Florida Fish Busters

By Bob Wattendorf

Florida Fish and Wildlife

Conservation Commission



Most anglers start fishing in fresh water, often from a bank or pier, and their first catch is usually a bream. The image of a boy and his dog, with a cane pole and a can of worms, brings to life a symbol of the American tradition of fishing and stresses the ideal of youth connecting with nature and learning independence. Just think — it all began with that first bream.

Florida’s 7,700 named lakes and ponds and 10,500 miles of streams and rivers, brim with bream. “Bream” is a local term used throughout the Southeast and includes various deep-bodied panfish from the sunfish family.

The most common are bluegill, redear sunfish (shellcracker), redbreast sunfish, spotted sunfish (stumpknocker) and warmouth. Although black bass are “sunfish,” they are not considered to be bream. Almost any water body in the Sunshine State, regardless of size or locale, contains hungry bream.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) anticipates that good year classes of sunfish produced in 2004 and 2005 will maintain the fisheries in 2008 in southern and central peninsular Florida. In Central Florida, shellcracker often spawn during the third week of March or first week of April. They begin to concentrate in the Panhandle in mid- to late-May. Bluegill will spawn about a month after shellcracker in each region. Shellcracker will bed well into August, while bluegill will periodically spawn throughout the summer and, even as late as November, in South Florida. Water depths for bedding bream range from 3 to 10 feet.

Ounce-for-ounce, the abundant bluegill is a strong battler when not over-tackled. Those caught will range from an average of 6-8 ounces to an occasional 1-pounder. Florida’s record bluegill scaled 2.95 pounds.

“Shellcracker” is the locally popular name for the redear sunfish, the Sunshine State’s largest “bream,” which is easily identified by the red margin at the edge of its gill flap. If panfishing is your passion, don’t overlook Florida’s many streams and rivers for more opportunities. These gems are teeming with redbreast sunfish, spotted sunfish (stumpknocker) and warmouth.

Based on fishery surveys and local expertise, here are predictions from FWC biologists on which spots deserve to be among our top panfish locales (in no particular order) for 2008:



• Lake Monroe, near Sanford, should remain good for bluegill anglers in 2008, particularly if water levels do not drop too low.

• Lake Kissimmee, east of Lake Wales, is a 35,000-acre lake, located in the heart of Osceola County.

• West Lake Tohopekaliga, south of Kissimmee, is most often called Lake Toho, and aside from being one of the best bass fisheries in the country, it also supports one of the best bluegill/redear fisheries in the state.

• Lake Panasoffkee, west of Leesburg, is back on the list after better-than-expected fishing recently.

• Lake Talquin, west of Tallahassee, provides some great opportunities for bream fishing.

• Tenoroc, northeast of Lakeland, makes fishing for panfish on the 7,300-acre fish management area a rewarding experience.

• Go to the Lake Harris Chain if you’re in the Leesburg area and have a hankering to tussle with some heavier-than-usual bluegill and shellcracker.

• Lake Marian is located in southeast Osceola County, east of Lake Kissimmee, and although this 5,740-acre “sleeper” lake doesn’t receive much recognition, it’s still one of the best panfishing localities.

• Lake Istokpoga, located a few miles southeast of Sebring, is a large, relatively shallow lake outstanding for its bluegill.

• The Choctawatchee River, northwest of Panama City, provides a great experience for river and stream lovers.

• The Suwannee River flows south from North Central Florida to the Gulf of Mexico and is second to none for quality-sized spotted sunfish (stumpknocker) and redbreast sunfish.

• The Mosaic Fish Management Area, southwest of Bartow, a 1,000-acre fish management area in southern Polk County, provides excellent summer panfishing opportunities.

• Lakes Orange and Lochloosa, near Gainesville, need to be considered this year.

As a result of the 2004 floods, and with the help of FWC habitat-enhancement efforts, the shoreline habitat is thriving in Orange Lake and Lake Lochloosa.

NOTE: Many of Florida’s best bream fishing spots produce consistently year after year. Notably missing for 2008, however, is 450,000-acre Lake Okeechobee. Revered by anglers nationwide, the “Big O” is currently imperiled by environmental consequences following record-setting hurricane seasons in 2004 and 2005 when devastating storm winds repeatedly wreaked havoc on Okeechobee’s aquatic plant communities. In contrast, drought will likely limit access until summer 2008. FWC biologists continue to assist the South Florida Water Management District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Florida Department of Environmental Protection and others in restoring the lake and its fishery to its glory days. Contact local marinas and tackle stores for current conditions.

Additional information can be found at MyFWC.com/Fishing/Forecasts, including details about access to these top bream sites and quarterly updates.