Field Guide

The largest pike native to Missouri, the northern pike can be more than 4 feet long and weigh more than 40 pounds. Missouri is on the southern edge of the range of this species. Because of its rarity here, it is of little importance as a game fish.

The eyetail bowfin is a stout-bodied, nearly cylindrical fish. It is most abundant in the Mississippi Lowlands, though it occurs along the entire length of the Mississippi River.

The green sunfish is thick-bodied with a large mouth. The upper jaw extends to about the middle of the eye. It may occur in just about any pond, lake, or stream that is capable of supporting fish life.

The white crappie, a popular panfish, has silver sides with 5 to 10 often faint vertical bars. The upper jaw reaches past the middle of the eye. It is more abundant and widespread than the black crappie.

The black crappie is a popular panfish. It is deep bodied and slab sided. The sides are silver with an irregular pattern of dark speckles. The upper jaw is long, reaching past the middle of the eye.

The flier is found in Missouri's southeastern lowland swamps. It resembles crappie but has 10-13 dorsal spines. It's deep-bodied and saucer-shaped and generally olive-green to brassy in color.

The longear sunfish is deep-bodied, slab-sided, with a moderate-sized mouth, the upper jaw nearly reaching the front of the eye. It is by far the most abundant and generally distributed sunfish over the southern half of Missouri.

The northern rock bass, or goggle-eye, is thicker than most other sunfish, with a large mouth and very large eyes. It occurs in northern Ozark streams, tributaries of the middle Mississippi, and a portion of the southwestern Ozarks; sometimes in Ozark reservoirs.

The bluegill is one of the most abundant and popular panfishes in North America. This deep-bodied, slab-sided sunfish sports a black “ear flap” extending from the edge of its gill cover.

The spotted bass inhabits permanent-flowing waters that are warmer and slightly more turbid than those where the smallmouth bass occurs. Note the form of its stripe and the length of its jaw.