Redbreast sunfish are usually caught with live bait such as nightcrawlers, crickets, grasshoppers, waxworms, or mealworms.

[3][4] There are faint vertical bars present on the olive-green bodies of both sexes, which may become more apparent as the background coloration changes to blue-green near the lateral line.

[6] The species' native range is in the eastern United States and Canada, in rivers emptying into the Atlantic Ocean.

Mayflies, small fish, and dragonfly larvae consist of the majority of the sunfish's diet based on stomach content.

The sunfish prefers structures around banks and overhanging branches that provide food, shade, and protection.

[2] Lack of current, overly acidic, or basic water can dramatically affect the sunfish's survival rate.

Decreasing the number of larger predatory fish by harvesting them will increase the survival rate of the redbreast sunfish.

[citation needed] The redbreast sunfish is a spring spawner on sand-gravel substrate, depending on location or when water temperature reaches 16–26 °C (61–79 °F).

The IGFA all tackle world record for the species stands at 0.79 kilograms (1 lb 12 oz) caught from the Suwannee River in Florida in 1984.

[10][11] A North Carolina state record fish caught on the Lumber River in 2019 weighed 2 pounds 1 ounce (0.94 kg).