Quote for 9/29

"I still find a great deal of misunderstanding, even among native Southerners, about sunfish and their place in the ichthyological scheme of things. Adding to the confusion is the use of the vague, nondescriptive, often offensive term of "panfish" among fly fishers. I am afraid that we are forever stuck with that unfortunate appellation for these fine game fish----I studiously avoid its use in my writings, but editors invariably insist on putting it back in the text or title. To lump all these diverse species together under the "panfish" umbrella makes little sense, since they vary widely not only in size and appearance, but in dietary and habitat preferences. I prefer the colloquial "bream," a corruption of the French breme, a type of European carp (Abramis brama). We probably owe the origin of the term to the early Cajun settlers in Louisiana. Even the misnomer "perch" is better than "panfish."

The Sunfishes, pg.2
By Jack Ellis