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Novice2Pro Fish Identification
We have listed the fish that are commonly found in New York State, and more
specifically, Northern and Central New York. We have listed other great
places to search for different areas and species, along with other states'
Conservation agencies to identify their resident fish.
(Click on the images below to view a full-size version.)
 The largemouth bass occurs in much of North American waters. It has a deep gap
between the spiny and soft dorsal fins, and the upper jaw extends far behind the
rear margin of the eye. The mid side has a dark horizontal stripe. One- to
3-pounders are common, and state waters have produced largemouths over 16pounds.
They'll eat almost anything and are caught on a variety of natural and
artificial baits.
 These fish are found primarily in clear, cool, gravel-bottomed
streams and in lake edges. Like warmouths, they have red eyes
and large mouths and usually weigh less than 1/2 pound, but rock bass have
six, rather than three, anal fin spines. Color is typically greenish with brassy
reflections and dark brown mottlings or spots.
 The smallmouth, often called "brownie" or "bronze back", is found in cool
streams and in lakes
alike. It has a shallow notch between the dorsal fins,
and the upper jaw doesn't extend behind the eye. The bronze-colored sides are
either plain or have several separate dark, vertical bars. Spinner baits, small
plastic worms, minnow and crayfish imitations, and live baits (crawfish, minnow,
salamanders and aquatic insect larvae) are good enticements.
 The spotted, a largemouth look alike, is found primarily
in streams and rocky mountain reservoirs. The notch between the dorsal fins is
shallow, and the upper jaw doesn't extend much, if any, behind the eye. It has a
rough tooth patch on the tongue that's absent on largemouths, and there's a
lengthwise row of dark spots below the dark mid side stripe. Spinner baits, jig and pork frog combinations, live crayfish and
crayfish-imitation artificials are among the best baits.
 They are popular sport fish
in some states. They are aggressive bait-stealers and seldom weigh more than a quarter
pound. The yellow bass most closely resembles the white bass, but there are not
teeth on the tongue, and the golden-yellow sides have dark stripes sharply
broken and offset above the front of the anal fin.
 Bluegills are the most widely distributed, abundant and sought-after fish in
this group. They're found in nearly every body of water in New York. Most
bluegills weight 1/2 pound or less, with occasional fish up to 1 pound. They
have a small mouth, a solid black ear flap, a dark spot at the base of the soft
dorsal fin, and long, pointed pectoral fins. Colors vary, running from nearly
black or purplish to dark brown, green or gold. Breeding males have a vivid blue
head and throat and a bright-orange breast.
 The hybrid bream is a hatchery cross between a male bluegill and a female
green sunfish. The resulting fish exhibits characteristics of both parents. It's
not quite as deep in the body as the bluegill but is deeper bodied than the
green sunfish. The mouth is larger than the bluegill but smaller than the green
sunfish. The color markings have no distinct patterns as do the parents, and
hybrids may appear speckled or mottled. Hybrid bream are only stocked in
selected lakes.
Bullheads seldom exceed 1-1/2 pounds, but they are common in many waters and
popular with young anglers. They are short, chubby catfish with a slightly
notched tail, and unlike the flathead cat, the lower jaw doesn't stick out
noticeably. The yellow bullhead, the most widely distributed species, has white or yellow chin barbels and prefers areas with little current in clear,
rock-bottomed streams. The black bullhead has gray or black chin barbels and is
common in oxbow lakes and quiet, mud-bottomed streams and backwaters. The brown
bullhead has dark chin barbels like the black
bullhead but can be distinguished by examining the pectoral fin spines. On brown bullheads, these spines have well-developed teeth along the rear edge;
teeth are absent or weakly developed on the black bullhead's pectoral fin spines. Chicken liver and earthworms are the most popular bullhead baits.
Carp, Common
 The common or "German" carp is a Eurasian native introduced in the U.S. in
1877. It occurs statewide in New York lakes and streams. This robust fish has
large scales, a toothless mouth, thick lips cornered by a pair of barbels, and a
long dorsal fin with a stout, saw-toothed spine. Color is typically greenish-gold fading
to a yellowish-white belly. The fins are often red, yellow or orange tinted. Two
to 10 pounders are fairly common with weights over 50 pounds reported. The
Israeli carp (not pictured) is a strain of common carp with small patches of
large scales randomly scattered over the leathery-skinned body.
 Although common carp are considered unwanted nuisances in most waters, the
grass carp or "whiteamur" has many good qualities. It is better table fare than
the common carp and is valuable in controlling aquatic vegetation in public
waters. This long, silvery, torpedo-shaped fish is native to Asia and
was introduced to the U.S. in 1963 when the U.S. Bureau of Sport Fisheries
brought 70 fish to the Fish Farming Experiment Station in Stuttgart, Arkansas. It
has a large tail and blunt head and weighs up to 60pounds. Natural spawning is
unknown in the state, so hatchery fish are stocked where needed.
The blue catfish is a heavyweight, sometimes weighing over 100 pounds. It's
a migratory fish found in large rivers and reservoirs, and, like the channel
cat, prefers waters with good current over bottoms of rock, gravel or sand. Blues
resemble channel cats but have a distinct hump-backed appearance, a straight-edged
anal fin with 30 to 35 rays and lack the black body spots typical of small
channel cats. Cut shad and crayfish are among the most popular baits.
 The channel catfish is the most widespread and abundant catfish. Weighing up to 30 pounds, it's typically a stream fish, but, millions are
produced in state hatcheries each year and stocked in lakes and ponds where
natural reproduction is limited. Characteristics include a deeply forked tail,
gray to brown back and sides fading to white underneath, and a rounded anal fin
with 24 to 29 rays. Channels occasionally strike artificials, but most are taken
using natural bait fished on or near the bottom. They are especially fond of
chicken liver, earthworms, crayfish, minnows, catalpa worms and stinkbaits.
 The flathead catfish is most common around dam tail waters and in deep pools
of large rivers, bayous and reservoirs. It's pot-bellied, wide-headed and
beady-eyed, but what it may lack in looks, it makes up for in size and good
taste. Many weigh 3 to 10 pounds, but 25 to 50 pounders aren't rare. Color is yellow
to light brown, usually mottled with dark brown or black. The tail is only
slightly forked, and the lower jaw projects out from the flattened head. Most
are caught on live minnows, bream or goldfish.
 Black crappies are slightly more fussy about their environment and prefer
cool, deep waters with abundant aquatic vegetation. The silvery sides are marked
with irregularly scattered black spots that don't form vertical bars. The
"black-nosed crappie", an unusually marked strain of black crappie, has a dark
brown or black stripe running under the chin, over the nose and across part of
the back.
 Although white and black crappies often occupy the same waters, white
crappies can flourish in warmer, siltier waters than black crappies. The two
species look very similar, but the white crappie is paler in colors, with dark
spots on the silver sides usually arranged in regular vertical bars. The best
way to distinguish the two species is to count the dorsal fin spines. White
crappies typically have six, and black crappies usually have seven or eight.
 The chain pickerel has a long, slender body and a black, chainlike pattern
on its sides. Like the grass pickerel, it's often call "jackfish" and is easily
recognized by the duck-billed shape of the snout. Body color ranges from bronze
to green, and the mouth is full of needlelike teeth. Most weigh 2 to 3 pounds,
with occasional individuals up to 7. Chain pickerels are found in many streams
and lakes in New York.
Green sunfish thrive in areas where few other sunfish can live. They are
equally at home in silty, sluggish, mud-bottomed hideouts and clear, cool
mountain streams. Most weight less than 1/2 pound. They have heavy lips, a large
mouth, a short rounded pectoral fin and a short, black, light-edged ear flap. Body color is typically bluish green with emerald and yellow reflections. The
cheeks have prominent blue streaks, and the dorsal fin has a heavy dark blotch. Breeding males have broad whitish or orange fringes on the dorsal, tail and anal
fins.
 The orange-spotted sunfish is a brightly colored sunfish found
primarily in turbid, mud-bottomed lowland streams, oxbow lakes and small creeks.
It is seldom sought since it doesn't exceed four inches in length. The spotted
sunfish is also small, rarely over six inches long, but is occasionally caught
in lowland streams and oxbow lakes and a few upland streams.
 "Brookies" are short-lived, and a one-pounder is
considered large. They have a dark body with white and/or red spots circled by
blue. The pectoral, pelvic and anal fins are often orange with a distinct white edge. The dorsal fin, tail and back have mottled, wormlike streaks on a
black background.
 Brown trout populations are
maintained by natural reproduction, stocking and regulations. Browns up to 5
pounds are not uncommon, and world-record fish have been caught in Arkansas, in the North
Fork River (38 pounds, 9 ounces) and White River (33-1/2) pounds). The back and
sides are dark olive-brown and have black spots and orange or red spots with blue
halos. Unlike rainbows and cutthroats, the tail is usually unspotted and unforked,
and there is no reddish side stripe.
 Cutthroat trout weigh up to 10 pounds and
closely resemble rainbow trout. The cutthroat is distinguished by the
reddish-orange slash (cutthroat mark) on each side of the throat on live fish
and by the minute teeth present on the midline of the tongue behind large teeth
on the tip of the tongue. Rainbows have teeth on the tip of the tongue, but lack
the midline teeth. The black spots on cutthroats are typically much finer than
on rainbows.
 Lake trout were first stocked in 1986 in hopes they would provide trophy
trout fishing opportunities in deep, cold, well-oxygenated lakes. Twenty-five pounders are common in their native northern
habitats, but their growth potential in warmer waters is unknown. The head, fins and dark body are completely covered with irregular white spotting. The tail is
deeply forked unlike other trout.
 Rainbow trout are the most common trout in Arkansas and are found in all
state trout waters. Natural reproduction is limited, and populations are
maintained through stocking programs. Rainbows up to 1 pound are common, with
some exceeding 15 pounds. This trout is usually thickly speckled with black
spots on the head, sides and slightly notched tail. A broad pink to reddish
stripe runs lengthwise along the side, although hatchery fish may lack the side
stripe until they've been in a river or lake for several weeks.
 The walleye is the largest perch family member in North America. This long,
streamlined fish has glassy, marble-like eyes and a mouth full of sharp teeth.
Unlike its cousin, the sauger, the spiny dorsal fin has a large black blotch
near the bases of the last few spines. Adults commonly weigh 4 to 10 pounds and
several fish over 20 pounds, near world-record size, have been caught, usually during the peak spawning months of February, March and April. The
country's best-known walleye fishing is in Arkansas, in Greers Ferry Lake and its
headwaters where the annual World Walleye Classic is held. This lake and its
tributaries may produce more big walleyes ---fish weighing 15 to 20 pounds ---
than any body of water in the United States. Good baits include live minnows and
bream, minnow-imitation crankbaits and jig/minnow combinations.
 The warmouth or "goggleye" is seldom sought for its own merits, but many are
caught while fishing for other species. It is usually found in quiet lakes with
mud bottoms and abundant vegetation where it often hides in hollow trees or
stumps. Color is typically olive-brown with dark markings, and unlike its
look alike cousins, the rock bass, the warmouth has three anal fin spines and a
rough patch of teeth on the tongue.
The warmouth or "goggleye"
is seldom sought for its own merits, but many are caught while fishing for other
species. It is usually found in quiet lakes with mud bottoms and abundant
vegetation where it often hides in hollow trees or stumps. Color is typically
|
Walleye Grudge Match
2008
"The Quest for
Revenge"
(Updated
8/20/08) |
|
Largest
Walleye (inches):
Sean @ 26"
(5/29/08)
Walleye
Catch Totals:
Sean =
21
Donny =
29
Walleye
Average Size (inches)
Sean =
18.85"
Donny = 16.20"
Species
Totals:
Sean =
7
Donny =
5
Odd
Man Out (Unique Fish):
Sean w/
a White Bass
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