Field Guide

Fishes

Showing 11 - 20 of 21 results
White bass side view photo with black background
White Bass
Morone chrysops
The white bass is one of the most important game fish in Missouri’s large impoundments. It inhabits the deeper pools of streams and the open water of lakes and reservoirs.
Striped bass side view photo with black background
Striped Bass
Morone saxatilis
Primarily a marine species native to the Atlantic Coast of North America, the striped bass has been successfully stocked into several reservoirs in the United States. A silvery, elongated fish with prominent dark, horizontal stripes along the sides.
Hybrid striped bass, or wiper, side view photo with black background
Hybrid Striped Bass (Wiper; Whiterock Bass)
Morone chrysops x M. saxatilis
Hybrids between the striped bass and white bass are stocked by the MDC in select impoundments around the state. Also called "wipers," they attain a larger size than our native white bass.
Brown trout female side view photo with black background
Brown Trout
Salmo trutta
Native to Europe, hatchery-raised brown trout are stocked into cold streams and lakes in Missouri. A favorite of anglers, this species can reach 37 inches and 26 pounds.
Walleye side view photo with black background
Walleye
Sander vitreus
MDC has been stocking walleye, a popular game fish, in lakes and reservoirs including Stockton, Lake of the Ozarks, Bull Shoals, and numerous other reservoirs.
Sauger side view photo with black background
Sauger
Sander canadensis
The sauger is closely related to the walleye. In Missouri, it's found mostly in the Mississippi and Missouri rivers and suitable tributaries, plus the Eleven Point River. It prefers flowing water and often swift current.
Redear sunfish side view photo with black background
Redear Sunfish
Lepomis microlophus
The redear sunfish is deep and slab-sided, with a small mouth, with the upper jaw not reaching past the front of the eye. In natural waters, it is confined to the southern half of Missouri, but it is widely stocked in small reservoirs and ponds.
Warmouth male in spawning colors, side view photo with black background
Warmouth
Lepomis gulosus
The warmouth is a thick-bodied, large-mouthed sunfish that occurs widely over the southern and eastern parts of Missouri. Note the 4 or 5 reddish-brown streaks radiating from the red eye across the side of the head.
Largemouth bass side view photo with black background
Largemouth Bass
Micropterous salmoides
The largemouth bass is a large, slender, elongated, streamlined sunfish with a very large mouth. It thrives in warm, moderately clear waters with little or no current. It occurs statewide in lowland lakes, artificial impoundments of all sizes, permanent pools of streams, and quiet backwaters of large rivers.
Yellow perch side view photo with black background
Yellow Perch
Perca flavescens
The yellow perch is rare in Missouri’s natural waters. Most of the time, they are collected in or near the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. They also occur in artificial lakes.
See Also
Photo of a three-toed amphiuma in an aquarium.
Three-Toed Amphiuma
Amphiuma tridactylum
The three-toed amphiuma is an eel-like, completely aquatic salamander. It has very small forelimbs and hind limbs, each with three tiny toes. In Missouri it’s found only in the Bootheel region.
Photo of researcher holding a gilled siren
Western Lesser Siren
Siren intermedia nettingi
The western lesser siren is an eel-like, aquatic salamander with external gills, small eyes, small forelimbs with four toes, and no hind limbs. In Missouri, it’s found mostly in the Bootheel and northward in counties near the Mississippi River.

About Fishes in Missouri

Missouri has more than 200 kinds of fish, more than are found in most neighboring states. Fishes live in water, breathe with gills, and have fins instead of legs. Most are covered with scales. Most fish in Missouri “look” like fish and could never be confused with anything else. True, lampreys and eels have snakelike bodies — but they also have fins and smooth, slimy skin, which snakes do not.