Fish

The American eel is a smooth, snake-like fish with a greenish, yellowish-brown or blackish body. It lives in rivers, streams and other freshwater areas throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Often confused with the channel catfish, the blue catfish is a large, smooth-skinned fish with a slate blue body and whisker-like barbels around its mouth. It was introduced to the region in the 1970s, and is now considered an invasive species.

The bluegill is a colorful sunfish with an olive green, saucer-shaped body. It lives in lakes, ponds, streams and other freshwater bodies throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The brook trout is a brilliantly colored fish that lives in clear, cold freshwater streams and rivers in undeveloped areas throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The brown bullhead is a smooth-skinned catfish with a mottled, brownish body and whisker-like barbels around the mouth. It lives in slow-moving ponds, streams and rivers throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The channel catfish is a large, smooth-skinned fish with a bluish- or greenish-gray body and whisker-like barbels around the mouth. It lives in fresh and brackish rivers throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The carp is a large, sturdy fish with thick scales. Native to Europe, the carp was introduced to the Chesapeake region in the late 1800s and can now be found throughout the rivers, lakes and ponds of the watershed.

Also known as the yellow or mud catfish, the flathead catfish is a large, smooth-skinned fish with a yellow to purple-brown body and whisker-like barbels around its mouth. It was introduced to the region in the 1960s, and is now considered an invasive species.

Also known as the green bass, the largemouth bass has a lower jaw that extends well past its eye and is considered one of the most popular sport fishes in the United States.

The longnose gar is a primitive-looking fish with a long, spotted body and a slender, beak-like snout. It lives in quiet, fresh- and brackish-water tributaries throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Also known as the mud minnow, the mummichog is a minnow-like killifish found along muddy marshes, tidal creeks and the sheltered shores of the Chesapeake Bay.

Also known as the American pike or northern pickerel, the northern pike’s range extends farther than that of any other freshwater gamefish.

The northern snakehead is a large, long fish with a mottled, snake-like pattern. It is an invasive species that can be found in Maryland and Virginia.

The pumpkinseed is a bright, beautiful sunfish with a saucer-shaped body that is mottled orange, blue and green. It lives in freshwater lakes, ponds and streams throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Rainbow trout are common and widespread, in the U.S and across the world. U.S. Federal government, however, recognizes certain local populations of rainbow trout over their native range to be endangered. Such populations have become endangered due to impacts of river damming and sediment runoff.

The shortnose sturgeon is a bony, ancient-looking fish that lives mostly in the Potomac and Susquehanna rivers. It is an endangered species.

Also known as the black bass, the smallmouth bass has a pale brown or olive green body and is common in Chesapeake Bay tributaries north of the Rappahannock River.

The tessellated darter is a small, sprightly relative of the yellow perch whose rapid movement along stream bottoms gives it its common name. It is a frequent find in the tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay. 

Walleyes are nocturnal top predators that feed on other fish. They are the largest member of the perch family and are not native to the Chesapeake Bay.

The yellow perch is a bright yellow fish with dark, vertical bars on its sides. It lives year-round in the Chesapeake Bay’s rivers.