Sunfish are the most democratic fish in the Northeast: they live in nearly every pond, they will bite a worm all day, and they are almost always willing. For getting a child (or a beginner) into fishing, nothing beats a bobber, a worm and a school of eager bluegill.
Bluegill or pumpkinseed?
The two most common sunfish are easy to tell apart. Bluegill have a dark ear-flap and a blueish chin, and grow larger; pumpkinseed are gaudier, painted in orange, blue and green with a bright red or orange spot on the ear-flap. Both are deep, disc-shaped little fish, and both are a blast on light gear.
Where and when
Sunfish live in the weedy shallows, around docks, wood and lily pads in ponds and lakes everywhere. They bite all year, but the best action is late spring, when they fan out spawning beds in the shallows and get aggressive defending them.
Tip Find the spawning beds in late spring, circular light patches fanned into the shallow bottom, and you have found a crowd of aggressive sunfish. Drop almost anything into the beds and they will eat it.
How to catch them
Keep it simple: a worm under a bobber, a tiny jig, or a small popper or wet fly on a light rod. They are the ideal target for a light fly rod and a great way to practice, and a mess of big sunnies makes a fine fry.