Michigan Lake Depths

Panfish · sunfish family

Redear sunfish

Lepomis microlophus · also called shellcracker

Introduced to MichiganRecorded in 150 Michigan lakes and bays

Stocked into Michigan inland lakes to improve fishing (USGS).

Illustration of a redear sunfish in side view
AI-generated illustration, not a photograph and not to scale.
Typical adult
8–10 in
Eats
Mainly snails, cracked with hard plates in the throat
Spawns
Spring, in nesting colonies in the shallows
Spot it by
A red (male) or orange (female) edge on the ear flap
Michigan record
2 lb 6 oz, 12.6 in — Lyon Lake, Calhoun County, 2010

Where redear sunfish have been recorded

150 of the 1,288 Michigan lakes on this site with fish records list redear sunfish, across 39 counties, including 1 Great Lakes bay. Tap a dot to open that lake’s depth map.

Lake St. Clair, St. Clair CountyHoughton Lake, Roscommon CountyBlack Lake, Cheboygan CountyGrand Lake, Presque Isle CountyHamlin Lake, Mason CountyLong Lake, Grand Traverse CountyCrooked Lake, Emmet CountyMartiny Lake, Mecosta CountyLake Macatawa, Ottawa CountyColdwater Lake, Branch CountyVan Etten Lake, Iosco CountyDevils Lake, Lenawee CountyCass Lake, Oakland CountyCedar Lake, Alcona CountyDiamond Lake, Cass CountyKent Lake, Oakland CountyLake Fenton, Genesee CountyMarble Lake, Branch CountyWamplers Lake, Jackson CountyChippewa Lake, Mecosta CountyWalled Lake, Oakland CountyLime Lake, Leelanau CountyCrooked Lake, Gogebic CountyClark Lake, Jackson CountyWhitmore Lake, Livingston CountyNorth Lake, Branch CountyGeorge Lake, Branch CountyVineyard Lake, Jackson CountyRound Lake, Lenawee CountyUnion Lake, Branch CountyDuck Lake, Calhoun CountyLake Ann, Benzie CountySand Lake, Lenawee CountyUnion Lake, Oakland CountyPalmer Lake, St. Joseph CountyLakeville Lake, Oakland CountyLincoln Lake, Kent CountyLake Ovid, Clinton CountyNepessing Lake, Lapeer CountyBaw Beese Lake, Hillsdale CountyPortage Lake, Jackson CountyWolf Lake, Jackson CountyLake of the Woods, Branch CountyGrass Lake, Jackson CountyLake Chemung, Livingston CountyMatteson Lake, Branch CountyDuck Lake, Montcalm CountyTipsico Lake, Oakland CountyMorrison Lake, Branch CountyBoyles Creek, Clare CountyLake Oakland, Oakland CountyPleasant Lake, Jackson CountyOxbow Lake, Oakland CountyThompson Lake, Livingston CountyBaldwins Lake, Cass CountyStrawberry Lake, Livingston CountyCedar Lake, Van Buren CountyFourmile Lake, Washtenaw CountyEast Crooked Lake, Livingston CountyBlue Lake, Mecosta CountyHalfmoon Lake, Washtenaw CountyNorth Lake, Washtenaw CountyEvans Lake, Lenawee CountySilver Lake, Washtenaw CountyCavanaugh Lake, Washtenaw CountyLong Lake, St. Joseph CountySilver Lake, Branch CountySouth Lake, Washtenaw CountySouth Lake, Branch CountyJoslin Lake, Washtenaw CountyFrenchman Lake, Chippewa CountyIndependence Lake, Washtenaw CountyMiddle Straits Lake, Oakland CountySugarloaf Lake, Washtenaw CountyRainbow Lake, Montcalm CountyLong Lake, Oakland CountyBudd Lake, Clare CountyFish Lake, Barry CountyOliverda Lake, Branch CountyRound Lake, Jackson CountyHemlock Lake, Hillsdale CountyWinans Lake, Livingston CountyThompson Lake, St. Joseph CountyIsland Lake, Livingston CountyCedar Island Lake, Oakland CountyZukey Lake, Livingston CountyBeadle Lake, Calhoun CountyMill Lake, Washtenaw CountyBristol Lake, Barry CountyVandercook Lake, Jackson CountyGilead Lake, Branch CountyDuck Lake, Allegan CountyClear Lake, Jackson CountyMuskellunge Lake, Montcalm CountySilver Lake, Lenawee CountyBruin Lake, Washtenaw CountyLee Lake, Calhoun CountyBear Lake, Hillsdale CountyBird Lake, Hillsdale CountyDevoe Lake, Ogemaw CountyNottawa Lake, Calhoun CountyOmena Lake, St. Joseph CountyHeron Lake, Oakland CountyCub Lake, Hillsdale CountyPretty Lake, Mecosta CountyCrooked Lake, Washtenaw CountyBishop Lake, Livingston CountyLong Lake, Oakland CountyLower Pettibone Lake, Oakland CountyLime Lake, Jackson CountyDiamond Lake, Mecosta CountyLake Lavine, Branch CountyGallagher Lake, Livingston CountyIron Lake, Lenawee CountyCrispell Lake, Jackson CountyCary Lake, Branch CountyLong Lake, Barry Countypart of Lime L., Jackson CountyPleasant Lake, Hillsdale CountySwains Lake, Jackson CountyUpper Brace Lake, Calhoun CountyWabascon Lake, Calhoun CountyWhite Lake, Jackson CountyCrooked Lake, Oakland CountyAllen Lake, Lenawee CountyGoodrich Lake, Branch CountyRound Lake, Lenawee CountyNorth Sand Lake, Hillsdale CountySandy Bottom Lake, Livingston CountyChilson Impoundment, Livingston CountyAppleton Lake, Livingston CountyLower Jeptha Lake, Van Buren CountyLittle Island Lake, Iosco CountyGrey Lake, St. Joseph CountyBertha Lake, Clare CountyBassett Lake, Barry CountyDickinson Lake, Oakland CountyCarr Lake, Eaton CountyLittle Star Lake, Lake CountyTownline Lake, Clare CountyDodge Lake, Clare CountyNottawassepee Lake, Little, Calhoun CountyTamarack Lake, Livingston CountyLittle Marl Lake, St. Joseph CountySilver Lake, Washtenaw CountyCedar Lake, Lapeer CountyHopkins Lake, Shiawassee CountyChain of Lakes, Marquette CountyEagle Lake, Washtenaw CountyDuperow Lake, Lapeer County

Recorded here Other lakes with fish records

How we know

  • 121lakes where an angler registered one (Master Angler)
  • 24lakes where a DNR fisheries survey netted them
  • 57lakes the DNR has stocked with this fish; 21 of them are listed on stocking alone, because these fish keep breeding once established

A lake can appear in more than one line. A lake that isn’t listed may still have them: records exist only where someone caught, netted or stocked them.

Inland lakes on this list run from 5 to 19,592 acres (median 174) and from 9 to 123 ft deep (median 40 ft).

When and how big redear sunfish are caught

From 829 Master Angler entries, 1990–2025, from all Michigan waters including the Great Lakes. An entry needs a fish at least 10 in, so these describe big fish that anglers chose to register — where and when people fish, not how many fish a lake holds.

Entries by month

The busiest month is June (33% of entries); 6% come in December–February (lighter bars), mostly through the ice.

Size of registered fish

Half were 10.8 in or less, and 9 in 10 were under 12 in.

Method

Still Fishing43%
Spincasting43%
Ice Fishing7%
Drift Fishing5%
Fly Fishing2%

Bait

Worms and crawlers45%
Live bait (type not given)29%
Artificial lures10%
Wax worms and grubs7%
Combination3%
Other3%

Share of entries that recorded a method (794) or a bait (640).

Lakes on this site with the most entries

  1. Coldwater Lake, Branch 50
  2. Baw Beese Lake, Hillsdale 48
  3. Wamplers Lake, Jackson 45
  4. Duck Lake, Calhoun 43
  5. Martiny Lake, Mecosta 33
  6. Tipsico Lake, Oakland 27
  7. East Crooked Lake, Livingston 17
  8. Lake Chemung, Livingston 17
  9. Vineyard Lake, Jackson 17
  10. Fourmile Lake, Washtenaw 16

Master Angler entries matched to each lake. A busy lake gets more entries; this is not a ranking of fishing quality.

Often found with

Share of these lakes that also list each fish.

How to recognize it

Somewhat larger than a bluegill, with faint vertical bars and a yellow-green belly. The ear flap has a cherry-red edge on males and an orange one on females.

Don’t confuse it with

Pumpkinseed — A red spot on the tip of the ear flap, and blue lines on the cheek.
Bluegill — A solid black ear flap with no colored edge.

Up close

Illustration of a redear sunfish's head from the side, with a small mouth, a plain speckled cheek and a red crescent along the edge of the dark ear flap.
Redear sunfish: a red crescent along the edge of the dark ear flap; a small mouth; no wavy blue lines on the cheek.
Illustration of a bluegill's head from the side, with a small mouth and a dark ear flap that is dark all the way to its edge.
Bluegill: a small mouth; the ear flap is dark right to its edge, with no colored rim.
Illustration of a pumpkinseed's head from the side, with wavy blue-green lines on the cheek and a bright red-orange spot on the tip of a short dark ear flap.
Pumpkinseed: a bright red-orange spot on the tip of a short dark ear flap; wavy blue-green lines on the cheek.
Illustration of a green sunfish's head from the side, with a large mouth reaching below the middle of the eye, wavy blue-green cheek lines and a dark ear flap with a pale edge.
Green sunfish: a large mouth reaching below the middle of the eye; a dark ear flap with a pale edge; wavy blue-green cheek lines.

AI-generated close-ups, not photographs, drawn from the cited descriptions. They show what to look for; they are not a substitute for an expert identification (provenance).

Life in a Michigan lake

Redear forage along the bottom for snails and other shelled animals, which they crush with thick throat teeth. The DNR notes they can also eat invasive quagga mussels. In southern Michigan lakes where they were introduced, redear have been linked to fewer snails in native pumpkinseed diets and lower pumpkinseed numbers.

They nest in colonies in the shallows in spring, like other sunfish, and sometimes hybridize on shared beds.

Source: Michigan DNR species page.

Rules and eating

Check the rules before you keep fish. Each lake page shows the regulations that apply there, and the Michigan Fishing Guide is the official source. Before eating fish from a particular lake, check Michigan’s Eat Safe Fish guidelines.

All 150 lakes with redear sunfish

Show every lake, by county

Alcona County 1

Cedar Lake

Allegan County 1

Duck Lake

Barry County 4

Bassett Lake, Bristol Lake, Fish Lake, Long Lake

Benzie County 1

Lake Ann

Branch County 15

Cary Lake, Coldwater Lake, George Lake, Gilead Lake, Goodrich Lake, Lake Lavine, Lake of the Woods, Marble Lake, Matteson Lake, Morrison Lake, North Lake, Oliverda Lake, Silver Lake, South Lake, Union Lake

Calhoun County 7

Beadle Lake, Duck Lake, Lee Lake, Nottawa Lake, Nottawassepee Lake, Little, Upper Brace Lake, Wabascon Lake

Cass County 2

Baldwins Lake, Diamond Lake

Cheboygan County 1

Black Lake

Chippewa County 1

Frenchman Lake

Clare County 5

Bertha Lake, Boyles Creek, Budd Lake, Dodge Lake, Townline Lake

Clinton County 1

Lake Ovid

Eaton County 1

Carr Lake

Emmet County 1

Crooked Lake

Genesee County 1

Lake Fenton

Gogebic County 1

Crooked Lake

Grand Traverse County 1

Long Lake

Hillsdale County 7

Baw Beese Lake, Bear Lake, Bird Lake, Cub Lake, Hemlock Lake, North Sand Lake, Pleasant Lake

Iosco County 2

Little Island Lake, Van Etten Lake

Jackson County 15

Clark Lake, Clear Lake, Crispell Lake, Grass Lake, Lime Lake, Pleasant Lake, Portage Lake, Round Lake, Swains Lake, Vandercook Lake, Vineyard Lake, Wamplers Lake, White Lake, Wolf Lake, part of Lime L.

Kent County 1

Lincoln Lake

Lake County 1

Little Star Lake

Lapeer County 3

Cedar Lake, Duperow Lake, Nepessing Lake

Leelanau County 1

Lime Lake

Lenawee County 8

Allen Lake, Devils Lake, Evans Lake, Iron Lake, Round Lake, Round Lake, Sand Lake, Silver Lake

Livingston County 14

Appleton Lake, Bishop Lake, Chilson Impoundment, East Crooked Lake, Gallagher Lake, Island Lake, Lake Chemung, Sandy Bottom Lake, Strawberry Lake, Tamarack Lake, Thompson Lake, Whitmore Lake, Winans Lake, Zukey Lake

Marquette County 1

Chain of Lakes

Mason County 1

Hamlin Lake

Mecosta County 5

Blue Lake, Chippewa Lake, Diamond Lake, Martiny Lake, Pretty Lake

Montcalm County 3

Duck Lake, Muskellunge Lake, Rainbow Lake

Oakland County 16

Cass Lake, Cedar Island Lake, Crooked Lake, Dickinson Lake, Heron Lake, Kent Lake, Lake Oakland, Lakeville Lake, Long Lake, Long Lake, Lower Pettibone Lake, Middle Straits Lake, Oxbow Lake, Tipsico Lake, Union Lake, Walled Lake

Ogemaw County 1

Devoe Lake

Ottawa County 1

Lake Macatawa

Presque Isle County 1

Grand Lake

Roscommon County 1

Houghton Lake

Shiawassee County 1

Hopkins Lake

St. Clair County 1

Lake St. Clair

St. Joseph County 6

Grey Lake, Little Marl Lake, Long Lake, Omena Lake, Palmer Lake, Thompson Lake

Van Buren County 2

Cedar Lake, Lower Jeptha Lake

Washtenaw County 14

Bruin Lake, Cavanaugh Lake, Crooked Lake, Eagle Lake, Fourmile Lake, Halfmoon Lake, Independence Lake, Joslin Lake, Mill Lake, North Lake, Silver Lake, Silver Lake, South Lake, Sugarloaf Lake

Sources

← All fish of Michigan