It was the first fish for many of us–the beloved bluegill–often found swimming in some long-forgotten farm pond, where we coaxed it in

with a bobber and a can of red wigglers. This time of year, when the water in a million sunfish-filled lakes warms up into the 70s and 80s, bluegills can make for many a forty-fish day. Just launch the float-tube, tie on a little popper, mayfly or midge pattern, and be sure to set the hook on ‘em before they swallow it.

But are all sunfish created equal? Last night we did a little comparison fishing and found that the redear sunfish (pictured below) not only is a little more difficult to catch than the standard bluegill, but might even–egads!–fight a little harder. To further our studies, tonight we plan to tie the tails of two of them together and let them have a swim off. We’ll post results…

Regardless of which one you’re after, make sure you’re packing plenty of these:

And maybe a few of these:

And remember–if you can’t catch bluegills in June, then maybe you should try another sport.