Field Guide

The lake sturgeon is Missouri’s largest sturgeon and is rare and endangered in our state. Note its conical (not shovel-nosed) snout. Despite its name, in Missouri this fish is almost always found in big rivers, not lakes.

The pallid sturgeon is federally and state endangered. This rarely found but widely distributed bottom dweller lives mostly in the Missouri and lower Mississippi rivers.

The American eel is considered an uncommon catch by Missouri sport anglers. This species is known to take natural baits and rarely takes artificial baits.

The blue catfish is a big-river fish, preferring swift chutes, pools with noticeable current, and silt-free substrates. In Missouri, it's most common in the Mississippi, Missouri, and Osage rivers.

The flathead catfish has a broad, flattened head with small eyes on top. The lower jaw projects beyond the upper jaw. It occurs in most of the large streams of Missouri, preferring places with a slow current.

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.

Grass carp are large-bodied with a broad head and a terminal transverse mouth. The scales appear crosshatched. A native of east Asia, it is now widely distributed in the Missouri, Mississippi, and St. Francis rivers and in impoundments.

The black carp is a large, invasive carp from Asia. It eats mussels and snails and can damage populations of native mollusks. It is illegal to transport live black carp across state lines.

The bighead carp is an invasive Asian carp. It does not jump as frequently as its cousin the silver carp, but it also leaps from the water when disturbed, threatening boaters' safety.