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Field Guide / Fish

Fish Field Guide

Illustrated profiles of popular freshwater game fish. Search by name or bait, or filter by type, water temperature, and habitat.

Type
Water
Habitat

30 species

Illustration of a black bullhead catfish in side view, stocky and dark olive with dark whiskersCatfish

Black Bullhead

Ameiurus melas

A small, hardy catfish of muddy ponds and slow streams that bites worms on the bottom and tolerates poor water.

Typical size: 8 to 12 inches, up to about 1 lb

Illustration of a black crappie in side view, silvery green with irregular black blotchesPanfish

Black Crappie

Pomoxis nigromaculatus

A speckled, silvery panfish prized for its sweet, flaky fillets, found around brush, docks, and submerged trees in clear lakes and ponds.

Typical size: 8 to 12 inches; a 14-inch fish is a trophy

Illustration of a blue catfish in side view, smooth slate-blue body with a humped back and a forked tailCatfish

Blue Catfish

Ictalurus furcatus

The largest North American catfish: a slate-blue giant of big rivers and reservoirs that can reach well over a hundred pounds.

Typical size: 5 to 30 lb; fish over 50 lb are possible in big waters

Illustration of a bluegill sunfish in side view, deep olive body, blue-tinged head, and an orange-yellow breastPanfish

Bluegill

Lepomis macrochirus

The classic first fish: a feisty, abundant sunfish that bites worms and tiny flies in nearly every pond and lake in the country.

Typical size: 6 to 9 inches, up to about half a pound; a 10-inch fish is a trophy

Illustration of a brook trout in side view, dark olive with pale wormlike back markings and red spots ringed in blueTrout & Salmon

Brook Trout

Salvelinus fontinalis

A jewel-colored char of cold, clean headwater streams, native to eastern North America and a sign of healthy water.

Typical size: 6 to 12 inches in most streams; larger fish live in some lakes and remote waters

Illustration of a brown trout in side view, golden brown with dark and red spots ringed in pale halosTrout & Salmon

Brown Trout

Salmo trutta

A wary, golden-brown trout from Europe, now established across much of the US, famous for outsmarting anglers and growing large.

Typical size: 10 to 18 inches in most streams; trophy fish can be much larger

Illustration of a chain pickerel in side view, long and green with a dark chain-link pattern and a pointed snoutPike & Walleye

Chain Pickerel

Esox niger

A smaller, toothy relative of the northern pike, recognized by the chain-link pattern on its sides, found in weedy, quiet water.

Typical size: 15 to 24 inches

Illustration of a channel catfish in side view with a forked tail, long barbels, and a few small dark spotsCatfish

Channel Catfish

Ictalurus punctatus

The most widely caught catfish in North America: a sleek, whiskered bottom feeder that bites bait readily, especially after dark.

Typical size: 1 to 10 lb; larger fish are possible

Illustration of a chinook salmon in side view, silver with a blue-green back and scattered small black spotsTrout & Salmon

Chinook Salmon

Oncorhynchus tshawytscha

The largest Pacific salmon, also called king salmon: a powerful fish of Pacific rivers and stocked in the Great Lakes.

Typical size: 8 to 20 lb in the Great Lakes; ocean-run fish are often larger

Illustration of a coho salmon in side view, bright silver with a dark blue back and small black spotsTrout & Salmon

Coho Salmon

Oncorhynchus kisutch

An acrobatic, bright-silver Pacific salmon that fights hard and is a popular target in rivers, bays, and the Great Lakes.

Typical size: 6 to 12 lb

Illustration of a common carp in side view, golden bronze with large scales and barbels at the mouthOther

Common Carp

Cyprinus carpio

A big, strong, wary fish introduced from Eurasia that fights like a freight train and is a growing target for dedicated anglers.

Typical size: 5 to 15 lb; larger fish are common in many waters

Illustration of a flathead catfish in side view, with a mottled yellow-brown body and a broad headCatfish

Flathead Catfish

Pylodictis olivaris

A solitary ambush predator with a broad, flat head, living around deep wood in big rivers and reservoirs and preferring live fish.

Typical size: 5 to 30 lb; larger fish are possible

Illustration of a freshwater drum in side view, humped silvery gray with a long notched dorsal fin and rounded tailOther

Freshwater Drum

Aplodinotus grunniens

A humpbacked, silvery bottom feeder that grunts underwater, abundant in big rivers and lakes and often caught by accident.

Typical size: 1 to 5 lb; larger fish are possible

Illustration of a green sunfish in side view, olive green with blue-green streaks on the cheek and yellow-edged finsPanfish

Green Sunfish

Lepomis cyanellus

A hardy, big-mouthed sunfish that thrives in small streams and ponds where other fish struggle, and bites almost anything.

Typical size: 4 to 7 inches

Illustration of a kokanee salmon in side view, slender and silver with a blue-green back and no large spotsTrout & Salmon

Kokanee Salmon

Oncorhynchus nerka

A landlocked sockeye salmon that lives its whole life in lakes, feeds on plankton, and turns bright red at spawning time.

Typical size: 9 to 14 inches

Illustration of a lake trout in side view, dark gray-green with pale spots and a deeply forked tailTrout & Salmon

Lake Trout

Salvelinus namaycush

A big, slow-growing char of deep, cold northern lakes, usually caught by trolling or jigging well below the surface.

Typical size: 2 to 10 lb; larger fish live in deep northern lakes

Illustration of a largemouth bass in side view, olive green with a dark horizontal stripe and a large mouthBass

Largemouth Bass

Micropterus salmoides

America's most popular game fish: an ambush predator of weedy lakes and ponds, with a mouth big enough to swallow prey nearly half its own length.

Typical size: 1 to 5 lb; over 8 lb is a trophy in most waters

Illustration of a longnose gar in side view, long and cylindrical with a very long narrow toothy snoutOther

Longnose Gar

Lepisosteus osseus

A primitive, torpedo-shaped fish with a long, toothy snout, an ambush predator of slow rivers and backwaters.

Typical size: 2 to 4 feet

Illustration of a muskellunge in side view, long and green-brown with dark vertical bars and pointed tail lobesPike & Walleye

Muskellunge

Esox masquinongy

Called the fish of ten thousand casts: a giant, elusive predator of northern lakes and rivers, usually released by dedicated anglers.

Typical size: 30 to 45 inches; larger fish are rare

Illustration of a northern pike in side view, long and green with rows of pale bean-shaped spotsPike & Walleye

Northern Pike

Esox lucius

A long, toothy ambush predator of weedy northern lakes and rivers, known for savage strikes and hard runs.

Typical size: 20 to 30 inches; fish over 40 inches are trophies

Illustration of a pumpkinseed sunfish in side view, olive body with orange spots, teal cheek lines, and an orange bellyPanfish

Pumpkinseed

Lepomis gibbosus

A small, brilliantly colored sunfish with orange spots and a red-tipped ear flap, common in weedy ponds and lake edges.

Typical size: 4 to 8 inches

Illustration of a rainbow trout in side view, silvery with a pink stripe and black spotsTrout & Salmon

Rainbow Trout

Oncorhynchus mykiss

The most widely stocked trout in North America: a spotted, energetic fighter of cold, clear streams and lakes.

Typical size: 8 to 16 inches for stocked fish; wild fish and steelhead can run much larger

Illustration of a sauger in side view, slim and gray-brown with dark saddle bars and two dorsal finsPike & Walleye

Sauger

Sander canadensis

A slimmer, gray-brown cousin of the walleye that favors big, muddy rivers and the tailwaters below dams.

Typical size: 12 to 18 inches

Illustration of a smallmouth bass in side view, olive-bronze with dark vertical bars and a red-brown eyeBass

Smallmouth Bass

Micropterus dolomieu

A bronze, hard-fighting bass of clear, rocky lakes and cool rivers, famous for pound-for-pound strength and acrobatic leaps.

Typical size: 1 to 3 lb; over 5 lb is a trophy

Illustration of a spotted bass in side view, olive green with a dark stripe and rows of small spots on the lower sidesBass

Spotted Bass

Micropterus punctulatus

The middle sibling of the black basses: a scrappy fish of rocky reservoirs and clear streams, often mistaken for a small largemouth.

Typical size: 1 to 2 lb; over 4 lb is a large fish

Illustration of a striped bass in side view, long and silvery with dark unbroken horizontal stripesBass

Striped Bass

Morone saxatilis

A large, powerful, striped predator that lives in the ocean, in bays and rivers, and in landlocked reservoirs where it has been stocked.

Typical size: 5 to 20 lb in freshwater reservoirs; larger fish are possible

Illustration of a walleye in side view, olive gold with large glassy eyes and a white tip on the lower tail lobePike & Walleye

Walleye

Sander vitreus

A low-light predator with big, glassy eyes and some of the best-tasting fillets in freshwater, popular from the Great Lakes to the Plains.

Typical size: 14 to 22 inches, 1 to 4 lb

Illustration of a white bass in side view, deep silvery body with faint dark horizontal linesBass

White Bass

Morone chrysops

A silvery, schooling fish that makes spring spawning runs up rivers and chases baitfish to the surface in summer, often providing nonstop action.

Typical size: 10 to 15 inches, about 1 to 2 lb

Illustration of a white crappie in side view, silvery white with faint dark vertical barsPanfish

White Crappie

Pomoxis annularis

A pale, barred crappie that tolerates muddy water better than its black cousin and fills many southern and midwestern reservoirs.

Typical size: 8 to 12 inches

Illustration of a yellow perch in side view, golden yellow with dark vertical bars and orange lower finsPanfish

Yellow Perch

Perca flavescens

A golden, barred schooling fish of cool lakes and slow rivers, a favorite through the ice and one of the best-tasting freshwater fish.

Typical size: 6 to 12 inches