Fish Identification

Fathead Minnow (Pimephales promelas)

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The fathead minnow is a small, hardy, and widely cultivated member of the Cyprinidae family of minnows that is commonly used as bait, and it is an important forage species for gameﬁsh. It is also commonly used in toxicity studies.

Identification

The fathead minnow has a stubby, deep, compressed body with a short head that is ﬂat on top. The snout is blunt. The mouth is small and slanted and possesses pharyngeal teeth. The body is generally dull in color, being dark olive or gray above and fading to muted yellow to white below. The scales become larger toward the tail and smaller toward the head, and the lateral line curves downward and is incomplete.

There is a dark spot at the middle of the anterior dorsal rays, the caudal rays have dark outlines, and the leading edge of the pectoral ﬁns is black. There is also a stout half-ray at the front of the dorsal ﬁn. There are no barbels, but breeding males develop tubercles on their snouts and become darker.

Size/Age

Fathead minnows average 1.5 to 3 inches long and grow to only 4 inches. Most die in their third year.

Spawning behavior

Fathead minnows have an extended spawning period, from late spring into summer. It commences when the water temperature exceeds 60°F. They are nest spawners, often creating nest sites under ﬂoating or suspended objects or beneath logs or stones, generally in 1 to 3 feet of water. Males create the nests, herd the females into them, and guard the nests until the eggs hatch; several females may deposit eggs in one nest site, and the adhesive eggs hatch in 6 to 9 days.

Food

The diet of fathead minnows is mostly algae, as well as bottom detritus, zooplankton, and insect larvae.

Other Names

minnow; French: tête de boule.

Distribution

This species ranges widely (in part through introductions) across North America, from Quebec to the Northwest Territories and south to Alabama, Texas, and New Mexico, as well as in Mexico. It is most common in the Great Plains and scarce in mountainous regions.

Habitat

Fathead minnows prefer ponds and pools or slow-moving water in streams, creeks, and small rivers. They can tolerate muddy water and are occasionally found in roadside ditches.

Brown Madtom

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The brown madtom is a widely distributed and relatively common member of the madtoms. This diminutive catﬁsh may be used in bait ﬁshing for bass and is prominent in moderate- to fast-ﬂowing water.

Identification

The brown madtom is dull colored. The upper body possesses a chocolate brown or yellowish-brown tint. The ventral side is pale. Juvenile brown madtoms, especially those collected in complex leaf debris or vegetation, may be black. These ﬁsh will adjust the intensity of their body color to simulate shades of their surroundings. The upper lip of the brown madtom protrudes beyond that of the lower lip, and the rear of the pectoral spine has six sawlike teeth.

Size/Age

Male and female brown madtoms grow at the same rate, but males reach a larger overall length because they live longer. The largest individual collected to date was a male that measured 6 inches in total length. Females live at least 3 years, while males may live 4 or 5 years. The total length of a 3-year-old ﬁsh ranges from 3.9 to 5.1 inches.

Reproduction

Spawning, as determined in northern Mississippi river, takes place from May through July.

Food

Brown madtoms exhibit crepuscular feeding, with peak feeding activity following sunset and just before sunrise. The diet, similar to other madtoms, is primarily composed of midge larvae, caddisﬂy larvae, and crayﬁsh.

Distribution

The brown madtom has a fairly wide distribution covering the following areas: Mississippi River tributaries in Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama; Tennessee River tributaries in Tennessee and Alabama; the Gulf Slope in the Sabine River drainage of Louisiana; and Bayou Teche drainage in Louisiana. It has also been reported in the Ouachita River drainage in Arkansas, probably introduced with other baitﬁsh. In areas where brown madtoms are collected, they are usually abundant.

Habitat

This species is usually abundant in springs and small streams where areas of vegetation exist, in accumulations of debris, and underneath undercut banks. Madtoms in one stream in northern Mississippi preferred undercut banks to all other types of cover. Brown madtoms can be found in moderate- to fast-ﬂowing water over small gravel or coarse sand.

Madtoms

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Madtoms are members of the catﬁsh (see) family, Ictaluridae, often referred to as bullhead catfish. Although the larger members of the catﬁsh family have gained notoriety as sportﬁsh, commercial ﬁsh, or food ﬁsh, the secretive and diminutive madtom escapes public attention.

These are little-known ﬁsh with interesting lifestyles. Madtoms are important links in the food webs of many streams, making it possible for large predators such as bass, wading birds, and water snakes to beneﬁt from the stream’s vast energy, represented by larval insect production.

They are also a unique natural resource to North America’s small streams and are endemic to the continent north of Mexico. The 40 species belonging to the family Ictaluridae occur naturally in the United States and Canada, and 27 are madtoms.

Like other members of the Ictaluridae family, madtoms possess stinging venom in their dorsal and pectoral spines. The venom originates from cells of the skin sheath over the pectoral ﬁn. The toxicity of the venom varies but approximates that of a bee sting, although every person reacts differently to being stung.

Identification/Size

The madtom is recognized by its unique adipose ﬁn. A non-madtom catﬁsh has a ﬂeshy ﬁn protruding from its back, just ahead of the caudal ﬁn. The adipose ﬁn of a madtom is continuous with the caudal ﬁn.

Madtoms belong to the genus Noturus, which is divided into three subgenera, Noturus, Schilbeodes, and Rabida, each with its own distinct appearance. The Schilbeodes are dull colored, generally brown or yellow brown. Those in Rabida have colorful markings with many bands and saddlelike pigmentation. There is only one species in the subgenus Noturus, the stonecat (Noturus flavus). The stonecat possesses the plain appearance of the Schilbeodes; however, no other madtoms match this species in size.

Stonecats exceed 7 inches as adults and may reach 12 inches in some locations. Madtoms range from 21⁄2 inches to 6.5 inches.

Reproduction

Madtoms start spawning about mid-April and ﬁnish spawning in mid-July. As with most ﬁsh, the commencement of spawning and the length of the spawning season depend heavily on water temperature. Madtoms usually begin spawning after the water temperature has reached 64°F and stop spawning after the water temperature exceeds 81°F. During the spawning season, adults are sexually dimorphic, which means males look different from females.

Madtoms construct nests to rear their young and provide post-spawning protection. A nest consists of an area with a pebble or gravel substrate that has been cleared of silt and debris.

Most madtoms prefer to nest under rocks; however, the speckled madtom and others have been known to nest in discarded beverage cans or bottles.

Although madtoms are small ﬁsh, they have relatively fewer and larger eggs compared to species that do not exhibit parental care. Madtom eggs may be up to 0.2 inches in diameter; they are adhesive and stick to the substrate and each other.

Generally, a short time after laying the eggs, the female leaves the nest and the parental duties to the male. Eggs hatch in 8 to 10 days, depending on water temperature. After approximately 21 days of parental care, the male parent will leave the young madtoms on their own.

Food

Madtoms are crepuscular feeders, which means they feed mostly at dusk and dawn. As insectivores, they primarily feed on a diet of midge larvae, mayﬂy larvae, caddisﬂy larvae, and crayﬁsh. Most madtoms are not as picky about their food as about their housing and will eagerly devour any available prey.

Madtoms generally consume smaller amounts of stoneﬂy, beetle, black ﬂy, dragonﬂy, alder ﬂy, and ﬁsh ﬂy larvae. An occasional small ﬁsh (such as lamprey larvae), a spider, or zooplankton have also been found in their stomachs. When placed together, large adult madtoms have consumed small juvenile madtoms of the same species.

Lamprey

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Lampreys are one of two groups of jawless ﬁsh (the other being hagﬁsh), which are the most primitive true vertebrates. They are members of the Petromyzontidae family. Jawless fish are fishlike vertebrates that resemble eels in form, with a cartilaginous or ﬁbrous skeleton that has no bones. They have no paired limbs and no developed jaws or bony teeth. Their extremely slimy skin lacks scales. Fossils of lampreys have been dated back 280 million years.

The jawless, eel-like lampreys are just as ugly as their hagﬁsh cousins in form and feeding habits; they differ in other respects, however. Hagﬁsh are strictly marine, whereas lampreys are either totally freshwater inhabitants or, if they live in the sea, they return to freshwater rivers to spawn.

Lampreys have a large sucking disk for a mouth and a well-developed olfactory system. The mouth is ﬁlled with horny, sharp teeth that surround a ﬁlelike tongue. A lamprey’s body has smooth, scaleless skin; two dorsal ﬁns; no lateral line; no vertebrae; no swim bladder; and no paired ﬁns. The lamprey has no prominent barbels on its snout; its eyes are well developed in the adult and visible externally; there are seven external gill openings on each side; and the nasal opening is on the upper part of the head.

Lampreys are usually parasitic. The lamprey attaches itself to the side of a live ﬁsh by using its suctorial mouth; then, by means of its horny teeth, it rasps through the victim’s skin and scales and sucks the blood and body juices.

Lampreys spawn in the spring. They ascend streams where the bottom is stony or pebbly and build shallow depressions by moving stones with the aid of their suctorial mouths. Usually, the male and the female cooperate in constructing the nest. When ready to spawn, the pair stirs up the sand with vigorous body movements as the milt and the eggs are deposited at the same time.

The eggs stick to particles of sand and sink to the bottom of the nest. The pair then separates and begins another nest directly above the ﬁrst, thereby loosening more sand and pebbles, which flow down with the current and cover the eggs. The procedure is repeated at short intervals until spawning is completed. Adults die after spawning.

After several days the young appear and drift downstream until they are deposited in a quiet stretch of water, where they settle down and burrow into the bottom to spend several years as larvae (called ammocetes). When they reach a few inches in length (this varies with the species), the ammocetes transform during the late summer or the fall into adultlike lampreys, complete with sucking disks and circular rows of horny teeth.

The sea lamprey is most notorious as a despoiler of valued sport and commercial ﬁsh. It ranges the western Atlantic from southern Greenland, Labrador, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence south to the Gulf of Mexico in Florida. It is landlocked in the Great Lakes, the Finger Lakes, Oneida Lake, and Lake Champlain. It breeds exclusively in freshwater.

Young lampreys, when in saltwater or en route to saltwater, are white underneath and blackish blue, silvery, or lead-colored above. Large specimens approaching maturity are usually mottled brown or dressed in different shades of yellow brown and various hues of green, red, or blue. Sometimes they appear black when the dark patches blend with each other. The ventral surface may be white, grayish, or a lighter shade of the ground color of the dorsal surface. Colors intensify during the breeding season.

Mature sea lampreys are from 2 to 2.5 feet long. The maximum recorded length is nearly 4 feet, and the maximum weight 5.4 pounds.

Commonly, but erroneously, lampreys are known or referred to as “lamprey eels.” They are not true eels (see Eel, American) of the family Anguillidae. For easy differentiation, eels possess jaws and pectoral ﬁns; these are lacking in the lamprey.

Haddock (Melanogrammus aegleﬁnus)

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Closely related to the genus Gadus, the haddock is often considered a member of the Gadidae, or codfish, family. Haddock have long been important commercially and are an even more highly valued food fish than Atlantic cod, although stocks of haddock have declined rapidly since the 1960s due to overfishing.

Identification

The haddock has three dorsal fins and two anal fins; the first dorsal fin is high and pointed. The small chin barbel is sometimes hidden. Its coloring is purplish gray on the back and sides, fading to pinkish reﬂections and a white belly. There is a black lateral line along the side and a black shoulder blotch. The dark lateral line and the shoulder blotch can distinguish it from its close relatives in the cod family. Three dorsal fins distinguish the haddock from its relative the silver hake (see: Hake, Silver).

Size/Age

The average haddock is 1 to 2 feet long and weighs 1 to 5 pounds. The all-tackle record is 11 pounds, 3 ounces, but they have been reported to attain 161⁄2 pounds. Haddock can live for 14 years.

Life history/Behavior

The spawning season is between January and June, and activity peaks during late March and early April, when large congregations form in depths of 20 to 100 fathoms. Major spawning concentrations occur on eastern Georges Bank, although some spawning also occurs to the east of Nantucket Shoals and along the Maine coast. Haddock swim in large schools, and there is some seasonal migration to the north in the spring and south again in the fall. Adult haddock on Georges Bank appear to be relatively sedentary, but seasonal coastal movements occur in the western Gulf of Maine. There are extensive migrations in the Barents Sea and off Iceland.

Food and feeding habits

Primarily consuming crabs, snails, worms, clams, and sea urchins, the haddock seldom feeds actively on ﬁsh.

Other Names

haddie, scrod; French: egleﬁn; Italian: asinello; Norwegian: kolje; Portuguese: arinca, bacalhau; Spanish: egleﬁno.

Distribution

In North America the haddock is found from Newfoundland and Nova Scotia southward to southern New Jersey. It occasionally inhabits the deep water to Cape Hatteras. The highest concentrations off the U.S. coast occur on the northern and the eastern sections of Georges Bank and in the southwestern Gulf of Maine. Two stocks occur in U.S. waters: the Gulf of Maine stock and the Georges Bank stock.

Habitat

Preferring deeper water than do cod, haddock inhabit depths of 25 to 75 fathoms. Although generally a coldwater species, preferring temperatures of 36° to 50° F, they are commonly found in warm water over bottoms of sand, pebbles, or broken shells.

Halfbeaks and Balao

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Halfbeaks are closely related to flyingfish and needlefish. These sparkling, silvery fish travel in schools and are abundant in warm seas. They are important food fish for pelagic species, especially for billfish, and are used as rigged trolling bait for big-game fish encountered in blue water.

A halfbeak’s body is elongated, rounded, and flattened from side to side only in the tail region. The dorsal and the anal fins are located far to the rear and directly opposite each other. In halfbeaks, only the lower jaw is long; the upper jaw is of normal length. Halfbeaks commonly leap or scoot rapidly across the surface, with only their tail vibrating in the water.

The balao (Hemiramphus balao) ranges from New York to the Gulf of Mexico and southward to Brazil, including the Caribbean. It averages 8 to 10 inches in length and can grow to 16 inches. The ballyhoo (Hemiramphus brasiliensis) is common off the Florida coast and in the Caribbean, traveling northward along the eastern coast and occasionally as far north as Massachusetts in summer. It ranges as far south as Brazil, averages 6 to 10 inches in length, and is closely related to the longfin halfbeak (H. saltator) of the Pacific.

The halfbeak (Hyporhamphus unifasciatus), which attains 12 inches, lives in the same area of the Atlantic as the ballyhoo but occurs also in the Pacific from Point Conception southward to Peru, including the Galápagos Islands. The related California halfbeak (H. rosae) is smaller, rarely more than 6 inches long.

Included among the Pacific halfbeaks off the coast of North America is the ribbon halfbeak (Euleptorhamphus viridis), which grows to as much as 18 inches and has long pectoral fins, and the smaller flying halfbeak (E. velox), which ranges from the Gulf of Mexico to Brazil in the western Atlantic.

Other Names

French: demi-bec; Spanish: aguja, agujeta, saltador.

Pacific Halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis)

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The Paciﬁc halibut is the largest ﬂatﬁsh in Paciﬁc waters and one of the world’s largest bony ﬁsh. It is a member of the family Pleuronectidae, or right-eyed flounder. Since the 1980s, Paciﬁc halibut populations have prospered, providing excellent ﬁshing from Oregon to Alaska.

Identification

The halibut usually is dextral; that is, both eyes are on the right side of the head. Its coloration varies from olive to dark brown or black with lighter, irregular blotches. More elongate than other ﬂatﬁsh, the average width of the Paciﬁc halibut’s body is about one-third its length. The mouth is large, extending to the lower eye. The small, smooth scales are well buried in the skin, and the lateral line has a pronounced arch above the pectoral ﬁn. The tail is crescent-shaped, longer at the tips than in the middle, which distinguishes it from most other ﬂatﬁsh.

Size

A typical sport-caught Pacific halibut is 28 to 50 inches long, weighing 10 to perhaps 60 pounds. Rod-and-reel records include several halibut in excess of 400 pounds (the all-tackle record is 459 pounds), and 500-pounders have been caught commercially. The largest specimens are females, as males seldom top 90 pounds.

Life history

Spawning occurs in the North Paciﬁc Ocean and the Bering Sea during the winter. The eggs and the larvae ﬂoat freely in the ocean current for 6 months, settling to the bottom in shallow, inshore waters, and make a counterclockwise migration through the Paciﬁc, reaching the place where they were spawned by adulthood.

Food and feeding habits

Halibut lie on bottom waiting for tidal currents to wash food within striking range. However, they are strong swimmers and will leave the bottom to feed on pelagic ﬁsh, such as herring and sand lance. They will also inhabit virtually any place that has an abundance of crabs, squid, octopus, cod, pollack, sableﬁsh, or other food.

Other Names

giant halibut, northern halibut, hali (Canada), barn door; Japanese: ohyô; Portuguese: alabote do Paciﬁco; Spanish: ﬂetán del Paciﬁco.

Distribution

Paciﬁc halibut are found on the continental shelf of the North Paciﬁc Ocean and have been recorded along the North American coast from central California to Nome, Alaska. They live on or near the bottom and have been taken as deep as 3,600 feet, although most are caught during the summer, when they are at depths of 75 to 750 feet. They generally move back into deeper water in the fall and the winter.

Habitat

Preferring cool water (37° to 46°F), halibut are most commonly found where the bottom is composed of cobble, gravel, and sand, especially near the edges of underwater plateaus and breaklines.

Horse-eye Jack (Caranx latus)

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Like other jack species, the horse-eye is a member of the Carangidae family and a strong-ﬁghting ﬁsh suitable for light-tackle angling. Unlike some jacks, it is not highly esteemed as a food ﬁsh, although the quality of horse-eye jack meat can be improved by cutting off the tail and bleeding the ﬁsh directly after it is caught. This and other jacks have been implicated in cases of ciguatera poisoning.

Identification

The horse-eye jack is silvery, with yellow
tail fins and usually dark edges on the dorsal and the upper tail ﬁn. There is often a small black spot at the upper end of the gill cover, and it usually has blackish scutes. The body is compressed, and the entire chest is scaly. There are 20 to 22 soft rays in the dorsal ﬁn and 14 to 18 gill rakers on the lower limb of the first arch.

The horse-eye jack is similar in shape to the crevalle jack, although it has a less steep forehead and is either lacking the dark blotch at the base of the pectoral fins of the crevalle jack, or the blotch is more poorly defined. It can also be distinguished by its scales, which the crevalle jack lacks except for a small patch.

Size

This species is commonly found up to 30 inches and 10 pounds. The all-tackle world record is 24 pounds, 8 ounces.

Food and feeding habits

Horse-eye jacks feed on ﬁsh, shrimp, crabs, and other invertebrates.

Other Names

big-eye jack, goggle-eye, horse-eye trevally; French: carange moyole; Portuguese: guarajuba; Spanish: jurel, jurel ojo gordo, ojón, xurel.

Distribution

In the western Atlantic, horse-eye jacks occur from New Jersey and Bermuda throughout the northern Gulf of Mexico to Río de Janeiro in Brazil.

Killifish

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Also called topminnows and toothed carps, these fish are members of the large Cyprinodontidae family of small fish. They are most abundant in warm climates, but a few species occur in temperate regions.

The fins are soft rayed, as in cyprinid minnows, but killiﬁsh have scales on their heads and have no lateral lines. Typical family members have ﬂattened heads, and the mouths open upward, an adaptation for feeding at the surface. Some species are used as bait, and many tropical species are kept in aquariums.

The best known of these is the mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus), a robust 3- to 5-inch species found along the Atlantic coast from Florida to Labrador. It can tolerate salinities to 35 parts per thousand.

The mummichog is noted for its habit of burrowing into the silt on the bottom, sometimes to depths of 6 inches or more in winter. On the Paciﬁc coast, the California killiﬁsh (F. parvipinnis) is similar in size and habits to the mummichog and occupies the same ecological niche.

Other well-known species include the banded killifish (F. diaphanus), which occurs from South Carolina northward to the St. Lawrence River and westward through the Mississippi Valley, and the gold topminnow (F. chrysotus), which inhabits freshwater and brackish estuaries and streams from Florida to South Carolina. Other common species of Fundulus include the banded topminnow (F. cingulatus), the striped killiﬁsh (F. majalis), and the saltmarsh topminnow (F. jenkinsi).

Florida has the greatest representation of cyprinodonts in North America. Notable among these is the flagfish (Jordanella floridae), a short-bodied, almost sunfishlike species attaining a maximum length of 3 inches, and the pygmy killiﬁsh (Leptolucania ommata), a slender ﬁsh that rarely exceeds 1.5 inches in length.

Habitat

Killiﬁsh travel in schools, generally in the shallows, and are an important link in wetland and estuarine food webs. They are important prey for shorebirds, crabs, and larger ﬁsh, and many species are valued for mosquito control, as they feed on the surface and consume whatever insect larvae and small invertebrates are available. Killiﬁsh are also among the species most tolerant of high turbidity and low oxygen. Many killiﬁsh live in brackish water, as well as freshwater.

Lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus)

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One of the largest members of the Cyclopteridae family of lumpﬁsh and snailﬁsh, the unusual-looking lumpfish is not a quarry of anglers, but it is known as a food fish in Europe and is reportedly valued for its eggs as an inexpensive substitute for caviar.

Identification

The lumpfish is a stout-bodied, almost round ﬁsh, with a humped upper profile. It has a warty appearance, due to a ridge of prominent tubercles running along the middle of the back, as well as three other rows of tubercles on the sides, the uppermost of which extends from the tip of the snout to the base of the tail.

Another distinctive feature is the way the pelvic ﬁns are fused to form a round suction disk, which enables the lumpfish to attach itself to rocks. Of variable coloration, it is usually olive green or bluish-gray with a yellowish belly; this grows red on males during breeding. The pectoral fins are broad and fanlike, and lower rays start at the throat region. The first dorsal fin is apparent only in the young.

Size

The lumpﬁsh can grow to 2 feet and 21 pounds, although it is usually smaller.

Life history/Behavior

Female lumpﬁsh may lay 20,000 eggs or more, which sink to the bottom and stick. They are guarded by the male until they hatch. Lumpﬁsh are solitary, rather than schooling, ﬁsh.

Food

The lumpﬁsh feeds on small crustaceans and small ﬁsh.

Other Names

lump, lumpsucker, nipisa, kiark-varrey; Italian: ciclottero; Spanish: cicloptero.

Distribution

In the western Atlantic, lumpﬁsh occur from Hudson Bay to James Bay and from Labrador to New Jersey; they are rarely found from the Chesapeake Bay south or in Bermuda.

Habitat

Lumpﬁsh generally inhabit rocky bottoms of cold waters but may also occur among ﬂoating seaweed.

Atlantic Mackerel (Scomber scombrus)

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Like other members of the Scombridae family, the Atlantic mackerel is a fast-swimming, schooling, pelagic species that garners significant recreational and commercial interest. Sometimes it is almost completely absent, and at other times it is plentiful in swarming schools.

Identification

The Atlantic mackerel has a smooth, tapering head, a streamlined body, and brilliant coloration. An iridescent greenish-blue covers most of the upper body, turning to blue-black on the head and silvery white on the belly. The skin is satiny and has small, smooth scales.

The tail is forked. A distinguishing characteristic is the series of 23 to 33 wavy, dark bands on the upper part of the body. There are two fins on the back, one spiny and one soft, followed by a number of small finlets. There are also finlets on the undersurface of the body near the tail.

Size/Age

The average size for adults is 14 to 18 inches and 1.25 to 2.5 pounds. The all-tackle world record is a 2-pound, 10-ounce Norwegian fish. The maximum age is roughly 20 years.

Life history/Behavior

Atlantic mackerel native to the western Atlantic comprise two populations. The southern population appears offshore in early April, advancing toward Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey to later spawn off New Jersey and Long Island. In late May, the northern group enters southern New England waters for a short period and mingles with the southern stock, then moves north to spawn off Nova Scotia in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in June and July.

Atlantic mackerel are moderately proliﬁc. The eggs are released wherever the ﬁsh happen to be, leaving adverse winds to push eggs or small fry into areas where their chances of survival are slight. This behavior, combined with predation of large, as well as young, mackerel, results in a curious pattern of either superabundance or scarcity.

Food

The diet consists of ﬁsh eggs and a variety of small ﬁsh and fry.

Other Names

mackerel, common mackerel, Boston mackerel; Arabic: scomber; Danish: almindelige, makrel; Dutch: gewone makrel; French: maquereau; German: makrele; Italian: lacerta, macarello; Japanese: hirasaba, marusaba; Norwegian: makrell; Portuguese: cavalla; Spanish: caballa; Swedish: makrill; Turkish: uskumru.

Distribution

Occurring in the North Atlantic Ocean, the Atlantic mackerel ranges from Labrador to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, in the eastern region; and from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean and Black Seas in the western Atlantic.

Inconnu (Stenodus leucichthys)

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A member of the Salmonidae family and a relative of whiteﬁsh and cisco, the inconnu is a species with limited northern range. The only predatory member of the whiteﬁsh group in North America, it is highly favored by anglers as an exciting and large sportﬁsh, but it is perhaps the least caught of North American gameﬁsh. Its silvery coloring and tendency to leap high out of the water when hooked have earned it the nickname “Eskimo tarpon.”

Identification

The general body shape of the inconnu is very similar to that of a charr or a whiteﬁsh, but the head is relatively long, pointed, and depressed on the top. Its mouth is large, and the lower jaw clearly projects outward beyond the upper jaw. The maxillary, or upper jaw bone, extends back at least as far as the middle of the eye.

Small, ﬁne teeth are found on the anterior part of the lower jaw, and on the tongue, the premaxillaries, the head of the maxillaries, the vomer, and the palatines (bones of the roof of the mouth). The tail is distinctly forked. Sheeﬁsh have large scales, a dark lateral line, and, like all salmonids, an adipose fin.

Size/Age

Inconnu are said to grow to 60 pounds. The all-tackle world record is a 53-pounder from Alaska. The largest ﬁsh may be between 25 and 35 years old.

Life history/Behavior

Spawning takes place in the late summer and the early fall, when inconnu ascend freshwater tributaries. Inland inconnu leave lakes and run up tributaries as well. In coastal regions, inconnu migrate from estuaries to river mouths after ice out, then ascend freshwater tributaries; this migration may last a few weeks in shortlength rivers or months in longer ones. After spawning, they do not die but quickly migrate downstream.

Food and feeding habits

This species feeds mostly on small ﬁsh. Salmon smolts, cisco, smelt, and whiteﬁsh are among the common forage, and in coastal areas large schools of inconnu will fatten on baitfish prior to their spawning migration.

Other Names

sheeﬁsh, connie, Eskimo
tarpon; Russian: beloribitsa.

Distribution

In North America, inconnu are found in Alaska, from the Kuskokwim River (Bering Sea drainage) north, throughout the Yukon River in Canada, in the Mackenzie River, in Great Bear and Great Slave Lakes in Canada’s Northwest Territories as far as the Anderson River near Cape Bathurst, and in isolated areas of extreme northern British Columbia.

The largest North American ﬁsh occur in the vicinity of Selawik to Kotzebue, where tributaries enter into Hotham Inlet and Kotzebue Sound. In Asia, inconnu occur westward as far as the White Sea, and an isolated population inhabits the Caspian Sea and its drainage.

Habitat

Although generally viewed as a freshwater species, the inconnu occurs in strictly freshwater lakes and rivers and also in anadromous sea-run forms that winter in brackish deltas, bays, and tidewater areas and ascend coastal tributaries to spawn. It evidently evolved from purely freshwater ﬁsh to estuarine-anadromous ﬁsh.

Northern Hogsucker

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This is a widespread and distinctive-looking member of the sucker family.

Identification

The northern hogsucker gets its name from its piglike appearance, particularly its head. It has a very steep forehead and long, protruding lips, bearing a strong likeness to a pig’s snout. Its head also has a concave depression between the eyes, a trait distinctive among suckers. The body is conical, with the head region much thicker than the caudal peduncle. The body is marked with four lateral bars that come together on the ﬁsh’s back to form saddles. The northern hogsucker is generally darkly pigmented on the back and lightly pigmented on the belly.

Food

Like most suckers, the northern hogsucker preys upon many varieties of benthic organisms, the most common of which are insect larvae, small crustaceans, detritus, and algae. It feeds by disturbing the stream bottom with its large snout and sucking up organisms that it dislodges. It can often be seen with its body angled upward, tail high, nearly perpendicular to the stream bottom as it forages around larger rocks. Its small air bladder and large pectoral ﬁns help support it in the current while feeding.

Size/Age

The northern hogsucker is a medium-size sucker, reaching up to 12 to 14 inches in length. Sexual maturity is reached between 2 and 3 years old, although most ﬁsh do not spawn until age 4. The northern hogsucker may live for 8 years.

Spawning behavior

Northern hogsuckers spawn in mid to late spring as the water begins to warm. They do not make long upstream migrations, as many suckers do, but spawn in pool tails, rifﬂes, and stream margins near where they reside. Like most suckers, northern hogsuckers require clean gravel substrate for successful reproduction.

Other Names

sucker, hog sucker.

Range

The northern hogsucker is widely distributed across central and eastern North America, occurring in the Great Lakes, Mississippi, Ohio, and some Atlantic drainages.

Habitat

The northern hogsucker inhabits primarily large streams and small rivers. It is usually found in areas with high water quality and clean substrate, free of heavy siltation. It is well suited to a benthic lifestyle, remaining close to the bottom in areas of various depths and ﬂow velocities. Adults may inhabit deep pools and runs, as they are too large to be preyed upon by bass and other predators. The young and the subadults live in faster water and in the stream margins.

Arctic Grayling (Thymallus arcticus)

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Grayling belong to the Salmonidae family and are related to trout and whiteﬁsh. They are distinctive-looking ﬁsh, with a sail-like dorsal ﬁn, and are a superb sportﬁsh known primarily in the cool- and coldwater northern regions of North America. Their ﬁrm, white ﬂesh is good table fare, although it is not on a par with that of the wild trout and the charr that inhabit similar ranges. Grayling are excellent when smoked, however.

Identification

With its graceful lines, large ﬁn, and dramatic coloration, the grayling is a striking ﬁsh. Most striking is its large purple to black dorsal ﬁn, which extends backward and fans out into a trailing lobe, speckled with rows of spots. This fin may look bluish when the ﬁsh is in the water. Grayish silver overall, grayling usually have shades or highlights of gold, lavender, or both, as well as many dark spots that may be shaped like an X or a V on some ﬁsh.

Young arctic grayling can be distinguished from similar-looking young whitefish by narrow vertical parr marks (whiteﬁsh have round parr marks, if any). When the arctic grayling is taken from the water, a resemblance to the whiteﬁsh is especially apparent, as the beautiful colors fade to a dull gray. It has a small, narrow mouth with numerous small teeth in both jaws. The arctic grayling also has a forked caudal fin and relatively large, stiff scales.

Size

A small fish, with maximum lengths to 30 inches, the grayling can reach a maximum weight of about 6 pounds. The all-tackle world record for arctic grayling is a 5-pound, 15-ounce ﬁsh from the Northwest Territories in Canada, but any arctic grayling exceeding 3 pounds is considered large, and a 4-pounder is a trophy.

Life history/Behavior

Adult grayling spawn from April through June in rocky creeks; ﬁsh from lakes enter tributaries to spawn. Instead of making nests, they scatter their eggs over gravel and rely on the action of the water to cover the eggs with a protective coating. The eggs hatch in 13 to 18 days. Grayling are gregarious and flourish in schools of moderate numbers of their own kind. Arctic grayling of northern Canada may be especially abundant in selected areas of rivers.

Food and feeding habits

Young grayling initially feed on zooplankton and become mainly insectivorous as adults, although they also eat small ﬁsh, ﬁsh eggs, and, less often, lemmings and planktonic crustaceans.

Other Names

American grayling, arctic trout, Back’s grayling, blueﬁsh, grayling, sailﬁn arctic grayling; French: ombre artique, poisson bleu

Distribution

Arctic grayling are widespread in arctic drainages from Hudson Bay to Alaska and throughout central Alberta and British Columbia, as well as in the upper Missour River drainage in Montana. Previously known to inhabit some of the rivers feeding Lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior in northern Michigan, arctic grayling have been considered extinct there since 1936. They have been widely introduced elsewhere, especially in the western United States.

Habitat

Grayling prefer the clear, cold, well-oxygenated waters of medium to large rivers and lakes. They are most commonly found in rivers, especially in eddies, and the heads of runs and pools; in lakes, they prefer river mouths and rocky

Goldeye (Hiodon alosoides)

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A member of the Hiodontidae family of mooneye, the goldeye is one of Canada’s most celebrated freshwater ﬁsh, from an epicurean viewpoint. Although often called a herring or a shad, it is neither. The goldeye provides good sport for light-tackle anglers, but it is not pursued in many parts of its range.

Identification

The goldeye is a small ﬁsh whose compressed body is deep in proportion to its length and is covered with large, loose scales. Dark blue to blue green over the back, it is silvery on the sides, tapering to white on the belly. It has a small head and a short, bluntly rounded snout with a small terminal mouth containing many sharp teeth on the jaws and the tongue.

The color of its eyes and the position of its anal ﬁn distinguish it from the mooneye. The irises of the large eyes are gold and reﬂect light. The goldeye’s dorsal ﬁn begins opposite or behind its anal ﬁn (the mooneye’s begins before the anal fin). The goldeye can be distinguished from the gizzard shad by the absence of a dorsal ﬁn ray projection.

Size/Age

Adults average from 10 ounces to slightly more than a pound in weight and seldom exceed 2 pounds in most waters. They can grow to 5 pounds. The Manitoba record is a 5.06-pound ﬁsh from the Nelson River. They reportedly can live for 14 years.

Spawning behavior

In the spring, mature goldeye move into pools in rivers or backwater lakes of rivers, to spawn when the water temperature is between 50° and 56°F.

Food and feeding habits

Goldeye feed on a variety of organisms, from microscopic plankton to insects and ﬁsh. They do most of their foraging on or near the surface and predominantly on insects, although they will eat minnows and small frogs.

Other Names

Winnipeg goldeye, western goldeye, shad mooneye, toothed herring, yellow herring; French: la queche, laquaiche aux yeux d’or.

Distribution

Endemic to North America, goldeye are found in both Canadian and American waters. They occur from western Ontario to the Mackenzie River at Aklavik in the north, from below the Great Lakes south throughout the Ohio and Mississippi River drainages on the east, and from western Alberta throughout eastern Montana and Wyoming to Oklahoma on the west. Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba has historically been the largest commercial producer of these ﬁsh.

Habitat

Throughout their geographical range, goldeye are most often found in warm, silty sections of large rivers and in the backwaters of shallow lakes connected to them.

Spotted Gar (Lepisosteus oculatus)

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The spotted gar is a member of an ancient family, Lepisosteidae, of predaceous ﬁsh. It is often confused with its close relative, the Florida gar. The spotted gar has good sporting virtues but is not widely pursued, and it is often caught incidental to other ﬁshing activities. It is not considered a good food ﬁsh, and its roe is toxic to humans but not to other ﬁsh.

Identification

The body of the spotted gar is long and cylindrical, covered with hard, ganoid (diamond-shaped) scales. It has a single row of teeth in each jaw. The spotted and the Florida gar are the only two gar that have spots on the top of the head, as well as over the entire body and on the ﬁns.

The spots on other gar are limited to the ﬁns and the posterior portions of the body, usually after the pelvic (ventral) ﬁns. The two are generally distinguished by the distance between the front of the eye and the rear edge of the gill cover. If the distance is less than two-thirds the length of the snout, it is a Florida gar; if it is more than two-thirds the length of the snout, it is a spotted gar.

Size

The spotted gar rarely exceeds 3 feet and averages 2.5 feet. The all-tackle world record is a 9-pound, 12-ounce ﬁsh caught in Texas in 1994.

Life history/Behavior

Like other gar, this species is often observed basking on the surface on warm days, resembling a ﬂoating log. It occasionally breaks the surface and gulps air from its specialized bladder. Spawning occurs in the spring in grassy sloughs.

Other Names

French: garpique tachetée; Spanish: gaspar pintado.

Distribution

The spotted gar ranges from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico and down through the Mississippi River drainage system. It occurs all along the Gulf Coast from central Texas to the western portion of the Florida Panhandle. In the north of its range, it occurs eastward to the north and south shores of Lake Erie in northern Ohio, Michigan, and Ontario, but it seldom occurs much west of Illinois.

Habitat

The spotted gar is common in the pools and backwaters of creeks and small to large rivers and in swamps, lakes, and oxbows, often near vegetation. It occasionally enters brackish water and is highly tolerant of warm, stagnant water.

Shortnose Gar (Lepisosteus platostomus)

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The shortnose gar is the smallest member of an ancient family, Lepisosteidae, of predaceous ﬁsh. It is the most tolerant of all the gar, as it is capable of withstanding murky and brackish water with the help of its specialized air bladder. The bladder allows the gar to gulp in supplementary air and to release gases.

Because large numbers of coarse ﬁsh and panﬁsh exist in many waters inhabited by gar, the shortnose gar (as well as other gar) can be useful in controlling these populations. In some areas, however, it is considered a nuisance by anglers and sometimes even a masalah because of its abundance.

The shortnose gar has good sporting virtues but is not widely pursued. It is often caught incidentally by anglers pursuing other ﬁsh. It is not considered a good food ﬁsh, and its roe is toxic.

Identification

The body is long and cylindrical, covered with ganoid (diamond-shaped) scales. There is a single row of teeth in the upper jaw, compared with the alligator gar’s two rows. It has a short, broad snout. Unlike its relatives the Florida gar and the spotted gar, it has no spots on its head, but it does have spots on its dorsal, anal, and caudal ﬁns. Size. The shortnose gar rarely exceeds 2.5 feet in length. The all-tackle world record is a 5-pound, 12-ounce fish caught in 1995 in Illinois.

Spawning behavior

Spawning occurs in the spring in shallow bays and sloughs. The eggs attach to weeds or other objects.

Food

The diet of the shortnose gar is similar to that of other gar; forage and rough ﬁsh comprise the bulk of its food.

Distribution

The shortnose gar occurs from the Great Lakes south to the Gulf of Mexico but is essentially limited to the low-gradient portions of the Mississippi River basin. In the United States, it is found from northern Alabama to Oklahoma and down through Louisiana to the Gulf of Mexico. In the north, it has a broad range in the river systems that feed the Mississippi, from southern Ohio to Montana.

Habitat

This species is common in quiet water, including the pools and backwater areas of creeks and small to large rivers, and in swamps, lakes, and oxbows, often near vegetation. The shortnose gar is even more tolerant of muddy water than are other gar, and it prefers warm water.

Longnose Gar (Lepisosteus osseus)

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The longnose gar is the most common and widely distributed member of the gar family, Lepisosteidae, one of the few remaining ancient groups of predaceous ﬁsh once in abundance. Its long endurance is due to a specialized air bladder that enables the gar to take in air at the surface, allowing it to survive in the poorest waters.

Identification

The body of the longnose gar is long and slender. It has an extended narrow beak (18 to 20 times as long as it is wide at its narrowest point). The skeleton is part cartilage and part bone. Both upper and lower jaws are lined with strong, sharp teeth. The nostrils are located in a small, bulbous, ﬂeshy growth at the very tip of the beak.

The body is covered with bony, ganoid (diamond shaped) scales. The dorsal and the anal ﬁns are set far back. Its coloring is olive brown or deep green along the back and the upper sides, with a silver white belly. There are numerous black spots on the body, although not on the head or the jaws. The longnose gar can be distinguished from other gar by its elongated snout.

Size

The average ﬁsh is 2 to 3 feet in length but occasionally reaches 5 feet. The all-tackle record is 50 pounds, 5 ounces.

Life history/Behavior

Groups of adult gar often lie motionless at the surface, strongly resembling floating sticks. In the summer, they will roll over and break the surface to gulp air (usually in extremely murky water) and release gases from their air bladders. Males mature when they are 3 or 4 years old, females at 6 years old. The spawning season is in the spring in shallow water.

Food and feeding habits

Longnose gar feed on shiners, sunﬁsh, gizzard shad, catﬁsh, and bullhead. They sometimes slowly stalk their prey but are generally known to lie in wait for it to come close.

Other Names

French: garpique longnez; Spanish: gaspar picudo.

Distribution

The longnose gar is the most common and widely distributed of all gar. It is primarily found throughout the eastern half of North America, within the Mississippi River system and other drainages.

Its range generally encompasses an area from Minnesota and the Great Lakes to Quebec, southward to southern Florida and the Gulf states, and westward to the Rio Grande bordering Texas and Mexico. It may reach as far as Montana in the north and the Pecos River in New Mexico to the south. Large concentrations exist along the Atlantic coast.

Habitat

Longnose gar inhabit warm, quiet water, frequenting shallow weedy areas and the sluggish pools, backwaters, and oxbows of large and medium rivers and lakes. They occasionally enter brackish water and can tolerate murky and stagnant environments.

Alligator Gar (Lepisosteus spatula)

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The alligator gar is the largest member of the gar family, Lepisosteidae, and one of North America’s largest inland ﬁsh. It is a primitive species, dating from the Mesozoic era, 65 to 230 million years ago. Fossil remains of gar are often found in limestone quarries throughout the southern United States. The tough, armorlike scales of this species were once used by Indians as arrowheads, and pioneer farmers covered their wooden plowshares with gar hides.

The gar is a resilient ﬁsh with an adaptable specialized air bladder that enables it to take in air at the surface, allowing it to survive in the poorest water conditions. Holding a strong resemblance to its namesake, the alligator gar is strong and voracious, and a tough ﬁghter when hooked. It is capable of jumping spectacularly.

The alligator gar has been under siege for most of the twentieth century, eagerly sought and killed. Efforts to eradicate them existed in many of their natural habitats under the ill-advised notion of ridding the waters of gameﬁsh-killing monsters. Many huge ﬁsh, including specimens from 100 pounds to more than 300 pounds, were removed by commercial netters, anglers using big-game tackle, and others using steel-tipped arrows while bowfishing.

Although their numbers are drastically reduced today, alligator gar are not classiﬁed as gameﬁsh by most state ﬁsheries agencies and are not regulated as to size or manner of ﬁshing. There is virtually no concerted sportﬁshing for this species today.

Identification

The alligator gar’s body is long and cylindrical, covered with heavy, ganoid (diamond-shaped) scales. The snout is short and broad like an alligator’s, and there are two rows of teeth on either side of the upper jaw (other gar have only one).

It has a single dorsal ﬁn that is far back on the body above the anal ﬁn and just before the tail. The tail is rounded, and the pectoral, ventral, and anal ﬁns are evenly spaced on the lower half of the body. Its coloring is olive or greenish brown above and lighter below. The sides are mottled with large black spots.

These and other gar are often mistaken for ﬂoating logs. The alligator gar can be distinguished from all other gar by the two rows of teeth in the upper jaw, its broader snout, and its large size when fully grown. The alligator gar most closely resembles members of the pike family in body shape and ﬁn placement, although the tail of this ﬁsh is forked, not rounded.

Size

The alligator gar is the giant of the gar family. It still attains weights in excess of 100 pounds, although such ﬁsh are not common; larger ﬁsh are occasionally captured in commercial ﬁshing nets. The maximum size of alligator gar is not certain, although the ﬁgure evidently exceeds 300 pounds, and they can reach more than 10 feet in length. The all-tackle rod-and-reel record is a 279-pound ﬁsh captured in the Rio Grande River in Texas in 1951. There are reports, however, of larger ﬁsh. A 190-pounder caught in a net in Arkansas in 1997 was 7 feet, 11 inches long.

Spawning behavior

Spawning occurs in the spring and the early summer in shallow bays and sloughs. The female lays dark green eggs that stick to vegetation and rocks until they hatch in 6 to 8 days. The female is capable of producing as many as 77,000 eggs at once. The young are solitary and ﬂoat at the surface like sticks.

Food

Although the alligator gar is infamous for eating almost anything, from dead animals to ducks and popular gameﬁsh, studies have revealed that most of its diet consists of gizzard shad, threadfin shad, golden shiners, and rough or coarse ﬁsh species.

Other Names

garpike; French: garpique alligator; Spanish: gaspar baba.

Distribution

The range of the alligator gar extends from the Mississippi River basin of southwestern Ohio and southern Illinois south to the Gulf of Mexico, and from the Enconﬁna River of the western Florida Panhandle west to Veracruz, Mexico. It has reportedly been taken from Lake Nicaragua, but this catch could have been confused with a large relative, L. tristoechius, taken from Cuban, Central American, and Mexican waters—a ﬁsh that rivals the alligator gar in size.

Habitat

Large lakes, bays, backwaters, bayous, and coastal delta waters along large southern rivers are the preferred habitat of the alligator gar, although this ﬁsh is seldom found in brackish or marine waters. It favors shallow, weedy environs and the sluggish pools and backwaters of large rivers and can survive in hot and stagnant waters. Alligator gar are often seen ﬂoating at the surface. They occasionally come to the surface layer to expel gases and to take air into their swim bladders.

Fallfish (Semotilus corporalis)

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The fallﬁsh is a member of the Cyprinidae family, the largest family of freshwater ﬁsh, which also includes minnows and carp. Often confused with the creek chub, the fallﬁsh is the largest in its minnow clan.

Identification

The body of the fallﬁsh is slender, with a bluntly pointed head. There is a single, long dorsal ﬁn. On an adult, the scales are arranged in a pattern of dark, triangular black bars. The mouth is terminal and has barbels—which are characteristic of cyprinids—that are sometimes hidden.

Its coloring is olive on the back, silvery on the sides, and white on the belly. A breeding male has tubercles on the snout and a pinkish coloring. A juvenile has a dark black line along the sides. The fallfish can be distinguished from the creek chub by the absence of a black spot at the base of the dorsal fin.

Size/Age

Fallfish may grow to 16 inches or more in length. In smaller streams, they are more likely to be smaller, averaging 10 to 15 inches. A common weight is 1 to 2 pounds. Fallﬁsh have been known to live as long as 10 years.

Spawning behavior

The spawning season is from spring through summer, beginning in early May when the water warms. The male builds a pit-ridge nest out of small stones and pebbles in shallow areas or quiet pools over a clean gravel bottom.

The nest can reach 6 feet in length and 3 feet in height. It can weigh up to 200 pounds, due to the volume of pebbles, and is the largest stone mound nest built by any ﬁsh. The male repeatedly spawns over one nest with several different females.

Food

Adult fallﬁsh consume aquatic and terrestrial insects (such as mayflies, beetles, wasps, and ants), small crustaceans, small ﬁsh, and algae. Juveniles feed on zooplankton and phytoplankton.

Other Names

windﬁsh, silver chub.

Distribution

These ﬁsh are commonly found from eastern Canada into the James Bay drainage, and south on the east side of the Appalachian Mountains to Virginia.

Habitat

Fallﬁsh inhabit the gravel- and rocky-bottomed areas of cold, clear streams, as well as the edges of lakes and ponds. In rivers and streams, adults prefer deeper, quieter waters, whereas juveniles often frequent swifter, shallower water.

American Eel

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American eels are members of the Anguillidae family of freshwater eels and are preyed upon by many species at different stages of their existence. They are important forage for such large offshore predators as sharks, haddock, and swordﬁsh; for inshore species like striped bass; and for many species of birds, including bald eagles and various gulls. Larger individuals (10 to 16 inches or so) are used as bait by anglers, especially those seeking big striped bass, and they may be sold as bait in coastal shops.

Identification

he body is elongate and snakelike, with a pointed head and many teeth. It is covered with thick mucus, hence the phrase “slippery as an eel.” The large mouth extends as far back as the midpoint of the eye or past it. There is a single gill opening just in front of the pectoral ﬁns. There are no pelvic ﬁns, and the soft-rayed dorsal, anal, and caudal ﬁns form one continuous ﬁn. There are no visible scales. Coloring changes with maturity, as described later in this text.

Size/Age

American eels grow to 50 inches and 16 pounds. The average size for adult females is about 3 feet, whereas adult males are considerably smaller, rarely growing more than a foot long. They can live longer than 9 years in rivers, streams, and lakes.

Life history/Behavior

When it comes time to spawn, the males and the females stop feeding, change in color from olive to black, and move out to sea. Eels spawn in the same area of the Atlantic Ocean, in deep water at the north edge of the Sargasso Sea. There each female lays as many as 10 to 20 million eggs, and both sexes die after spawning.

The eggs ﬂoat to the surface and soon hatch into slim, transparent larvae (glass eels). The sex an eel becomes is thought to be partly determined by environmental conditions, such as crowding and food abundance, but it is not determined until they are about 8 to 10 inches long and living in their freshwater habitat.

The larvae drift and swim for 1 year with ocean currents toward river mouths. Males stay near the mouths of rivers, whereas females travel upstream, mostly at night. Eels can absorb oxygen through their skin, as well as through their gills, and are known to travel overland, particularly in damp, rainy weather. Balls of intertwined eels have been seen rolling up beaches in search of freshwater for overwintering.

Food

The diet of the nocturnal feeding American eels includes insect larvae, small ﬁsh, crabs, worms, clams, and frogs. They also feed on dead animals or on the eggs of ﬁsh and are able to tear smaller pieces of food that are too large to be swallowed whole.

Their feeding habits are rather unusual with respect to large quarry. These eels have relatively weak jaws that are mainly suited to grasping, yet they possess many small, round, and rather blunt teeth. Because they are palindromic—that is, they can move equally well forward or backward forcefully—they are able to pull, twist, and spin when tearing apart prey that is too large to be consumed whole.

Other Names

silver eel, Atlantic eel, common eel, yellow-bellied eel, freshwater eel, bronze eel, water snake, whip; Dutch: amerikaanse aal; Finnish: amerikanan kerias; French: anguille d’Amerique; Italian: anguilla americana; Japanese: unagi; Portuguese: enguia-americana; Spanish: anguila, anguila americana; Swedish: amerikansk ål.

Distribution

The American eel occurs from southwest Greenland to Labrador, south along the North American coast to Bermuda, the Gulf of Mexico, Panama, and the Caribbean islands. Within this region, inland it occurs from the Mississippi River drainage east, and northeast to the Great Lakes and to the Atlantic Ocean.

Habitat

American eels are catadromous, spending most of their lives in freshwater and returning to saltwater to spawn. They prefer to dwell in heavy vegetation or to burrow in the sandy bottom. Their physical structure is such that they can easily swim backward and dig tail ﬁrst into soft bottom sediments.

Freshwater Drum (Aplodinotus grunniens)

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The freshwater drum is the only North American freshwater representative of the Sciaenidae family, which includes the croaker, the drum, the corbina, and the seatrout, among others. It also has the greatest range of any North American freshwater ﬁsh, is highly adaptable, and is an excellent battler on light tackle, although it is extremely underrated and underutilized as a sportﬁsh.

A unique feature of the freshwater drum is its oversize otolith—a ﬂat, egg-shaped “ear bone” used for hearing and balance. It is surrounded by ﬂuid and has a white, enameled surface with alternating light and dark bands that can be used to determine the age of the ﬁsh. These are often kept as good luck charms or made into jewelry. Excavated from Indian village sites, huge otoliths from freshwater drum indicate that at one time the ﬁsh grew as large as 200 pounds.

Although a strong ﬁghter with some commercial value, the freshwater drum is not generally highly sought as either a sport or a food ﬁsh. It is deliberately sought by some anglers in the southern and midwestern regions of the United States, although it is mostly caught accidentally by anglers.

The freshwater drum is often confused with a carp in both appearance and taste, although on close examination it does not look like a carp. The drum’s ﬂesh is white with large, coarse ﬂakes. It has been described by some as being of low quality, but this determination is inaccurate.

Often found in clear waters, it is a relative of the saltwater drum and the croaker, which are highly valued as food. The freshwater drum, too, is ﬁne table fare. Perhaps 5 to 10 million pounds are taken annually for commercial purposes, mostly from Lake Erie, and mostly for animal feed.

Identification

The body is deep with a humped back, a blunt snout, and a subterminal mouth adapted for bottom feeding. A set of powerful teeth is in the pharynx. It has two dorsal ﬁns, the ﬁrst having eight to nine spines. The anal ﬁn has two spines, the second of which is long and extremely stout. The caudal ﬁn is bluntly pointed. Its coloring is green to gray on its back, with silvery overtones and a white belly. The large, silvery scales are rough to the touch.

The freshwater drum’s two dorsal ﬁns and rounded tail distinguish it from the carp and the buffalo. Also, the ﬁrst dorsal ﬁn of the freshwater drum is composed of eight to nine spines, whereas the carp has only one spine at the beginning of its single soft-rayed dorsal ﬁn, and the buffalo has no spines at all. The freshwater drum can be distinguished from all other freshwater ﬁsh by the lateral line, which extends to the tip of the tail and is characteristic of sciaenids.

Size/Age

The average size of a freshwater drum is 15 inches and 3 pounds, although they can grow to 50 pounds. The average commercial catch usually weighs 1 to 5 pounds. The all-tackle record is 54 pounds, 8 ounces. Freshwater drum can live up to 20 years.

Spawning

The freshwater drum spawns in the spring when the water temperature reaches 65° to 70°F. The eggs are released over shallow gravel and sandy stretches near shore. They stick to pebbles or stones on the bottom and hatch within 2 weeks. Neither the eggs nor the young receive parental care.

Food and feeding habits

Young drum feed on minute crustaceans. Adults consume mollusks, insects, and fish. Using their snouts, they slowly move small rocks and other bottom materials to ﬁnd food. Their pharyngeal teeth crush snail or clam shells, and they spit out the shells and swallow the soft bodies.

Other Names

sheepshead, croaker, grunt, drum, silver bass, thunder pumper; French: malachigan.

Distribution

The freshwater drum occurs over much of the United States, between the Rockies and the Appalachians southward throughout eastern Mexico to Guatemala’s Río Usumacinta system and northward through Manitoba, Canada, all the way to Hudson Bay. It also occurs in some areas of Ontario, Quebec, and Saskatchewan.

Habitat

Although it prefers clear waters, the freshwater drum is adaptable and can withstand turbid water better than can many other species. It is commonly found in large lakes and in the deep pools of rivers. It favors deep water, staying at the bottom but moving shoreward at dusk. The drum is rarely found in small streams or small lakes.

Darters

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Darters are an incredibly diverse and colorful group of freshwater ﬁsh, which rival saltwater ﬁsh in brilliance. They are actually small representatives of the perch family (Percidae) and are closely related to yellow perch and walleye. The darter group consists of approximately 160 species, all of which are restricted to North America. As such, they represent 20 percent of all ﬁsh in the United States.

Identification

Three genera of darters are recognized: Percina, which includes roughly 40 species; Etheostoma, which includes roughly 112 species; and Ammocrypta, with 7 species. The genus Percina contains the largest darters. Most are rather drab and cryptic in coloration, although the males of some species exhibit impressive spawning coloration.

The genus Etheostoma is diverse in the shape and the coloration of its representatives. The bodies and ﬁns of many of these darters are painted with shades of red, blue, yellow, green, and orange interspersed with black blotches. Members of the genus Ammocrypta are dull and sandcolored. This camouﬂages them from predators in the large, sand-bottomed rivers they inhabit.

Darters can reach a length of 12 inches (Percina lenticula, the freckled darter), although most are only a few inches long, even as adults. The smallest is the fountain darter (Etheostoma fonticola), which reaches an adult size of only 1.5 inches. The darter has two dorsal ﬁns, the front with hard spines and the rear with soft rays. The caudal ﬁn is usually rounded or emarginate.

Many darters are sexually dimorphic, and the males are usually larger and brightly colored. Males also develop thickened body tissues, ﬂeshy knobs on the dorsal ﬁn rays and spines, and breeding tubercles during spawning. The showy appearance of courting males is thought to attract females during spawning and accounts for the large amount of angling interest in this group.

Life history/Behavior

As a group, darters are well adapted to life in fast water and on the stream bottom. Their rounded bodies and slightly ﬂattened head regions are especially hydrodynamic. In addition, most members of the group have completely absent, or poorly developed, swim bladders.

They use their enlarged pectoral fins to perch on rocks, allowing them to remain on the stream bottom, out of the current. Their body style is suited to the unique swimming manner for which this group as a whole is named. Darters do not swim in the same way that most ﬁsh do; instead, they leap from one spot to another with short jumps or “darts.”

Darters display much variability in reproductive strategies. Most produce few, relatively large eggs and provide some degree of parental care. Most members of the genus Etheostoma are cavity spawners and lay adhesive eggs on the undersides of medium-size rocks, usually in fast water. Males of this genus are often brightly colored to attract females to nest sites that they have prepared for egg laying.

Members of the genera Percina and Ammocrypta spawn in a simpler manner. Two or more individuals group together in fast-water areas over sand between larger rocks. Males and females align their bodies next to each other, then simultaneously release sperm and eggs into the substrate and bury them. This protects the eggs from predation and ﬂoods.

Most darters spawn in the spring to early summer. Several species are believed to spawn multiple times per year. Darters are not a long-lived group. Most species live less than 5 years. Sexual maturity is usually attained at between 1 and 3 years.

Food and feeding habits

Darters primarily feed on bottom-dwelling organisms, mostly small insects, worms, and snails. However, as a group they exhibit a diversity of feeding strategies that corresponds to morphological differences. Large darters feed on insects on top of rocks or pick them out of sand and gravel.

Shorter, more ﬂexible darters often feed on clinging insects between and underneath rocks. As a result of these different feeding strategies, several darter species can coexist in the same area of a stream.

Distribution

Darters range from northern Mexico into Canada and from the eastern coastal plains west to the Continental Divide. Only one species, the Mexican darter (Etheostoma pottsi), occurs west of the Continental Divide, in northern Mexico.

Darters are most diverse in the southern Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee and Virginia and in the Ozark plateau of northern Arkansas. The johnny darter (Etheostoma nigrum) is the most widely distributed, followed by the orange-throat darter (Etheostoma spectabile) and perhaps the logperch darter (Percina caprodes).

Habitat

Darters are found in all types of freshwater habitats. They may inhabit small streams, large rivers, spring seeps, ponds, lakes, or reservoirs. They are most frequently found in fast-moving water, however.

Longnose Dace (Rhinichthys cataractae)

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A member of the Cyprinidae family of minnows and carp, the longnose dace has many valuable functions. Easily obtainable, small, and extremely hardy, it is prized as exceptional bait and is especially signiﬁcant for bass ﬁshing. Primarily feeding on blackﬂy larvae, it is also valued for its control of the blackﬂy population. And, like many small minnows, it provides excellent forage for predator fish, especially bass and trout. It is not sought by anglers but may be netted for use as bait.

Identification

The longnose dace is a distinctive minnow with a long ﬂeshy snout, a subterminal mouth, and a deep caudal peduncle. The head and the nape slope downward from its cylindrical body, giving this minnow a streamlined appearance. Pigmentation is widely variable; the dorsum can be greenish, brown, or reddish purple, and the lower sides and the venter may be silvery, white, or yellow.

The sides are sometimes marked by darkened scales, a lateral stripe, and a blotch near the tail. The longnose dace can quickly be distinguished from most other minnows by the presence of a frenum, a small ﬂeshy bridge between the snout and the upper jaw. It can be distinguished from other species of Rhinichthys by its long snout.

Other characteristics of the longnose dace are small barbels in the corner of the mouth, small scales, a complete lateral line with 48 to 76 scales, and eyes that are situated near the top of the head. A breeding male has red coloration on the head and the ﬁns and develops small tubercles on the head, the body, and the ventral ﬁns.

Size/Age

Adults can reach lengths exceeding 6 inches, but most are less than 4 inches long. They have been known to live up to 5 years.

Spawning behavior

Longnose dace mature within 2 years but may live up to 5 years. Females often grow larger and live longer than do males. Reproduction occurs between the late spring and the early summer. Interestingly, an eastern subspecies spawns during the day, whereas a western subspecies spawns at night.

Longnose dace are categorized as broadcast spawners, scattering their eggs in shallow, fast-flowing areas and over chub nests. Males aggressively defend spawning areas, but more than one male may line up next to the female during spawning. Spawning occurs on the stream bottom and may result in the burial of eggs within the substrate. The female deposits between 200 and 1,200 eggs during spawning.

Food and feeding habits

Longnose dace feed on aquatic insects (especially midges and blackﬂy larvae), worms, small crustaceans, mites, algae, and plants. They have taste buds on their ventral ﬁns, lower heads, lips, and snouts, which may enable them to ﬁnd food along the stream bottom.

Other Names

dace; French: naseux de rapide.

Distribution

The longnose dace has the widest distribution of any minnow in North America and is an important forage species where it is abundant. Several subspecies are recognized, but further study may reveal the occurrence of unique populations or additional subspecies.

The distribution of the longnose dace spans the entire continent, ranging throughout the southern half of Canada and the northern United States. It extends southward to Georgia within the southern Appalachian Mountains and into northern Mexico through the Rocky Mountains. Its northern limit is the Mackenzie River drainage, Canada, which lies within the Arctic Circle.

Habitat

Longnose dace occur in a wide variety of habitats. They are found in the rifﬂes, runs, and pools of creeks, streams, and rivers. Within lakes, they usually prefer areas around rocky shorelines. These streamlined ﬁsh are well adapted to fast-moving waters.

Blacknose Dace (Rhinichthys atratulus)

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A member of the Cyprinidae family of minnows and carp, the blacknose dace makes excellent bait due to its small size and hardiness and, like many small minnows, provides excellent forage for predator ﬁsh, especially bass and trout. It is not sought by anglers but may be netted for use as bait.

Identification

The blacknose dace has a long slim body with a slightly protruding snout. The barbels, which are characteristic of most minnows, corner both sides of the mouth. The coloring is silvery, with dark olive gray fading to white on the belly. A dark lateral line runs along either side onto the head. It can be distinguished from the longnose dace (Rhinichthys cataractae) by its shorter snout.

Size/Age

Blacknose dace generally live 2 to 3 years and have an average size of 2 to 3 inches.

Spawning behavior

Blacknose dace spawn in the spring, starting in late May or early June. They build no nests; the fertilized eggs are dropped over the gravel bottom. The male, however, is known to defend spawning territories. The female releases approximately 750 eggs, and little or no parental care is given to them.

Food and feeding habits

Blacknose dace feed on insect larvae, small crustaceans, small worms, and plant material.

Other Names

eastern blacknose dace, brook minnow, potbelly, redﬁn dace, chub.

Distribution

The range of the blacknose dace spans from North Dakota to the St. Lawrence drainage and south to Nebraska and North Carolina.

Habitat

These ﬁsh are commonly found in rapid, clear streams and the rocky runs and pools of small rivers; they can survive in stagnant summer waters and tolerate crowded conditions.