Fishing for stumpknocker (spotted sunfish) in Florida

This article will cover stumpknocker fishing in Florida. Spotted sunfish, also known as stumpknocker, are a feisty panfish species. They are found throughout the southeast part of the United States. Stumpknocker do not grow large, 8″ is a nice one, but they are wide, aggressive, and put up a terrific battle on light tackle.

Stumpknocker, (spotted sunfish), are fond of slow moving rivers. They also have an affinity for wood, thus the name. Florida has a ton of this type of environment, particularly in the northern half of the state. Where I fish, in Inverness just south of Ocala, that means the Withlacoochee River. However, and slow to moderately moving river or stream with good cover should hold these fish.

Stumpknocker fishing in Florida

Fishing for stumpknocker in Florida in  not complicated. For the most part, the best approach is to drift a river or stream while casting to shoreline cover. On larger rivers, bass boats and the like work well. Anglers can fish downriver and motor back or the opposite and run upriver and fish back to the dock.

Stumpknocker are very aggressive! This is a trait that anglers love. They hit very hard and are readily caught by anglers using small artificial lures. My favorite lure is a 1/16 ounce Beetle spin spinnerbait. It is cast out and retrieved ack in using a slow, steady retrieve. Plenty of bluegill will be caught on this lure.

Tiny jig heads with a soft plastic trailer are productive as well. A 1/16 ounce jig head with a chartreuse curly tail grub is my favorite combo. It can be reeled in steadily or bounced off the bottom. It will hang up more often than other lures. Tiny plugs are effective. One benefit of this type of fishing is that other panfish species and even bass will be caught when targeting stumpknocker.

Anglers who prefer fishing for panfish using live bait will do well with red worms or grass shrimp fished under a float. This is as basic as fishing gets and is a relaxing and easy way to catch stumpknocker and other species. It does catch smaller fish at times where lures can weed out smaller fish. The float can be removed when fishing deeper water. I like a #8 bait holder hook.

Fly fishing for stumpknocker

Stumpknocker will readily take a fly! Their aggressive nature makes them easy to fool on a surface popper. The commotion drives them crazy and makes them take the bug. Foam rubber spiders and other insects work as well. The best approach is to allow the popper to settle then twitch it once. One mistake anglers make is moving the fly too much. Most often the strike occurs as the fly sits there, rubber legs undulating seductively.

Subsurface flies will certainly produce stumpknocker. Tiny streamer patterns work very well. Deceivers, wooly buggers, and other bait fish patterns all are effective. After allowing the fly to sink, anglers strip the fly using short, quick strips. Takes are usually very aggressive.

I like to use a 3wt outfit when chasing stumpknocker. They do not grow large, so no need to go heavy on the tackle. A 7 1/2 foot leader testing out to 5 or 6 pound test is fine. Anglers in Florida will almost certainly catch other panfish species when fly fishing for stumpknocker. These include bluegill, redbreast sunfish, warmouth, rock bass, crappie, and small bass.

Best Florida stumpknocker waters

There are too many rivers in Florida that hold stumpknocker to list. Almost ant river, large or small, will hold them. Many lakes have fish as well, but they are more abundant and easier to catch in streams and rivers. The best spots are north of Orlando. The Withlacoochee River where I run fishing charters has a good population. The Suwannee River is good as well.

There are several components that make for a good stumpknocker spot. Anglers want a slow or modest current, just fast enough to drift and fish. Too much current or too little will hamper fishing. Also, wood is essential! Any north Florida stream that has a modest current with a lot of fallen trees should have a good population of stumpknocker.

Stumpknocker are very good eating! They are wide at the shoulder and are wide bodied. However, they do not grow very large. Therefore, most anglers only keep fish that are at least 6″ long. They are delicious fried with snow white meat!

In conclusion, this article on stumpknocker fishing in Florida will help anglers catch more of these feisty freshwater panfish!