Here are a few key fish species that are popular in the southern United States. Click the “Continue Reading” link to see full descriptions and habitat information on the wikipedia.com website.
Freshwater Species
The Smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieui) is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family (Centrarchidae) of order Perciformes. It is the type species of its genus. One of the black basses, it is a popular gamefish sought by anglers throughout the temperate zones of North America, and has been spread by stock to many cool-water rivers and lakes in the United States and Canada. The smallmouth bass is native to the upper and middle Mississippi River basin, the Saint Lawrence River–Great Lakes system, and up into the Hudson Bay basin. Its common names include Smallmouth, Bronzeback, Brown Bass, Brownie, Smallie, and Bronze Bass. Continue Reading…
The Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) is a species of fish in the sunfish family. It is also known as widemouth bass, bigmouth, black bass, bucketmouth, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, green trout, linesides, Oswego bass, and southern largemouth. The largemouth bass is the state fish of Alabama (official freshwater fish), Georgia, Mississippi, Florida (state freshwater fish), and Tennessee (official sport fish). Continue Reading…
The Spotted bass (Micropterus punctulatus) is a species of freshwater fish sunfish family (Centrarchidae) of order Perciformes. One of the black basses, it is native to the Mississippi River basin and across the Gulf States, from central Texas through the Florida panhandle. Its native range extends into the western Mid-Atlantic States and it has been introduced into eastern North Carolina and Virginia. It has also been introduced to southern Africa, where it has become established in some isolated waters. It is often mistaken with the similar and more common largemouth bass. Continue Reading…
The Shoal bass (Micropterus cataractae) is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family (Centrarchidae) of order Perciformes. One of the black basses, it is native to subtropical waters in Florida and Georgia. It is also found in Alabama. Of typical size for a black bass, M. cataractae reaches a maximum recorded length of 61 cm (24 in) and a maximum published weight of 8 pounds and 12 ounces.Only described for the first time in 1999, the shoal bass remains poorly understood by ichthyologists. The shoal bass is often confused with the redeye bass, due to its red-tinted eyes. Continue Reading…
The Crappie (Pomoxis) is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family (family Centrarchidae) of order Perciformes. The type species is P. annularis, the white crappie. The common name crappie refers to either of the Pomoxis species, both of which are extremely popular game fish. Both species of crappie as adults feed predominantly on smaller species, including the young of their own predators (which include the northern pike, muskellunge, and walleye). They have diverse diets, however, including zooplankton, insects, and crustaceans. By day, crappie tend to be less active and to concentrate around weed beds or submerged objects, such as logs and boulders; they feed especially at dawn and dusk, moving then into open water or approaching the shore. Continue Reading…
The Redbreast, Bluegill, Bream (A Panfish), also spelled pan-fish or pan fish, is an edible game fish that usually doesn’t outgrow the size of a frying pan. The term is also commonly used by anglers to refer to any small catch that will fit in a pan, but is large enough to be legal. However its definition and usage varies with geographical region.The term panfish or pan-fish has been used to refer to a wide range of edible freshwater and saltwater fish species that are small enough to cook in a small pan. In American Food and Game Fishes. A Popular Account of All The Species Found In America North Of The Equator, With Keys For Ready Identification, Life Histories And Methods of Capture… Continue Reading…
Catfish (order Siluriformes) are a very diverse group of bony fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat’s whiskers (though not prominent in all members of this order), catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores (species that eat dead material on the bottom), and even to a tiny parasitic species commonly called the candiru, Vandellia cirrhosa. There are armour-plated types and also naked types, neither having scales. Despite their common name, not all catfish have prominent barbels; what defines a fish as being in the order Siluriformes are in fact certain features of the skull and swimbladder. Continue Reading…
Salt Water Species
The Redfish, or Red Drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), also known as Channel Bass, Redfish, Spottail Bass or just Reds, is a game fish that is found in the Atlantic Ocean from Massachusetts to Florida and in the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to Northern Mexico. It is the only species in the genus Sciaenops.Red Drum usually occur along coastal waters. Three year-old red drum typically weigh six to eight pounds. The largest one on record weighed just over 94 pounds. When they are large they are called Bull reds and most people do not find the large ones good to eat. Continue Reading…
Flounder (also; Fluke) are flatfish that live in ocean waters e.g., Northern Atlantic and waters along the east coast of the United States and Canada, and the Pacific Ocean. The name “flounder” refers to several geographically and taxonomically distinct species. In Europe, the name flounder refers to Platichthys flesus, in the Western Atlantic there are the summer flounder Paralichthys dentatus, southern flounder Paralichthys lethostigma, and the winter flounder Pseudopleuronectes americanus, among other species. In Japan, the Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus is common. Continue Reading…
The Spotted seatrout or speckled weakfish (Cynoscion nebulosus) is a common estuary fish found in the southern United States. While most of these fish are caught on shallow, grassy flats, spotted seatrout reside in virtually any inshore waters, from the surf of outside islands to far up coastal rivers, where they often come for shelter during cold weather. Contrary to its name, the spotted seatrout is not a member of the trout family (Salmonidae), but of the drum family (Sciaenidae). Continue Reading…
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