Ecological studies of the early life history stages of many fishes are challenging in part because of the difficulty of identifying larval fish to the species level. I present an identification technique using cellulose acetate protein electrophoresis that is useful for distinguishing species of larval sunfish (LepomisCentrarchidae). Using this technique in a survey of four Michigan lakes, I found that the species composition of larvalLepomisin the limnetic zone differed among lakes and through time. Larvae of bluegillsL. macrochirus, pumpkinseedsL. gibbosus, and green sunfishL. cyanelluswere all present in the limnetic zone of some lakes. Prior to this survey, the only larvalLepomisspecies identified as migrating to the limnetic zone was the bluegill.