Freshwater Fish of Virginia

1
Freshwater Fish of Virginia
2
Freshwater Fish Groups

• Bass
• Sunfish
• Catfish
• Trout
• Perch
• Pike
• Other

3
BASS
4
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

5
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

6
SUNFISH
7
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

8
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.

9
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.

10
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

11
Redear Sunfish

• Yellow-green or olive, with faint vertical bars
  and random dark spots.
• During spawning, the margin of the males gill
  cover flap turns bright red
• One-pounders not uncommon and often reaching 2
  pounds

12
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

13
White Crappie

• Has six spines on front portion of dorsal fin
• Average less than one-half pound
• Lighter color than the black crappie

14
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

15
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

16
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.

17
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.

18
CATFISH
19
Flathead Catfish

• Broadly flattened head with lower jaw that
  project beyond the upper jaw
• Body is yellowish or cream-colored, with black,
  dark brown or olive-brown mottling on back and
  sides, fading to dirty white or yellow.
• Tail only slightly notched and adipose fin is
  relatively large

20
Blue Catfish

• Bluish-gray body above, fading to white on sides
  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

21
Channel Catfish

• Deeply forked tail
• Smooth-skinned body is usually spotted
• Eight barbels, or feelers, four located under the
  lower jaw, two on top and one at each end of the
  upper jaw
• Generally dark brownish to slate-gray on top,
  fading to light brownish-gray on the sides
• 25 to 29 Rays on its anal fin.

22
White Catfish

• One of the bullhead catfishes
• Average 8 to 18 inches, rarely 20
• Color is basically blue-gray above, fading to
  gray on its sides with a white underside

23
TROUT
24
Brook Trout

• Only trout native to Virginia
• Seldom reaches more than one pound
• Colorful coat of red, gray or yellow spots rimmed
  in blue

25
Brown Trout

• First stocked in the Roanoke River in 1958
• Larger than the Brook Trout
• Reaching three pounds or more in small Virginia
  streams

26
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

27
PERCH
28
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

29
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

30
White Perch

• Averages one-half pound
• Silvery gray above fading to a silvery white
  below with no longitudinal lines

31
Sauger

• Its best identifying marks are its spotted spiny
  dorsal
• Very slim build
• Its 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.

32
PIKE
33
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

34
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

35
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

36
OTHER
37
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

38
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

39
Longnose Gar

• Gets its name from its bill-like jaws equiped
  with strong, sharp teeth
• Heavy diamond-shaped scales cover its body

40
Works Cited

• Created By Bo Johnson
• Pictures and text by the Virginia department of
  game and inland fisheries located at
  www.dgif.va.us