Beautiful 8 Inch plus Flier out of Buckskin Creek.

Comment

Comment by dick tabbert on February 1, 2012 at 8:35pm

Nice one Jeffrey. They are vary unique looking fish. If one didn't know any better we would say it was a crappie without any markings. Nice catch Jeffrey and much more GOOD FISHIN..

Comment by bobby emory on February 1, 2012 at 8:32pm

we both want that record jeffrey it would be awesome most of my big fliers i catch get put back i only keep enough for me and dad to enjoy

Comment by bobby emory on February 1, 2012 at 8:27pm

i've caught some jeffrey i honestly feel could come close big fliers and this spring i'll surely take some pics and get a few weighed i have some pics on my camera when i can figure out posting pics i'll put some up

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on February 1, 2012 at 8:12pm

I've caught some big ones in coastal Virginia as well.....remember we are talking about 1 pound 5 ounces........This fish was just ounces away.........A North Carolina and a Georgia angler currently share the world record........ Look forward to you showing us some big Fliers Bobby!

Comment by bobby emory on February 1, 2012 at 8:07pm

thats a thing of beauty the pond through the woods by my house i gish has some real nice fliers in it some i beleive near record size

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on February 1, 2012 at 8:01pm

This was the prettiest panfish I caught in 2011........I released this Flier into the Pasquotank River hoping someone could enjoy this beautiful fish again someday.......Salute to the Fliers and hope we catch some nice ones in 2012............Can you imagine Tim Overbaugh or Jeff Soto getting ahold of this fish......I can, and believe me I'm on the hunt......Post your Flier pictures here when you find some this year....Thanks in advance!

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on October 23, 2011 at 1:14pm

Tim with much influence from the Wildlife agent I decided to release the two Fliers over 8 inches. With the 58 degree water and my battery powered minnow aerator, they were in great shape when I got them weighed in and  I was only a block from the Pasquotank River. I kept the two smaller ones along with some other gills. I don't know if you have ever worked a Flier but it would be my preference for you to do the work if I were to catch another one that is worthy! Two things made it a hard decision, if either of these fish are females then they should be close to  the record in the Spring but obviously every fish can't be and doesn't have to be a record to be a great fish! This fish was beautiful and would have been a great display I'm sure. But you bring up a great point Tim, I released my largest Bluegill and three others over two pounds. But in my humble opinion a two pound plus gill is awesome and I now plan to pursue my next gill over two pounds for that reason. Thanks for the comments and I also hope you will be interested in a pair of big Warmouth together Tim.

Comment by Tim Overbaugh on October 23, 2011 at 12:37pm

Thanks for looking up the info David.

Way cool!  Did you by chance save that one for us Jeff?

I always here "I'll catch a bigger one" and it's great to have confidence,  but 9 times out of 10 it usually never happens.  Catching a dandy like this one not only takes skill to find a good school and use the right presentation with all it's variables, it also involves some good luck.

 

Very nice catch for a Flier!

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on October 23, 2011 at 8:29am

Here's what I've learned about the flier. All hail the internet!

The flier makes up it's own distinct and singular species. It's not a hybrid, either naturally occurring or otherwise. It was documented as such by Lacepede in 1801 and has its own subgenus centrarchus, denoting its connection to the sunfish parent group Centrachidae.

The genera name, "Centrarchus," derives from Greek, and loosely translated means "sharp ruler" - presumably related to the sharp spines on the anal fin.

The species, or specific name, macropterus, also from Greek, means "long fin." The flier's anal fin (underside of fish in front of tail fin) almost equals the size of its dorsal (back) fin. It is because of these "wing-like" fins that it has obtained the common name, "flier."

Their preferred habitat is quiet, clear, acidic swamps, oxbow and weedy lakes, ponds and slow-moving creeks and steams with heavy vegetation. An average water temperature of 75° to 85° F (23° to 29° C) suits them. They are distributed  primarily in Coastal Plain areas on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts and in the lower Mississippi basin. In the southeast, anglers also call fliers goggle-eye, fly perch, sand bream, brush bream, round sunfish, flier bream, and mill pond perch. They are generally small; the maximum recorded weight of the species is just over one-half kilogram (about 19 oz.). They live for about 5 years. Due to their size and beauty, they are sometimes kept in aquariums by native fish fanciers, like me.

 

Insects, snails, worms, leeches, small fish, and phytoplankton form the mainstay of the flier's diet. They have been studied only little, however, probably due to the inhospitable habitat they prefer. Studies in Tennessee, however, have yielded flier stomachs full of terrestrial insects, suggesting they are surface feeders at least some of the time.

 

NOTES: In 1943 a Gato class submarine was launched and named after this species, the USS Flier. In 1944, on her second combat tour, she was sunk at the surface by a naval mine on 12 August in the Balabac Strait. She went down in about a minute with the majority of her hands; only 13 men were able to escape.    

USS Flier received a battle star for her first war patrol, credited with sinking 10,380 tons of Japanese shipping. 

On 1 February 2009, the U.S. Navy announced the discovery of Flier near the Philippines.  The discovery was based in part on information provided by a survivor of the Fliers sinking. The ship rests in 330 ft (100 m) of water.

Meanwhile, the newsletter of the Native Fish Conservancy is named - you guessed it.. The Flier.

 

Personally, the flier looks more like a crappie than anything else. I'd mistake it for that in a slick minute.

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on October 23, 2011 at 8:18am

Officially, the fish was measured at 8 1/4 inches long and weighed 1 pound. I took it to an authorized North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission scale to check it. Turns out I have caught two Fliers bigger, but its exciting to be close to a state and world record of any kind.

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