Description: The walleye is a freshwater fish in the perch family. Walleye are long and thin, primarily gold and olive in color, with a white belly. The back is crossed with five or more black bands. They have two dorsal fins—one spiny and one soft-rayed. The walleye’s mouth is large with sharp teeth, and it has low-light vision that helps it find prey at night. Walleye are about 2.5 to 3 feet in length and weigh up to 10 to 20 pounds. Best time to eat them is in the summer but still good in the winter. They prefer cooler water temperatures found in both clear and turbid, shallow or deep water. Walleye reproduce at about 3 to 4 years of age.
Conservation status: Walleye are not threatened or endangered. They are managed by humans as a game fish.
Native Range: They are native to majority of Canada and the great lakes. They are common throughout every state.
Walleye Status Range:
Northern Pike:
Description:The northern pike is stream-lined - long, slender but muscular, and torpedo-shaped with greenish body coloration on the top and sides, and very light or white coloration on the underside. It has a characteristic duck-billed shaped snout with a large mouth, tongue and palate lined with hundreds of backward-slanting teeth to grip, while long teeth in the lower jaw pierce. The northern pike’s one-part dorsal fin has no sharp spines and is located along the top of the fish close to the tail. Young northerns have light bars on their darker greenish colored bodies. On the adults, these light-colored bars break into irregular spots. Northern pike have an especially slimy body, which reduces friction as this predator accelerates through the water. Best to eat in the winter while is cold as the northern pike is less slimy and meat of fish is less squishy, doesn’t taste as good in the summer.
Conservation status: Northern Pike are not endangered, they are secured and monitored throughout the United states. Canada has the same conservation status when It comes to Northern Pike.
Other names: Pike, Jack, Jack fish.
Native Range: Mostly found In Canada and more of the upper states of America.
Northern Pike Status Range:
Black Crappie:
Description: Black crappie are found in freshwater lakes, reservoirs, ponds, sloughs, backwaters pools, and streams. Crappie prefer cover, such as such as vegetation, fallen trees or boulders. They often form in large groups, called schools, in clear water among vegetation over mud or sand. The common length for black crappie is 10.8 inches and the maximum reported length for a black crappie is 19.3 inches. The heaviest published weight for a black crappie is 6 pounds. Black crappie often form schools and feed early in the morning. They inhabit quiet, warm temperate waters; usually associated with abundant aquatic vegetation and sandy to muddy bottoms. Black crappie may compete with walleye when found in the same habitat and because the feeding habits of these species are very similar.
Conservation Status: Black Crappie are not endangered but do get surveyed regularly to see if there's any changes in the population.
Other names: Shiner, calico bass, moon fish.
Native Range: The native range for black crappie in North America extends from Virginia to Florida along the Atlantic coast and southwest along the Gulf of Mexico from the western panhandle of Florida across to Texas. Black Crappie also can be found within the St. Lawrence River, the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River basins.
Black Crappie Status Range:
White Bass:
Description: White bass have a streamlined, elongated body with silvery sides and a slightly greenish to bluish tint on the back. They have distinct horizontal stripes on their sides, which are usually dark and well-defined. White bass are generally moderate in size. Adult fish typically range from 10 to 17 inches in length. The weight can vary, but they are not as large as some other bass species. They commonly weigh between 1 to 3 pounds. They are found in a variety of freshwater habitats, including lakes, reservoirs, rivers, and streams). White bass prefer clear water but can adapt to different conditions.
Conservation status: The white bass has a stable population and is the least of concerns for endangered fish.
Other names: Silver bass, sand bass
Native Range: The native range of white bass includes the central United States, from the Mississippi River drainage to the Great Lakes.
White Bass Status Range:
Bluegill:
Description: The bluegill is noted for the black spot near the (ear) that it has on each side of the posterior edge of the gills and base of the dorsal fin. The sides of its head and chin are commonly a dark shade of blue. The precise coloration will vary due to the presence of neutrally controlled chromatophores under the skin. Native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and wetlands east of the Rocky Mountains. The namebluegill comes from the bluish region on the cheek and gill cover. They are a deep, slab-sided (tall and flat) fish with a small mouth. The common length for bluegill is 7.5 inches with the maximum reported length being 16 inches. The heaviest published weight for a bluegill is 4 pounds 12 ounces.
Other Names: Some names there referred to in Texas are Bream, brim, sunny, copper nose.
Conservation status: Bluegills are listed as least concerned but are managed by recreational fishing regulations.
Native Range: Bluegill range in North America extends fromCanada to northern Mexico.
Description: Burbot are a rather unusual looking fish. They are not the most attractive fish and generally do not fight hard; however, they are popular with sport and subsistence users because of their table quality. They have a delicate white meat, a treat for Alaskans living away from the coast. Burbot have mottled skin that ranges in color from black to gray to olive and even yellow. They have elongated dorsal and anal fins that extend all the way to a rounded caudal fin and a distinct single soft barb on their lower jaw. Burbot appear to be scaleless but have small, almost microscopic scales.
Conservation status: They are the least concerned according to the internet. They are a sports fish in some parts of the states.
Other names: Burbot lota lota,bubbot, Mariah, loche, cusk,
Native Range: Throughout Canada, Alaska, and northern United States (south to Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Missouri, Wyoming and Oregon.
Burbot Status Range:
LargeMouth Bass:
Description: The largemouth bass is an olive-green to greenish gray fish, marked by a series of dark, sometimes black, blotches forming a jagged horizontal stripe along each flank. The upper jaw of a largemouth bass extends beyond the rear margin of the orbit. Common length for largemouth bass is 16 inches with the longest recorded specimen being 38.2 inches. The heaviest reported weight for a largemouth was 22 pounds. Largemouth bass maximum reported age is 23 years.
Other names: Widemouth bass, bigmouth bass, bucket mouth.
Conservation status: Listed as least concerned
Native Range: The range of largemouth bass within North America extends from the St. Lawrence River, the Great Lakes, Hudson Bay (Red River), and into the Mississippi River basin. Largemouth bass are also found in Atlantic drainages from North Carolina to Florida and into northern Mexico.
Largemouth Bass Status Range:
PumpkinSeed Sunfish:
Description: Pumpkinseed Sunfish are commonly found in: Lakes, Ponds, Rivers, Streams, They prefer calm waters that are shallow, with plenty of aquatic vegetation and hiding spots. The Pumpkinseed Sunfish has a laterally compressed, oval-shaped, and slightly flattened body. Their bodies boast striking colors with a variety of shades, predominantly blue, green, orange, and yellow. They have seven to eight dark bars running vertically down their sides and a distinctive red or orange spot on their gill flap. Adult Pumpkinseed Sunfish can reach up to 3 to 4 inches in length.
Conservation status: They are listed as least concerned.
Other names: Sunfish, sunny, green sunfish, punkie
Native Range: The pumpkinseed's natural range in North America is from New Brunswick down the east coast to South Carolina. It then runs inland to the middle of North America and extends through Iowa and back through Pennsylvania. Pumpkinseed sunfish have however been introduced throughout most of North America. They can now be found from Washington and Oregon on the Pacific Coast to Georgia on the Atlantic Coast. Yet they are primarily found in the northeastern United States and more rarely in the south-central or southwestern region of the continent.
Pumpkinseed sunfish Status Range:
Sockeye Salmon:
Description: Sockeyes appear as a dark red-orange color of its flesh and because it turns deep red as it swims upstream at the end of its life to spawn. Sockeye salmon is smaller than most other salmon, weighing in at about five pounds to a maximum of 15 pounds, with thinner, more compact flesh.
Sockeye conservation status: They are endangered
Native Range: Most common in Alaska and coast of British Columbia. Comes down on the coast of the states but not as common.
Common Names: Red Salmon, Blueback Salmon, Kokanee
Sockeye Salmon Status Range:
RainbowTrout:
Description: Rainbow trout can be found in freshwater bodies such as rivers and streams. They prefer a place with an abundance of natural covers such as water vegetation, weeds, and gravelly shoreline. Rainbow trout can be found in streams where the currents are strong and water flow is fast but also do well in cool and deep water. There have been reports of steelhead trout weighing up to 55 pounds. Steelhead normally reach lengths of 18 to 24 inches but have been reported reaching lengths of 45 inches.
Conservation status: Rainbow Trout are considered endangered in some regions of the states and its due to stream damming or sediment runoff.
Other names: Steelhead, redband trout
Native Range: Historically, steelhead trout are native to North America, west of the Rocky Mountains.Rainbow Trout is native of the United States including the Pacific coast from Mexico to Alaska, northeastern and central United States along with the eastern coast of Asia.
Rainbow Trout Status range:
Brook trout:
Description: Brook trout can grow to over 2 feet in length and weigh up to 15 pounds in the Great Lakes. In streams, they are typically 6 to 15 inches, and weigh 1 to 5 pounds. As spawning season approaches the colors of brook trout greatly intensify, especially in males whose flanks and belly become orange-red with a black stripe along each side. They prefer small spring fed streams and ponds with sand or gravel bottom and vegetation. They spawn over gravel in either streams or lakes, with ground water percolation or in the spring fed areas in lakes. Young brook trout feed on plankton and progress to insects until they are adults.
Native Range: Brook trout are native to eastern North America, from the Great Lakes east to the Atlantic Ocean, and down the Appalachian Mountains as far south as Georgia, where they are found in many high elevation streams.
Conservation Status: Brook Trout are not generally considered threatened however they figure floods and droughts will be the main cause for population change.
