Lepomis cyanellus
Mud bass, Green perch, shade perch
Green sunfish have a moderately compressed body, but are not as deep bodied as other sunfish. They have a black gill flap with a red tip. The mouth is relatively large and the upper jaw extends back to the middle of the eye. The pectoral fin is short and rounded and there are three spines on the anal fin. Green sunfish are colored a bluish-green with emerald and yellow tint.
Plankton comprises a large part of the diet of small fingerling green sunfish, but later in the first year they switch to aquatic insects. As adults they also consume small fish, minnows and small crayfish.
Green sunfish have nearly a countrywide distribution range. The Green Sunfish is native to the central plains of North America between the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains, from Ontario, Canada and New York in the north to the Gulf Coast and northern Mexico in the south.
The green sunfish is tolerant of turbulent water unlike most other sunfish species. Green sunfish appear to have no preference for a particular bottom type, but they are usually associated with some type of structure such as brush, vegetation, or rocks.
Green sunfish attain a length of about 7 inches by year 4. They weigh an average of about a pound.
2 pounds, 2 ounces (Source - IGFA)