Goggle-eye Identification
Goggle-Eye
Illustrations by Joseph R. Tomelleri. Used with permission.
Although there are three different species of goggle-eye, they are all very similar in appearance: a heavy-bodied sunfish with a large mouth, the upper jaw extending past the middle of the eye. They usually have a dark-olive-to-black hue, with just a hint of tan on their sides. When moved to full light, they quickly turn brassy gold, with black blotches.
Goggle-eye will feed at any hour of the day or night, but they forage most actively at dusk and at night. Adult and immature aquatic insects, along with generous quantities of small minnows and crayfish, make up the majority of their diet. Goggle-eye in Ozark streams average 1.6 inches long by the end of their first year of life, and attain lengths of 3.4, 5.5, 7.8 and 8.5 inches in succeeding years. Line-caught fish average about 7 inches long and weigh about 5 ounces. Few goggle-eye live more than 5 or 6 years, but occasional individuals attain an age of 10 years or more and may exceed a length of 10 inches.
In Ozark streams, the nesting season coincides with that of the smallmouth bass and precedes those of the longear and green sunfish. Nests have been observed as early as the first week of April and as late as early June, but in any given year the season seldom lasts more than a month. Stream temperatures of 55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit trigger nesting activity. The male goggle-eye creates the nest water, fanning out a saucer-shaped depression 8 to 10 inches wide over a bottom of coarse sand or gravel, in water 1 to 5 feet deep, usually near a boulder or other large object, and often in a slight current. Goggle-eye are solitary nesters. The female visits the nest only when ready to deposit her eggs, but the male remains until the eggs hatch and the fry have dispersed.
