Freshwater Fish of Virginia
Freshwater Fish Groups • Bass • Sunfish • Catfish • Trout • Perch • Pike • Other
BASS
Striped Bass • Moves from tidal bays to fresh water to spawn • Seven black lines running lengthwise on its side • Largest member of the sea bass family
White Bass • Strictly a fresh water species • Two separate dorsal fins • Stays in schools throughout its life, seldom traveling alone • Reaches five pounds; the average is two pounds
SUNFISH
Largemouth Bass • Member of the sunfish family • Mouth extends to the back edge of the eye • Has a horizontal black stripe • Greenish above lighter on the sides and white on the belly • Averages two to four pounds
Smallmouth Bass • Member of the sunfish family. • Jaw does not extend past the middle of the eye • Three dark bars radiate from the eye on the cheek • Has vertical stripes • Coloration is tented with gold • A 4 to 5 pound smallmouth would be considered a ‘trophy.’
Redbreast Sunfish • Olive to brownish gray along the back, merging to blue with a golden cast along its sides and a bright orange to yellow underside. • Reaches about 8 inches.
Green Sunfish • Basically bluish green in color, with faint, alternating blue, brown and brassy gold stripes. • Is a stocky, thick fish with a large head and large mouth
Redear Sunfish • Yellow-green or olive, with faint vertical bars and random dark spots. • During spawning, the margin of the male’s gill cover flap turns bright red • One-pounders not uncommon and often reaching 2 pounds
Black Crappie • Sides are silvery with irregularly spaced black spots; throat and forepart of belly are dusky slate colored • Has either seven or eight spines on the front portion of the dorsal fin
White Crappie • Has six spines on front portion of dorsal fin • Average less than one-half pound • Lighter color than the black crappie
Warmouth • A large mouthed, robust fish with mottled sides and wavy lines on its cheek. • Dark brownish above, with mottled and barred sides, and mottled or spotted fins • Seldom gets larger than 8 or 9 inches
Flier • A deep-bodied, almost round fish • Yellow-green, or brassy-olive, to brownish-gold, with a dark brown to black spot on each scale, appearing of rows of spots • Reach up to 10 inches in length
Pumpkinseed • Dark, olive-green on its back, with mottled sides. • Average four to six inches. • Cheeks and gill covers marked with alternate worm-shaped bands of blue-green and yellow.
Bluegill • Colors are variable • Lower parts of its cheek and gill cover are bluish. • Its “throat” is yellow on females to bright orange on the male, brighter during spawning. • State Record: 4 pounds 12 ounces from a private pond.
CATFISH
Flathead Catfish • Broadly flattened head with lower jaw that project beyond the upper jaw • Body is yellowish or cream-colored, with black, darkbrown or olive-brown mottling on back and sides, fading to dirty whiteor yellow. • Tail only slightly notched and adipose fin isrelatively large
Blue Catfish • Bluish-gray body above, fading to white onsides and belly • No spots and a deeply forked tail • Smaller blue cats are often confused with channel catfish • 30-35 rays on the anal fin with its straight outer margin
Channel Catfish • Deeply forked tail • Smooth-skinned body is usually spotted • Eight barbels, or feelers, four located under the lower jaw, two on topand one at each end of the upper jaw • Generally darkbrownish to slate-gray on top, fading to light brownish-gray on the sides • 25 to 29 Rays on its anal fin.
White Catfish • One of the bullhead catfishes • Average 8 to 18inches, rarely 20 • Color is basicallyblue-gray above, fading to gray on its sides with a white underside
TROUT
Brook Trout • Only trout native to Virginia • Seldom reaches more than one pound • Colorful coat of red, gray or yellow spots rimmed in blue
Brown Trout • First stocked in the Roanoke River in 1958 • Larger than the Brook Trout • Reaching three pounds or more in small Virginia streams
Rainbow Trout • Originally found in Rocky Mountain streams • In Virginia they can reach two pounds • Sides have a horizontal pink-to-red-or-purple band and is black polka-dotted all over
PERCH
Walleye • Has two distinct dorsal fins, a spiny-rayed fin forward followed by a separate soft-rayed fin • Has a mouthful of sharp canine(dog like) teeth • Average weight in Virginia is two to three pounds
Yellow Perch • Generally olive-green above, fading down the sides to green or yellow-green, to yellow or golden yellow • Dorsal fins have a distinctive dusky blotch • Average 6 to 8 inches, but commonly reach 14 to 15 inches and 1-1/2 to 2 pounds
White Perch • Averages one-half pound • Silvery gray above fading to a silvery white below with no longitudinal lines
Sauger • Its best identifying marks are its spotted spiny dorsal • Very slim build • It’s body colors are more of a dusky-brown to yellowish-olive, with large, irregular patches on its side, peppered in between with smaller dark markings and a white underside.
PIKE
Northern Pike • A long, lean body • Generally olive or dark green above fading to a light-olive or gray-green to yellowish –green then to white on its belly. • Strongly toothed jaws have teeth arranged in rows, plus rows of teeth located on its tongue and palate
Muskellunge • Largest member of the pike family • Often known as “Muskie” (or Musky) • Olive to dark gray on its back, with grayish to bluish to yellowish sides • State Record: 45 pounds from the New River
Chain Pickerel • Named for its chain-like markings on its sides. • Has a black vertical mark under its eye • Averages 1-1/2 to 3 pounds
OTHER
Carp • Native to Asia and a member of the minnow family • Brought to America from Germany in 1870 • Distinguished by its very long dorsal fin and two whisker-like barbells on each side of the mouth
Bowfin • Referred to as ancient fishes or living fossils along with the longnose gar • Has an extremely long greenish dorsal fin • Scales have a distinct black spot edged with yellow or orange at the base of the tail
Longnose Gar • Gets its name from its bill-like jaws equiped with strong, sharp teeth • Heavy diamond-shaped scales cover its body
Works Cited • Created By Bo Johnson • Pictures and text by the Virginia department of game and inland fisheries located at www.dgif.va.us
