Guide To Popular Panfish Fishing Options In New York

All about fishing for sunfish in NY lakes and ponds.

Throughout the state of New York you can find waters with populations of sunfish, including bluegill, pumpkinseed sunfish, rock bass, white bass, white perch and yellow perch. Panfish and perch Lakes include Allegheny Reservoir, Ashokan Reservoir, Black Lake, Canandaigua Lake, Cannonsville Reservoir, Carry Falls Reservoir, Cayuga Lake, Chautauqua Lake, Conesus Lake, Great Sacandaga Lake, Indian Lake, Keuka Lake, Lake Champlain, Lake George, Long Lake, Lows Lake, Oneida Lake, Onondaga Lake, Otsego Lake, Owasco Lake, Pepacton Reservoir, Piseco Lake, Raquette Lake, Saratoga Lake, Seneca Lake, Schroon Lake, Skaneateles Lake, Union Falls Pond and Upper Saranac Lake.

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.

New York State Record Sunfish

The state record bluegill was caught from Kohlbach Pond.

The state record pumpkinseed sunfish came out of Indian Lake.

The state record rockbass was caught in Port Bay, Lake Ontario.

The state record white bass came from the Lower Niagara River.

The state record white perch was caught out of Lake Oscaletta.

The state record yellow perch was taken out of Lake Erie.

One or more species of sunfish populate virtually all warm water streams, ponds and lakes throughout New York, 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.