Guide To Panfish Fishing In Idaho

All about fishing for sunfish in ID lakes and ponds.

Panfish & Perch Lakes

Throughout the state of Idaho you can find waters with populations of sunfish, including bluegill, green sunfish, pumpkinseed sunfish, warmouth and yellow perch.

Often, small private ponds in Idaho yield the biggest panfish. Yet day in and day out the larger impoundments tend to produce the bigger stringers. Try your luck for panfish at American Falls Reservoir, Anderson Ranch Reservoir, Arrowrock Reservoir, Blackfoot Reservoir, Brownlee Reservoir, C J Strike Reservoir, Cascade Reservoir, Coeur D'Alene Lake, Crane Creek Reservoir, Hayden Lake, Hells Canyon Reservoir, Lake Lowell, Lake Pend Oreille, Lake Walcott, Lost Valley Reservoir, Lucky Peak Reservoir, Magic Reservoir, Mormon Reservoir, Paddock Valley Reservoir, Payette Lake, Priest Lake, Ririe Reservoir, Salmon Falls Creek Reservoir or Spirit Lake. Ice fishing for panfish can be fun for all ages and Idaho has numerous lakes as options.

Top Producing Panfish Lures & Bait

Check out the top producing lures and bait for bluegill, redear sunfish, rock bass and warmouth, as well as other smaller sunfish. Click here for the best lures for white bass, yellow bass, white perch and yellow perch.

Click the images and links above for species details.

Idaho state record panfish

The state record bluegill sunfish was caught out of C.J. Strike Reservoir.

The state record green sunfish came from Fernan Lake.

The state record pumpkinseed sunfish resided in Chase Lake.

The state record warmouth came out of the Snake River.

The state record yellow perch was caught in Cascade Reservoir.

One or more species of sunfish populate virtually all warm water streams, ponds and lakes throughout Idaho, and around the world for that matter. They can survive in waters that provide their natural food source of minnows, insects, crustaceans and worms. Their competitive nature amongst themselves, for food, makes them relatively easy to catch.

Panfish are prolific spawners and repopulate the waters as fast as they are harvested. A common problem with panfish fishing is that the waters are under-fished causing panfish to overpopulate. As a result they tend to stay small in size due to lack of food source.

The term "panfish" comprises many species, each called by a variety of names. The bluegill tops the list and is the most common.

Bluegill Fishing Basics Video

The core principles shown in this video will work for most sunfish, perch and other panfish.

Sunfish information in other states.