesota lakes. However, many of the Northern
Minnesota lakes are larger than the Southern Minnesota lakes
and can produce higher populations of these big fish, and they
also have more places to hide. Grow is slower up North, but so is
the death-rate. Southern lakes tend to produce strong year
classes of big fish and they grow fast, but the numbers
sometimes tend to be less than that of the Northern lakes.
It all comes down to the lake type, forage and surroundings (with
a dash of geographical location) when developing trophy
sunfish. Some lakes just won't see a good population of large
Sunfish, and some lakes might have at one time seen large fish,
but because of a change in conditions, might experience a
prominent decrease in larger fish.
I personally like to target large sunfish in moving water systems
or lake chains. These are bodies of water where water is coming
in and moving out, which can produce some monster sunfish,
even if the average depth is shallow. A constant flow of high
oxygen, no matter the season, is a contributing factor to a
sunfish's quality of life. You also have more oxygen for
vegetation, forage and other surroundings that allow for a
healthy panfish population and growth rate.
The winter months also don’t affect these moving systems so
hard, and the strain on these bodies of water is less drastic.
Having an "upstream" and "downstream" also aids in the
spawning process, especially when these channels connect to
several different lakes or bodies of water. Shallow pools/bays
along current areas will hold fish in slack water during the spawn
given the right conditions. I also like these types of systems
because sunfish have more options for hiding and places to
devour food, making it tougher to catch the brutes, which in turn
can mean a better population of larger fish.
Larger current systems can oftentimes stump even the most
prolific of anglers when trying to locate big panfish, myself
included. However, I believe there is nothing wrong with that.
This ensures that when you do find the big fish, you find more
than one and there are less flukes. Big fish will use similar areas
at like times, and you can pattern these fish, even on large
current systems/chains where several lakes join. A very
important thing to remember though is to practice catch and
release on those larger fish, as they’ve been through a lengthy
process to reach that point and they should be considered
trophy fish.
So, to the topic of Southern Minnesota lakes versus Northern
Minnesota lakes... I think your chances are good in both areas for
catching large sunfish. It can really be a timing thing though.
Southern lakes will warm up faster, because they are not only
further south, but they typically have more stained water with
darker bottoms, and you might experience a better early season
bite. Northern lakes typically have excellent late-spring and
summer bites for large sunfish.
If I was going to target just big sunfish during the summer
months, I would hit the Northern lakes. Water temps seem to
keep the bigger fish in schools and in more generalized areas,
where the Southern lakes will experience a more scattered, warm
water effect. Larger sunfish might push deep or hug to the
bottom in the weeds during the hot summer months on Southern
lakes, where you can find larger sunfish along deeper weed lines
and breaks in the Northern lakes.
I'm sure you could argue this either way, and I'm sure some
people would prefer Northern Minnesota lakes over Southern
Minnesota lakes and visa versa. Both areas will, and do, hold
large sunfish and the potential of catching a 1-pound sunfish is
definitely there.
Sunfish are an excellent species to utilize when taking a kid out
on the water. They provide constant action and are a lot of fun to
catch. Landing a trophy sunfish should be considered an
accomplishment, and is definitely something to cherish!!!
Good Fishin,
Matt Johnson
Both Northern Minnesota and Southern
Minnesota lakes have the potential of
growing pound-plus sunfish. Many
Northern lakes that are "untapped" will
see some excellent large sunfish
populations. However, these
populations can fluctuate and produce
trophy sunfish one year and not
produce any the next. Some lakes will
experience year classes of stunted
sunfish, and sometimes the effects
seem to be irreversible. So just how do Northern areas compare
to Southern areas when looking to land a trophy sunfish…
Many lakes that once produced big sunfish might now find
themselves falling short because of over harvesting, biological
factors, or environmental factors, especially in the smaller lakes.
The larger Northern lakes seem to withstand some of the
negative variables that are thrown at them; however, larger lakes
also need attention in order to preserve the trophy fish. So, with
that being said, if you can pinpoint those big sunfish on larger
Northern MN lakes your chance of hooking into a trophy is there.
Southern Minnesota lakes, in some areas, are a little more fertile
than the Northern lakes and can grow larger sunfish at a faster
rate. Many of the field or "farm" ponds/lakes of Southern
Minnesota hold some monster sunfish that will push the 1-pound
mark. Certain characteristics allow for these fish to grow fast, but
I wouldn't go as far to say they are in a totally different league
than the Northern lakes. The lakes even further South (like South
Carolina, Nebraska, Missouri, etc) experience much warmer
temps all year round, allowing the fish to grow exceedingly fast
compared to the Northern lakes (which includes all of Minnesota).
Expect to find more seven year-old sunfish in the Northern states
than in the Southern states. A three year-old sunfish down South
is typically larger than a three year-old sunfish up in Minnesota,
same with crappies. Not a whole lot of crappies live to be ten
years old down in Florida, Louisiana, etc, but you will see many
(relatively speaking) ten year-old crappies in Minnesota, across
both the Northern belt and the Southern belt. Fish grow slower in
Northern areas, as a general rule, and the Southern U.S. fish
don't experience as much of a metabolic slow-down like the fish
experience up here during the winter months.
Water temps and activity levels down South will remain much
higher on average than up in Minnesota. The diet of a panfish
down South is also meatier and more frequent. Many Northern
panfish feed heavily on plankton, zooplankton and other micro-
organisms (similar to the Exude Nymph), where down South you
see a lot of scuds, minnows (like the Exude Micro Shad and
MisterTwister Sassy Shad), crawdads (like the Exude Micro
Crawfish), larger insects (like the Exude TwisterMite), etc,
devoured on a more regular basis. Sure, Southern state panfish
still eat their fair share of micro-organisms, but they also snap up
a lot more larger morsels as well, and on a more consistent basis.
Same goes for Northern state panfish, where they also eat their
fair share of minnows and larger forage items, but not on a
twelve-month regimen.
Now, when comparing Northern Minnesota to Southern
Minnesota you won't see as drastic of a change as you would by
comparing Minnesota with Southern U.S. lakes. I do believe that
some of the Southern Minnesota lakes have a better potential of
producing larger sunfish on a consistent basis and more rapidly
than Northern Minnesota lakes. However, many of the Northern
Minnesota lakes are larger than the Southern Minnesota lakes
and can produce higher populations of these big fish, and they
also have more places to hide. Grow is slower up North, but so is
the death-rate. Southern lakes tend to produce strong year
classes of big fish and they grow fast, but the numbers
sometimes tend to be less than that of the Northern lakes.
It all comes down to the lake type, forage and surroundings (with
a dash of geographical location) when developing trophy
sunfish. Some lakes just won't see a good population of large
Sunfish, and some lakes might have at one time seen large fish,
but because of a change in conditions, might experience a
prominent decrease in larger fish.
I personally like to target large sunfish in moving water systems
or lake chains. These are bodies of water where water is coming
in and moving out, which can produce some monster sunfish,
even if the average depth is shallow. A constant flow of high
oxygen, no matter the season, is a contributing factor to a
sunfish's quality of life. You also have more oxygen for
vegetation, forage and other surroundings that allow for a
healthy panfish population and growth rate.
The winter months also don’t affect these moving systems so
hard, and the strain on these bodies of water is less drastic.
Having an "upstream" and "downstream" also aids in the
spawning process, especially when these channels connect to
several different lakes or bodies of water. Shallow pools/bays
along current areas will hold fish in slack water during the spawn
given the right conditions. I also like these types of systems
because sunfish have more options for hiding and places to
devour food, making it tougher to catch the brutes, which in turn
can mean a better population of larger fish.
Larger current systems can oftentimes stump even the most
prolific of anglers when trying to locate big panfish, myself
included. However, I believe there is nothing wrong with that.
This ensures that when you do find the big fish, you find more
than one and there are less flukes. Big fish will use similar areas
at like times, and you can pattern these fish, even on large
current systems/chains where several lakes join. A very
important thing to remember though is to practice catch and
release on those larger fish, as they’ve been through a lengthy
process to reach that point and they should be considered
trophy fish.
So, to the topic of Southern Minnesota lakes versus Northern
Minnesota lakes... I think your chances are good in both areas for
catching large sunfish. It can really be a timing thing though.
Southern lakes will warm up faster, because they are not only
further south, but they typically have more stained water with
darker bottoms, and you might experience a better early season
bite. Northern lakes typically have excellent late-spring and
summer bites for large sunfish.
If I was going to target just big sunfish during the summer
months, I would hit the Northern lakes. Water temps seem to
keep the bigger fish in schools and in more generalized areas,
where the Southern lakes will experience a more scattered, warm
water effect. Larger sunfish might push deep or hug to the
bottom in the weeds during the hot summer months on Southern
lakes, where you can find larger sunfish along deeper weed lines
and breaks in the Northern lakes.
I'm sure you could argue this either way, and I'm sure some
people would prefer Northern Minnesota lakes over Southern
Minnesota lakes and visa versa. Both areas will, and do, hold
large sunfish and the potential of catching a 1-pound sunfish is
definitely there.
Sunfish are an excellent species to utilize when taking a kid out
on the water. They provide constant action and are a lot of fun to
catch. Landing a trophy sunfish should be considered an
accomplishment, and is definitely something to cherish!!!
Good Fishin,
Matt Johnson
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
