Where can I catch some orange spotted sunfish?

[Ctrl_Alt_Dlt]

I am interested in catching some orange spotted sunfish here in MN. Just wondering if anyone can direct me to a lake, flood plain, river, creek, stream that has some. I have been told and directed to search the MN River and Miss. River for some, but I need more specifics to locations I can actually start.

Thank you.

[JBMasterAngler]

You can do a search on lakefinder to see which lakes have the highest test net numbers. I don't think they're very common anywhere in Minnesota, but the farther south you can get, the better your chances are.

[Scott M]

Adding to your life list?

Orangespots are poor water quality indicators that usually originate from streams. I know of a few water bodies that have them. The Cedar River is a good stream source, any of the impoundments of the Cedar are good (Austin Mill Pond, East Side, Ramsey Mill Pond). Also, Albert Lea Lake (Shell Rock connects to Cedar). Straight River has a few - Crane Creek is a good tributary source. You can also check Mississippi River backwaters. Don't be afraid to try gravel pits or winterkill lakes that are close to river systems. Oxbow lakes are good choices too.

Be advised that these fish don't get very large, but they are gorgeous in spawning colors. Good luck.

[bobbymalone]

You can do a search on lakefinder to see which lakes have the highest test net numbers. I don't think they're very common anywhere in Minnesota, but the farther south you can get, the better your chances are.

can you search by fish? I don't think so. Otherwise, you might be digging through a LOT of lakes before you find one with orange spotteds listed.

I seem to remember a thread about trying to catch one before and i swear somebody said something about the bloomington bass ponds south of the MOA and near the MN river... I checked the stocking reports and didn't see anything but those ponds flood out so who knows whats in there. Might be a decent place to start if you wanna try MN river backwaters though. They are pretty easy to access if you don't mind a little hike.

[itchmesir]

MN DNR posts no records or data of stocking or harvest of Orange Spotted Sunfish..

[suncruiser234]

Silver Lake, east of Hutch has them.

[tjbassmaster]

I responded to your post in the minnesota river forum, but I will post here to just because more people might be more interested in this forum.

I have caught plenty of them in almost any creek or small river that I have fished. I tend to catch them along rip rap by bridges and in woody cover. Basically any place where you will find creek chubs. They are a very small fish normally around 2 to 3 inches. The biggest one I have ever caught was almost 4 inches. The best bait I have found is a small ice fishing jig like a ant tipped with a little worm or gulp.

[jerad_s]

Da_chise is correct. They are an indicator of poor water quality. I shocked these up below a wwtp outfall.

[WallyGader]

Its too bad they stay so small, very colorful fish, almost like a peacock bass.

[Slabasaurus]

I've caught a few of em. All of them on the fly, no bigger than 4".

I'll have to dig in my records to see if they were all creek catches or if I had some out of a lake or two. I wanna say it was Nokomis. I was shocked when I caught it.

[Ctrl_Alt_Dlt]

MAN!!!! you all are awesome! 2 rounds of beer for everyone!!!

This is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for all the info!!!

My summer plans are now set. I will post some pics here if i am successful with the catch.

Thanks all!

[Scott M]

Jared, I think you need a fish tank man! Lots of orangies in Pickerel before the treatment, probably zero now.

**************

A little more information at C/A/D's request....

Austin Mill Pond

East Side

Ramsey Mill Pond

A good map will show you all the mill ponds in Austin. You can visit the spam museum,

The truth is orangespots get outcompeted by bluegills so it's not as easy as lucking into a lake on lakefinder with orangespots and targetting them. They are in stable systems in trace amounts but are more prolific in poor water quality situations where they can flourish while others perish. Because they thrive in unstable habitats, it can be hard to predict where they are easily found, like Jerad's fish below a wastewater treatment plant.

For Albert Lea, you can fish from the Blazing Star Trail on the northwest side of the lake and in the channel that leads to Fountain Lake. The channel near the boat launch may be a good spot to try.

For Crane Creek, I would focus on road crossings. Road crossings have a lot of rip rap and those orangespots tuck into that stuff. There are road crossings on Highway 14 west of Owatonna and on county roads behind Cabela's a few miles.

Orangespots get exposed to predators if they move too deep, so they tend to work really close to shore. You should be able to find them near the literal edge of the water. I would attempt to catch them when you notice bluegills in shallow to spawn, in late May to early June. Then look for nests and little tiny fish near the edge of the water. Chances are they might be green sunfish, but if you drop a little offering on enough spawning nests, you should find some orangespots.

Good luck.

[jerad_s]

Yeah those were some beautiful fish. I have all kinds of pics from the two summers I spent electrofishing the streams of IA. Sadly the program I was working on was reclassifying any stream that received WWTP effluent for aquatic life and recreational use, so we had to find the [PoorWordUsage] pipe and sample about 1500' below and up to it. Most of the OSS I saw came within 30' feet of the pipe. Wonder why? Food? Maybe they are corn eaters? Lol

[Ctrl_Alt_Dlt]

Thanks again for the awesome info guys! This is a great thread. Very informative.

[Scott M]

A few closer to home C/A/D

Isabelle - Dakota county

Rice Lake - Hennepin County - by Osseo

Chase Pond in Owatonna

Otter/Campbell Lake in Hutchinson

Lake Zumbro by Oronoco

All of those except Rice Lake are influenced by major rivers. i.e. Mississippi, Zumbro, Crow, Straight.

[OnAFly]

You might also consider some of the lakes in SP like Snelling in Fort Snelling state park. Other small ponds and oxbow lakes near there could be good close-to-home spots as well.

[Sherpa]

Do you guys know if these are orange spotted sunfish. I'm no pro at identifying them but they seem to be. I have never caught a sunfish out of the St. Louis until today, and we caught a few actually.

[Mudcatman]

Those are Pumpkinseeds, no doubt. Very strange colors though...

[Sherpa]

Oh ok. Thanks for the ID. I just saw the orange in them and thought of this topic right away. All the fish we caught in this area were strangely colored. The perch and crappies were very light colored.