SPOTTED SUNFISH "STUMPKNOCKER" (Lepomis punctatus) OTHER NAMES: Spotted Bream

RANGE: Statewide.

HABITAT: Likes still water, where it waits in ambush under roots and ledges and around stumps and snags.

DESCRIPTION: Sides are dark with belly usually cream-colored or light red. Peppered with small black spots.

SIZE: Few Stumpknockers approach a pound in weight. Florida record 0.83 pounds.

FOOD VALUE: Very good, but a great many are too small to bother with.

GAME QUALITIES: Very pugnacious and tough; possibly the most aggressive of all the Bream species, they often hit large artificial lures intended for bass.

TACKLE AND BAITS: Poles work best, and the Stumpknocker will bite an earthworm as quickly as the more expensive or hard-to-find Bream baits. Also quick to hit any of the popular artificial bream baits, such as tiny spinners, jigs, popping bugs and small sinking flies.

FISHING SYSTEMS: Casting; Drifting; Still Fishing.