Remarkable Redears

• Photos

Redear Sunfish

Anglers should look for them in submerged trees, as Bennett and I did. Seldom will you find them deeper than six

feet. A good time to catch them is during their breeding season, which runs from early May through early June. Redear often spawn on the deeper edges of bluegill spawning beds.

Redear in Public Lakes

Favorite baits include bits of live worm, euro larvae or crickets. Some anglers even use snails to catch redear. Use tiny gold or black hooks.

Feathered 1⁄100-ounce jigs or small flies also work. Wet flies are preferred, but a redear will occasionally pop a top-water insect. Black or dark brown lures are best. Some anglers maintain that the fish mistake the flies for snails.

Generally, you’ll have better luck fishing lures and baits slowly and just a few inches off bottom. Use small bobbers to keep your bait in front of fish. Redear will drop a lure if they detect resistance. Bites are generally light but, once hooked, a redear is anything but subtle.

Ice fishermen often find redears suspended in deeper water, where they are easily lured by the possibility of an easy meal.