Second, bass force small, vulnerable sunfish into thick weeds; but the big sunfish -- too large to be eaten by the bass -- are free to forage wherever food is most plentiful. So the presence of bass reduces the competition between small sunfish and large, thus allowing the large sunfish to grow even larger and faster.
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fish/sunfish/management.html
Big Catch minimum: 7 inches or 0.50 lbs. Fishing Tips and Facts: Because of its small size spotted sunfish have limited food value, but it is a feisty panfish. The same methods of fishing discussed for the redbreast sunfish apply for the spotted sunfish.
http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/freshwater/spotted-sunfish/
If your bobber is too large, the bluegill will feel the resistance and spit out the bait. Setting your bobber from 1 to 3 feet deep will usually do the trick, but if fish are deeper you will need to fish deeper. Slip bobbers are a must for the serious bluegill angler because they allow you to fish at any depth.
https://huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/fishing/species/sunfish/sunfish-tips-bluegill-fishing
Spotted sunfish or stumpknocker” (so named because of their affinity for submerged timber) are olive-green to brown in color, with black or reddish spots on the base of each scale forming rows of dots on its sides. The preferred habitat is slow-moving, heavily vegetated streams and rivers with limestone, sand, or gravel substrates.
http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/freshwater/spotted-sunfish/
Redear sunfish grow more rapidly and larger than bluegill in the same waters. can reach around 4.3 inches in the second year and around 8 inches by the sixth year. They occasionally reach a length of 10.5 inches but seldom exceed 8.9 inches.
https://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/files/fw-redear.pdf
Sunfish management. Bluegill are one of the largest, most popular and most widespread sunfish not only in Minnesota, but also in the nation. So, the bluegill has been studied more thoroughly and managed more intensively than other panfish.
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fish/sunfish/management.html
Redear sunfish grow more rapidly and larger than bluegill in the same waters. Redear. can reach around 4.3 inches in the second year and around 8 inches by the sixth year. They occasionally reach a length of 10.5 inches but seldom exceed 8.9 inches.
https://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/files/fw-redear.pdf
Another approach is to try to increase the predation on small sunfish. Anglers and fish managers long thought that an abundance of big northern pike would keep bluegill in check. Such is not the case, however. Pike eat tremendous numbers of fish, but mostly suckers, minnows and perch.
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fish/sunfish/management.html
Redear sunfish are one of the “safest” fish to eat in Indiana as they are small and less. fatty. The fish consumption advisories that are posted are based on a model that people are. consuming 8 oz. of fish on 225 days each year over 70 years.
https://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/files/fw-redear.pdf
Pumpkinseed caught in Lake St. Clair. Pumpkinseeds typically are about 4 in (10 cm) in length, but can grow up to 16 in (40 cm). They typically weigh less than 1 pound (450 g), with the world record being 1 pound 6 ounces (620 g). They are orange, green, yellow or blue in color, with speckles over their sides and back and a yellow-orange breast and belly.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumpkinseed
how big can a sunfish get
A sunfish get can length of 10.5 inches but seldom exceed 8.9 inches. A Sunfish can get 10.5 inches in length, but seldom exceed 8.9 inches.