Meet the flier
An unexpected discovery
A FACEBOOK POST from Western Kentucky Fisheries stopped me mid-scroll. It showed what appeared to be an ordinary sunfish, but the caption identified something else: a potential state record flier was caught and then released during electrofishing at the Clarks River National Wildlife Refuge headquarters pond near Benton.
The possibility of catching any state record fish is interesting, but I was more intrigued by a species of fish I had never heard of—living right here in our backyard. What exactly is a flier, and why had it escaped my notice all these years?
The flier is a member of the sunfish family with a circular shape and a green hue that fades into silver, with black spots covering the body. It has a dark green to black teardrop under its eyes and a black gill plate lobe. The fish has a southern range for the most part, but it can also be found in western Kentucky, southern Illinois and southern Indiana.
“Fliers typically inhabit lowland lakes and streams, surrounding wetlands in the western third of the state,” says David Cravens, assistant ichthyologist for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “Try the lower Green River, Tradewater, lower Tennessee and Clarks River.” He also recommends exploring Boatwright and Ballard wildlife management areas.
Fliers prefer backwaters, ponds and deep pools in creeks—areas where water is clear, current is low and aquatic vegetation is present, usually with a muddy or sandy bottom.
Fliers spawn earlier than other sunfish and begin making beds to lay eggs when surface temperatures reach 57–63 degrees—a range that is 10 degrees cooler than most sunfish species. Like other sunfish, they feed on snails, worms, leeches and other terrestrial insects.
One more interesting fact about this little fish: it gave its name to a U.S. Navy submarine—the USS Flier, which was commissioned in 1942 and sank in 1944.
The humble flier has a larger-than-life story, and I enjoyed learning about a species that I hadn’t encountered before. Take my story as your encouragement to get out and enjoy the great outdoors. You never know what you might discover.
KEN MCBROOM, an outdoors writer/photographer, created RamblingAngler.com. McBroom grew up in Lynchburg, Tennessee, and now lives in western Kentucky.
