Distribution in local area:
Baptiste Lake, Batelle Lake,
Jamieson Lake, Kamaniskeg Lake, Lake St. Peter, Limerick
Lake, Stringer Lake, Tait Lake, Watt Lake, Weslemkoon
Lake, Wollaston Lake,
Name:
Ambloplites, from the Greek,
"blunt armature"
rupestris, from the Latin, "living among rocks"
Common name from its preferred habitat
Other common names include: Black Perch, Goggle Eye,
Northern Rock Bass, Redeye, Redeye Bass, Rock Sunfish
Taxonomy:
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata, animals with a spinal chord
Subphylum Vertebrata, animals with a backbone
Superclass Osteichthyes, bony fishes
Class Actinopterygii, ray-finned and spiny rayed fishes
Subclass Neopterygii
Infraclass Teleostei
Superorder Acanthopterygii,
Order Perciformes, the perch-like fishes
Suborder Percoidei
Family Centrarchidae, the sunfishes
Genus Ambloplites, the rock basses
Description:
A stout and heavy-bodied sunfish
Length:
seldom exceeds 10"
Weight:
to one pound
Color:
olive colored with brassy reflections
and dark mottlings along the sides; brassy flanks with
black spots
whitish breast and belly
spots on lower side form prominent horizontal lines.
brown mottling and faint banding on the anal, dorsal
and tail fins
Body:
anal
fin of 6 spines
dorsal fin of 12 spines; the spiny dorsal fin and soft
dorsal fin are broadly connected but without a notch.
Dorsal fin much longer and more pronounced than the
anal fin.
pectoral fins rounded, set low and amber in color.
Head:
large mouth, extending beyond
mid-eye when the mouth is closed
eyes red
Lifespan:
to 13 years.
Identification:
Field Marks
red eye
dark gill flap
jaw extending beyond midpoint of eye
Distinguished from other sunfish by 6 anal fin spines
and 12 dorsal fin spines.
Habitat:
Prefers streams and lakes with
clear, well-oxygenated, hard water, and boulder and
sand bottoms.
Generally found under cover of rocks, ledges, logs,
or overhanging branches.
Shares the same environment with Smallmouth Bass, and
their food habits are quite similar, except smallmouth
are far more piscivorous.
Food:
Minnows
and other small fish; aquatic and terrestrial insects,
crayfish, mollusks, and other invertebrates. Extremely
opportunistic.
Young consume zooplankton as primary forage, adding
aquatic insects and small fish as they grow larger.
Moves and feeds most actively at twilight, or at all
hours on overcast days.
Uses:
True to name, often caught in
streams close to the rocks near the current.
Seldom achieves remarkable size and usually caught when
fishing for other species.
Considered a pest by most fisherpersons for damaging
baits intended for more desirable species.
Reproduction:
Spawns in spring, when the water
temperature ranges from the high 60ºs into the
70ºs. Spawning coincides with that of smallmouth
bass.
Male fans out a nest in coarse sand or gravel and guards
the eggs and fry.
Females contain an average of 5,000 eggs, but one or
several fish may deposit part or all of their eggs in
a single nest.
After hatching, the young fish are found only in quiet
water areas protected from waves and strong current.
Grow 1½"-2" first year, reaching 5"-7"
after 3 years.
Comments:
A sedentary and secretive fish
spending much of its time passively hiding in the shadows
of underwater structures.
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