The Pretty Little Fish

Longear sunfish are beautiful fish. Their bellies are emblazoned with fiery orange, a color that bobs and weaves through their flanks, dancing alongside iridescent dashes of cerulean and greenish gold. Turquoise rivers meander through their faces, gill plates and fins. No two fish offer the same combination of colors and patterns. Each is stunningly handsome.

Longears are not big — a seven-incher is a good one. Aggressive feeders and breeders, they are often found in shallow eddies and slack water, typically adjacent to current. They vigorously defend their territory. From an angling standpoint, they’ll eat most anything that comes their way — crickets, worms, small jigs and flies. Longears fight like warrior poets, but will not strain your tackle. Like most panfish, they are probably delicious table fare, but their limited stature makes them hardly worth the effort of cleaning. Besides, they are just too pretty, too fierce, too unique to keep. Take a photo instead. Be proud you got a chance to encounter this little gem.

I’m blessed to live by a fork of the historic Stones River. It’s a magnificently-diverse and incredibly-beautiful river system endangered by rapid development and the scourge of an infamous landfill. Despite the stream-side struggles, the river remains full of longear sunfish.

Longears are truly works of art, and my paintings of them (I’ve done several) are simply tributes to God’s little masterpiscies.. The inspiration for this watercolor journal painting was a male longear sunfish I was lucky enough to catch and release. Hope you enjoy.