Longear sunfish had not been documented in Nebraska before
A new fish species has been recorded in Nebraska after a fisherman reeled in the colorful creature.
"We hear about new species in Nebraska from time to time, but most of them are unwanted, invasive species," Daryl Bauer, Fisheries Outreach program manager of the state’s Game & Parks Commission, told Fox News Digital.
"I get reports almost every year of aquarium fish that were illegally released in our waters and then found dead or even caught by anglers."
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But last week, Bauer got a call from his friend Scott Buss, an avid angler who caught a 5¼-inch, 2-oz. longear sunfish.
It's a bright orange fish with turquoise markings that is native to Kansas.
This longear sunfish was caught by Scott Buss in the Little Blue River in Nebraska. (Nebraska Game & Parks Commission)
"This was the first time in all my career I had ever heard of a longear sunfish in Nebraska," Bauer said.
"They are beautiful fish and I was thrilled to get a message from Scott Buss and then see his photo. It got even better when he was able to bring the fish to show me."
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The catch was made with a rod and reel and a nightcrawler worm.
"I do a lot of fishing and a lot of multi-species fishing, so I like to catch a little bit of everything," Buss of Norfolk, Nebraska, told Fox News Digital.
Scott Buss, pictured here, said he knew he'd caught something special when he pulled the bright and colorful sunfish out of the water. (Scott Buss)
"I certainly wasn't specifically fishing for the sunfish, but I was using a small hook and small bait, which gives you a chance to catch a lot of different stuff than just your typical catfish."
Buss said he was floating around a piece of worm, a small hook and a bobber when he got a bite and pulled the fish from the river.
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"Immediately, I said, 'Whoa, that's different,'" Buss said.
"It’s a very cool-looking fish. I looked at it and said, 'That’s a longear,' and I knew it hadn’t been officially documented here. So, I kind of struggled with what to do."
Buss was the first person to catch this species of fish in Nebraska. (iStock )
Buss kept the potential record-setting fish in an aerated bait cooler and brought it to the commission office, where it was officially documented and recognized as the first state record for the species in Nebraska.
"By far the most exciting thing about the fish was that none [of these] have ever been caught in Nebraska before, and how beautiful it was," Bauer said.
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"You just never know what you’re going to catch," Buss said of his fish.
"An old 50-inch muskie, a 10-pound walleye or 2-ounce sunfish. It's all exciting."
Daryl Bauer, Fisheries Outreach program manager for the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission (not photographed with longear sunfish), said this was the first time in his entire career that he has heard and seen a longear sunfish. (Nebraska Game & Parks Commission)
Buss reeled in his longear from the Little Blue River, which is a typical eastern Nebraska prairie stream, Bauer said.
"[It’s a] relatively shallow, sandy, muddy bottom with some rock and gravel, lots of woody debris," Bauer added.
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"Right now, mid-summer, flows are low," he said. "Typical fish species in the Little Blue would be channel and flathead catfish, a variety of minnows and suckers, some sunfish like bluegills, green sunfish and orange spotted sunfish, but no longears."
Longears are like typical sunfish, but have not been documented in Nebraska before this. Bauer believes the longear swam up from Kansas during the high flow in the Little Blue River. (Scott Buss; Nebraska Game & Parks Commission)
Bauer said that earlier this year there were some periods of high flow in the Little Blue River and during those times a longear sunfish might have made its way up from Kansas.
Longears are typical sunfish, a lot like bluegills that are common in waters all across Nebraska and often the very first fish young anglers catch, Bauer said.
They readily bite on small hooks, bobbers and worms.
When it comes to the sport he loves, Buss offered some clear advice.
"Just go fishing," he said. "Get out outside and have some fun because you never know what you might catch."
Gretchen Eichenberg is a contributing reporter for Fox News Digital.
