HABITAT

The pumpkinseed ranges from Manitoba and the Dakotas to eastern Canada and southward to North Carolina and to western Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Iowa in the Mississippi River system. It is abundant in most waters of southern Ontario, north to Sault Ste. Marie and Temagami.

It prefers waters which are clear and cool and do not warm up too much during the heat of summer. It likes a sand/gravel bottom rather than mud or silt, but will live in those waters if other aspects are suitable. Pumpkinseeds like weedy lakes which provide food and shelter.

Like other small members of the sunfish family, management involves catching and keeping fish. If not, they become overcrowded and their growth stunted to the point where the total fishery in the body of water may be lost. Because of their excellent flavor, they are taken in numbers by commercial fishermen in many areas. But to keep the population at safe levels, many areas do not impose size, catch, or season limits on anglers.

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