Hi Adam! At age 12, I turned into a rabid fisherman and my father bought me subscriptions to Field and Stream, Outdoor Life, and Sports Afield, all at the same time, and I read those things from cover to cover for years. Although I never did learn to distinguish between bluegills and redears, I did learn that folks generally distinguish between the sunfishes and perches, although the term "perch" is often used as a slang term to include both categories of fishes. Most folks would refer to the the fish you just mentioned as the bluegill, redear sunfish, and green sunfish (Bill's website link notwithstanding) and include these in the category, "sunfish." The term "perch" is a category usually reserved for a different group of fishes. For example, here is a description from Yahooligans:
"The perches are a family of spiny-rayed freshwater fishes with two dorsal fins and one or two anal fin spines. Most perches are elongate, moderately compressed fishes. They can be found throughout North America and especially in the Northeast. Many are valued sport and food fishes. Some species, such as the Yellow Perch and the Walleye, have sawtoothlike edges on their cheekbones."
As an example, here is a picture of a yellow perch I got from yet another website:
You will find that the walleye and sauger that are commonly included in this group have very similar body shapes and appearances. The Sacramento perch is less elongated and differently colored, but still not as round-shaped as the sunfishes we've been discussing. Just trying to help.
-- Mike
Chuck Norris has already been to Mars; that's why there are no signs of life.
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Of course, this was in 1955.....
Are they good eating 
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