By Koaw - May, 2021 (Updated October, 2022)
Is the digital guide complete or are you still working on it?
Yes and no. The guide is absolutely great for identifying any pure specimen down to the species level and is complete in that sense. However, I will always be adding new photos and additional information over the years. I mean, as long as I can keep affording to pay SquareSpace (the website host), Google (the email service) and the domain registries, I don’t see why I wouldn’t want to keep making the guide better.
I do know that I will continue releasing videos on the KNFS YouTube Channel for years to come.
What’s the situation with the longear species complex?
The L. megalotis species complex has been in taxonomic dispute for a long, long time. In 2021 a new study with genetic and morphological evidence suggests that this complex should comprise of possibly up to 6 species including the already-split northern sunfish (L. peltastes). The north-central population of longear will likely remain as L. megalotis.
Update: In this KNFS episode I discuss the new research regarding the longear complex splitting. In short, it looks like it will be split however we must wait for more ichthyological authorities to adopt the proposed changes.
What was the hardest part when you made the guide?
Contrary to what many believe, it wasn’t the ‘catching fish’ part of this guide that was all that difficult. It wasn’t the research part either; though time consuming, research is something I’m fairly used to and enjoy doing. The most difficult part was just the amount of time I had to spend working in the Photoshop computer application. Numerous specimens needed to be outlined and a whole lot of supporting graphics needed to be created. I really cannot enumerate the number of hours I spent in front of the computer just working on the graphics.
What is your favorite common sunfish?
I’d love to answer that with a single-fish-answer but I really don’t have one. Each species seems to have its own unique appeal. Fishing-wise, I’d have to say the warmouth is my favorite to catch. Warmouth put up a good fight and this species just isn’t as predictable to catch as most of the other lepomids.
Is there a hardcopy (booklet) field guide for these lepomids?
I have a had a number of requests for a physical version of the digital common sunfish guide. I even had one fisher give me s!#t because I didn’t create a hard-copy that he could take it into the field. But…I expect most all of us to have smartphones nowadays and to be responsible enough to have the devices in a waterproof protector if over water. The field guide is only digital. I may create a booklet in the near future. It really depends on the future of the longear species complex. (That would be announced on the KNFS YouTube Channel should it happen.)
Are you working on any other guides?
Yeah, I do have a few other guides in the works. Specifically, I’m going to redo my Esox (pikes) guide to make it more practical for fishers to use. The first one I created has helped out tens-of-thousands of anglers, but when I made that one, I really had no idea how to produce easy-to-view videos. The next one will be much more practical for a fisher to reference with much better photos of all the required species.
Why release all this information for free?
I remember when I first started on this project one of my friends seemed almost offended that I would offer this guide as free-to-view. I suppose she knew that I am, without a doubt, on the opposite spectrum of financially fit. Well…wealth and fame have never been my goals. I simply want to spread knowledge about our natural world.
One day I may have to abandon my quixotic pursuits and get a 9-5. Though, as of now, I am quite content being poor, doing the occasional consulting and other work on the side, while still succeeding with my task here at Koaw Nature. The royalties that YouTube pays are very minimal and most of my Koaw Nature income comes from crowdsourcing: The generous Patreon Patrons and one-time donators who support the work of Koaw Nature and KNFS.
Can you help me ID my fish?
Fortunately, I really don’t get asked this too much regarding the lepomids unless someone has a really weird looking specimen and/or hybrid. (That’s a good thing because it means the guide is working!)
Don’t get me wrong. I do wish to help anglers ID their fishes and I do my best to respond to all form submissions here at Koaw.org. (Obviously you can’t submit photos through the form submission on the site but I’ll reply with an email once I’ve vetted the sender as not spam.)
The best way to get a second opinion on your fish still remains on Part 6 of the guide where you post a photo on iNaturalist. Many experienced anglers/biologists like to browse the submissions. You can always put “@koaw” in the description of your specimen or in a comment on you observation. That will notify me or write me a message to my iNaturalist inbox. I usually check iNaturalist at least once a week, depending on if I’m on a work trip or not.
What’s with the pink pole?
Haha, this one always gives me a chuckle. The pink pole refers to the telescopic fishing rod that I carried with me for a year that caught 90% of the common sunfishes for this project. If you watched The 13 (The KNFS Original Movie) then you already know the answer to the question.
Basically, I’m not making a statement or anything by waving around a pink pole. Usually I don’t prefer bright colors on my gear because I also enjoy taking wildlife photos and a part of that requires camouflage.
About three years ago I was dating a young woman who lived in England. When I went to visit her I had only brought one telescopic rod along with my two reels. I needed another rod. The fishing shop didn’t have any; I wasn’t about to spend $100 on a new pole that wasn’t telescopic. So she took me to a grocery store that apparently had a catalog of fishing equipment I could order from. The telescopic pink rod was about $25-30 and came with a reel. It was a cheap option that turned out to be one of my best purchases ever.