Lees Warmwater Gamefish Identifier
Lees Warmwater Gamefish Identifier has a great variety of freshwater fish for anglers to target. Below you will find the most common fish, how to identify them, and the basic info you need to know to catch them.
At Lee Bailey Jr’s website I hope to inspire everyone to find a passion for fishing. I do this by exposing more people to fishing, simplifying the learning process, and helping anglers get the most out of their time on the water.
Lees Warmwater Gamefish Identifier written by Retired Bassmaster Elite Series pro angler, for anglers. Sharing tips and stories on what has been most successful for me, the latest gear, and adventures on the water. Through my mission this website has became the go-to source for those learning to fish.
American eel
Common Name: American eel
Other Names: Black eel, bronze eel, glass eel, green eel, river eel, silver eel, yellow eel.
Scientific Name: (Anguilla rostrata)
Identification: The American eel has a slender, snakelike body with a small pointed head. Its back and sides are brown or green, and the belly is yellow or white. The dorsal, tail and anal fins form a single, continuous fin. The eel’s body appears to be smooth because its scales are so small.
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American Shad
Common Name: American Shad
Other Names: White Shad.
Scientific Name: (Alosa sapidissima)
Identification: Largest of the river herring Family, American shad average around 3 lbs., with fish up to 5 lbs. common. Silver-sided with greenish-blue back; deep bodied from the side, narrow and symmetrical top to bottom head-on; row of dark spots on the sides, running back from the gill cover; the upper and lower jaws are equal length when the mouth is closed.
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American Sturgeon
Common Name: American Sturgeon
Other Names: Atlantic Sturgeon
Scientific Name: (Acipenseridae)
Identification: Sturgeons have bony plates (scutes) covering the head and five longitudinal rows of similar plates along the body. The tail fin is heterocercal, the upper lobe being longer than the lower. The toothless mouth, on the underside of the snout, is preceded by four sensitive tactile barbels that the fish drags over the bottom in search of invertebrates, small fishes, and other food.
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Blue Gill
Common Name: Blue Gill
Other Names: sunfishes,brim,sunnies,pumpkinseed
Scientific Name: (Lepomis macrochirus)
Identification: The bluegill is a laterally compressed or flattened sunfish, olive in color with an orange to yellow breast with clear fins except for a distinguishing large black smudge near the bottom of the soft dorsal fin. The operculum or gill cover is tipped distinctly with black and there are several wide dark vertical bars on the side of the body. Bluegills have small mouths with no teeth on the tongue. The bluegill name comes from breeding males who exhibit pale blue to violet on the top half of the body with powder blue on the lower jaw and lower portion of the operculum or gill cover. The breeding males also develop a red breast.
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Bowfin Fish
Common Name: Bowfin
Other Names: mudfish, dogfish, grindle, grinnel,
Scientific Name: (Amia calva)
Identification: Bowfin has a large mouth, well-developed teeth, and tubular nostrils used for smell. It is typically shades of green and gray, with a single spot at the base of its caudal fin that sometimes fades with age. During breeding season, the male’s mouth, throat, belly, and ventral fins will turn a vibrant turquoise green color. Bowfin can grow from 15 to 28 inches in length, sometimes larger, with females typically larger than males. Individuals are known to live up to 12 years in the wild and much longer in captivity.
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Carp
Common Name: Common Carp
Other Names: blubber lips, bugle lips, koi
Scientific Name: (Cyprinus carpio)
Identification: Common Carp Invasive Species are one of the world’s most widely introduced and invasive species of fish. Currently, they dominate the fish biomass of many shallow lakes, rivers, and wetlands in North America and around the world
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Chain Pickerel
Common Name: Chain Pickeral
Other Names: southern pike, grass pike, jack, jack fish, eastern pickerel, gunny.
Scientific Name: (Esox niger)
Identification: Chain pickerel are long, slender fish that are known for their chain-like patterning. They are a member of the pike family and have a dark bar below their eyes and fully scaled cheek and gill covers. They can grow to be two feet long and their average weight is 2-4 pounds.
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Catfish
Common Name: Many Names
Other Names: Blue, Channel, Flathead, White etc…
Scientific Name: (Catfish (order Siluriformes)
Identification: Hybrid striped bass have a silvery-white body with dark colored stripes that appear to be broken across the body. The lower jaw of a hybrid striped bass projects further than the upper jaw and they have spines on their front dorsal fin and gill cover.
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Clown Knifefish
Common Name: Clown Knifefish
Other Names: Clown Feather back, spotted knifefish
Scientific Name: Black Crappie (Notopterus ornatus Gray)
Identification: The clown knifefish is very distinct, with normally silvery gray with a long, knife-like body (laterally compressed) and a long anal fin that gives it its common name. Mature fish normally have five to 10 (or even more) black spots ringed with white that usually decrease in size as the fish grows.
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Crappie
Common Name: Crappie
Other Names: Blue, Channel, Black Crappie, White Crappie, Calico bass
Scientific Name: Black Crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus)
Identification: The two species are difficult to distinguish. The black crappie is generally darker overall and has seven or eight spines in its dorsal fin. The white crappie, on the other hand, often has markings arranged in vertical bars. It usually has five or six dorsal spines.
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Freshwater Drum
Common Name: Freshwater Drum
Other Names: Blue, sheeps head
Scientific Name: Freshwater Drum (Aplodinotus grunniens)
Identification: Freshwater drum average 10-14 inches in length. It has a humped back with a long, sloping forehead and white lips. Coloration is gray with purple/bronze reflection and rounded triangular tail.
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Hybrid Striped Bass
Common Name: Hybrid Striped Bass
Other Names: Strip, Sunshine Bass, White Bass
Scientific Name: (Morone chrysops x Morone saxatilis)
Identification: Hybrid striped bass have a silvery-white body with dark colored stripes that appear to be broken across the body. The lower jaw of a hybrid striped bass projects further than the upper jaw and they have spines on their front dorsal fin and gill cover.
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Largemouth Bass
Common Name: Largemouth Bass
Other Names: Bigmouth Bass, Bucketmouth, Black Bass, Largie
Scientific Name: (Micropterus salmoides)
Identification: Largemouths are dark olive green on the back with light green sides shading to a white belly. A dark mottled band extends along the sides. The upper part of the mouth extends past the eye. Smallmouth bass are similar in appearance, but the upper jaw ends below the eye.
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Peacock Bass
Common Name: Peacock Bass
Other Names: butterfly peacock bass
Scientific Name: (Cichla ocellaris)
Identification: Peacock bass are similar in size and shape to the largemouth bass but with some unique differences. The peacock bass has a hinged mouth, with the upper mandible being greater than the lower. Their head comes to a point but includes a pronounced forehead. During the spawn, male fish will develop a large bump here. Their eyes are dark red with black pupils. The dorsal fin is joined, has a dark translucence, and will show spots depending on the time of year. Their lower fin sets and the lower half of the tail fin are a red-orange color, which stands out next to their white underbelly.
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Smallmouth Bass
Common Name: Smallmouth Bass
Other Names: Smallie, Smallmouth. Bronze back, Brown Bass
Scientific Name: (Micropterus dolomieu)
Identification: Smallmouth bass can range in color from green to bronze. The coloration often includes a pattern of vertical bars along the sides of the fish. The upper jaw of smallmouth bass does not extend beyond the back of the eye.
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Snakehead
Common Name: Snakehead
Other Names: Frankenfish
Scientific Name: (Channidae)
Identification: Generally tan in appearance, with dark brown mottling; body somewhat elongated; long dorsal and anal fins; jaws contain numerous canine-like teeth (similar to pike or pickerel). Obligate air breather using an air bladder that works as a primitive lung (not found in most fish). Northern snakehead fish have long, narrow bodies with long dorsal and anal fins. They have a large mouth and protruding jaw with canine-like teeth. The fish get their name from the enlarged scales, shape and irregular, blotchy coloration on their head that give a snake-like appearance. Snakehead fish may vary size depending on their age and location, but grow to be up to 4 feet in length. Invasive northern snakehead fish are easily confused with the native bowfin and burbot.
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Snook
Common Name: Snook
Other Names: Snook, sergeant fish or robalo
Scientific Name: (Centropomus undecimalis)
Identification: The common snook is best recognized by its elongated body, concave snout, protruding lower jaw, and sloping forehead. However, the most prominent and known characteristic of a common snook is its black lateral line formed by 67-72 pored scales and extends into the caudal fin. Common snooks also have a divided high dorsal fin and a yellow pelvic fin.
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Spotted Bass
Common Name: Spotted Bass
Other Names: Spot, Spotty, Spots, Kentucky
Scientific Name: (Micropterus punctulatus)
Identification: The key features that separate the spotted bass from the largemouth and other black bass species are the dark scale spots that can be found on the scales below the mid-lateral blotches. These scales appear to create rows of spots and are responsible for the name spotted bass.
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Striped Bass
Common Name: Striped Bass
Other Names: stripers, linesider or rockfish
Scientific Name: (Morone saxatilis)
Identification: They are silvery, shading to olive-green on the back and white on the belly, with seven or eight uninterrupted horizontal stripes on each side of the body. They can live in both freshwater and saltwater environments.
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White Bass
Common Name: White Bass
Other Names: white, silver bass & sand bass
Scientific Name: (Morone chrysops)
Identification: White bass are a silver-white to pale green color. They have a dark back, with white sides and belly. Throughout the length of their sides they have narrow dark stripes. White bass look like shorter versions of striped bass.
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