Sunfish ID KY lowlands

Caught this fish today in the swampy backwater lowlands of western KY. Fish was around 2 inches in length. Coexisting species included pirate perch, warmouth, western mosquitofish, longnose gar and cypress darters. Thoughts appreciated.




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Redear is my guess. Or at least some.

I'd guess Longear, based on pattern (cheek and body) and short, rounded pectoral fin.  A 2" Longear won't have much ear-flap growth yet.

Here is a pic where I caught it.



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I was thinking longear initially too. But it looked a little different and wasn't classic water for the central longears I usually catch. Perhaps one of the lowland variants I've read about on this forum?

Maybe. And muddy water washes colors out in most fish. I typically see much more color in longears at even one inch, but I am not in that area. The redears from my local hatchery look very similar to your fish as 2-3 inch fingerlings. Most have a bit of red on ear tab, but some don't. I still lean towards redear, but it may very well be one of those lowland longears, that I am only vaguely familiar with. Look forward to hearing more input.

Just thought of this though, longears and orange spotted seem to keep good color even in turbid water.

Longear based on ear tab, with a white edging, even small o-spots typically have red edging, and also the fish has a relatively deep body.