Fish
of Eastern Kansas
| Bass,
Largemouth |
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The largemouth bass occurs in nearly all
Kansas waters. It has a deep gap between the spiny and soft
dorsal fins, and the upper jaw extends far behind the rear margin of the eye. The midside has a dark
horizontal stripe. One- to 3-pounders are common, and state waters have produced largemouths over
10
pounds. They'll eat almost anything and are caught on a variety of natural and artificial baits. |
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| Bass,
Rock |
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The name "rock bass" actually describes three species of Arkansas sportfish --- the shadow bass,
Ozark bass and rock bass. At one time all were considered a single species. These fish are found
primarily in clear, cool, gravel-bottomed streams in the Ozark and Ouachita
mountains but have thrived in deeper, cooler, Kansas waters.. Like warmouths,
they have red eyes and large mouths and usually weigh less than 1/2 pound, but rock bass have six,
rather than three, anal fin spines. Color is typically greenish with brassy reflections and dark brown
mottlings or spots. |
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| Bass,
Smallmouth |
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The smallmouth, is
often called a "brownie" or "bronzeback".. It has a shallow notch between the dorsal fins, and the upper jaw doesn't extend behind the eye. The
bronze-colored sides are either plain or have several separate dark, vertical bars.
Kansas smallmouths rarely exceed 6 pounds. Typical fish weigh a pound or less.
Spinnerbaits, small plastic worms, minnow and crayfish imitations, and live baits (crawfish, minnow, salamanders and aquatic insect larvae) are good enticements. |
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| Bass,
Spotted |
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The spotted or "Kentucky" bass, a largemouth
lookalike, is found primarily in streams and rocky
mountain reservoirs. The notch between the dorsal fins is shallow, and the upper jaw doesn't extend
much, if any, behind the eye. It has a rough tooth patch on the tongue that's absent on
largemouths, and there's a lengthwise row of dark spots below the dark midside stripe.
Kansas has yielded
state-record-size "spots" nearing 8 pounds, but typical fish are around a pound.
Spinnerbaits, jig and
pork frog combinations, live crayfish and crayfish-
imitation artificials are among the best baits. |
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| Bass,
Yellow |
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Yellow bass are found primarily in the natural lakes and large warm-water rivers of
Kansas. They are popular sportfish in some states, but most
Kansas anglers consider them a small-sized nuisance, because they are aggressive bait-stealers and seldom weigh more than a quarter pound. The yellow bass most closely resembles the white bass, but there are not teeth on the tongue, and the golden-yellow sides have dark stripes sharply broken and offset above the front of the anal fin. |
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| Bluegill |
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Bluegills are the most widely distributed, abundant and sought-after fish in this group. They're found in
nearly every body of water in Kansas. Most bluegills weight 1/2 pound or less, with occasional fish up
to 1 pound. They have a small mouth, a solid black ear flap, a dark spot at the base of the soft dorsal fin,
and long, pointed pectoral fins. Colors vary, running from nearly black or purplish to dark brown, green or
gold. Breeding males have a vivid blue head and throat and a bright-orange breast. |
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| Bream,
Hybrid |
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The hybrid bream is a hatchery cross between a male bluegill and a female green sunfish. The resulting
fish exhibits characteristics of both parents. It's not quite as deep in the body as the bluegill but is deeper
bodied than the green sunfish. The mouth is larger than the bluegill but smaller than the green sunfish.
The color markings have no distinct patterns as do the parents, and hybrids may appear speckled or
mottled. Hybrid bream are only stocked in selected lakes. |
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| Bullhead
- Black, Brown & Yellow |
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Bullheads seldom exceed 1-1/2 pounds, but they are common in many waters and popular with young
anglers. They are short, chubby catfish with a slightly notched tail, and unlike the flathead cat, the lower
jaw doesn't stick out noticeably. The yellow bullhead, the most widely distributed species, has white or
yellow chin barbels and prefers areas with little current in clear, rock-bottomed streams. The black
bullhead has gray or black chin barbels and is common in oxbow lakes and quiet, mud-bottomed
streams and backwaters. The brown bullhead, an uncommon Arkansas resident, has dark chin barbels
like the black bullhead but can be distinguished by examining the pectoral fin spines. On brown
bullheads, these spines have well-developed teeth along the rear edge; teeth are absent or weakly
developed on the black bullhead's pectoral fin spines. Chicken liver and earthworms are the most
popular bullhead baits. |
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| Black
Bullhead |
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| Brown
Bullhead |
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| Yellow
Bullhead |
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| Carp,
Common |
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The common or "German" carp is a Eurasian native introduced in the U.S. in 1877. It occurs statewide in
Kansas lakes and streams. This robust fish has large scales, a toothless mouth, thick lips cornered by a pair of
barbels, and a long dorsal fin with a stout, saw-toothed spine. Color is typically greenish-gold
fading to a yellowish-white belly. The fins are often red, yellow or orange tinted. Two to 10 pounders are
fairly common with weights over 50 pounds reported. The Israeli carp (not pictured) is a strain of common carp with small patches of large scales randomly scattered over the leathery-skinned body. At one time it was stocked in
Kansas to help control aquatic plants. |
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| Carp,
Grass |
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Although common carp are considered unwanted nuisances in most waters, the grass carp or "white
amur" has many good qualities. It is better table fare than the common carp and is valuable in controlling
aquatic vegetation in public waters. This long, silvery, torpedo-shaped fish is native to Asia and was
introduced to the U.S. in 1963 when the U.S. Bureau of Sport Fisheries brought 70 fish to the Fish
Farming Experiment Station in Stuttgart, Arkansas. It has a large tail and blunt head and weighs up to 60
pounds. Natural spawning is unknown in the state, so hatchery fish are stocked where needed. |
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| Catfish,
Blue |
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The blue catfish is a heavyweight, sometimes weighing over 100 pounds. It's a migratory fish found in
large rivers and reservoirs, and, like the channel cat, prefers waters with good current over bottoms of
rock, gravel or sand. Blues resemble channel cats but have a distinct hump-backed appearance, a
straight-edged anal fin with 30 to 35 rays and lack the black body spots typical of small channel cats. Cut
shad and crayfish are among the most popular baits. |
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| Catfish,
Channel |
The channel catfish is
Kansas' most widespread and abundant catfish. Weighing up to 30 pounds, it's
typically a stream fish, but, millions are produced in state hatcheries each year and stocked in lakes and
ponds where natural reproduction is limited. Characteristics include a deeply forked tail, gray to brown back and sides fading to white underneath, and a rounded anal fin with 24 to 29 rays. Channels
occasionally strike artificials, but most are taken using natural bait fished on or near the bottom. They are especially fond of chicken liver, earthworms, crayfish, minnows, catalpa worms and
stinkbaits. |
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| Catfish,
Flathead |
The flathead catfish is most common around dam tailwaters and in deep pools of large rivers, bayous
and reservoirs. It's pot-bellied, wide-headed and beady-eyed, but what it may lack in looks, it makes up
for in size and good taste. Many weigh 3 to 10 pounds, but 25 to 50 pounders aren't rare, and flatheads
up to 139 pounds have been taken in Kansas waters. Color is yellow to light brown, usually mottled
with dark brown or black. The tail is only slightly forked, and the lower jaw projects out from the flattened
head. Most are caught on live minnows, bream or goldfish. |
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| Crappie,
Black |
Black crappies are slightly more fussy about their environment and prefer cool, deep waters with
abundant aquatic vegetation. The silvery sides are marked with irregularly scattered black spots that
don't form vertical bars. The "black-nosed crappie", an unusually marked strain of black crappie, has a
dark brown or black stripe running under the chin, over the nose and across part of the back.
This distinctive crappie is now being raised in state fish
hatcheries for stocking public fishing waters. |
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| Crappie,
White |
Although white and black crappies often occupy the same waters, white crappies can flourish in warmer,
siltier waters than black crappies. The two species look very similar, but the white crappie is paler in
colors, with dark spots on the silver sides usually arranged in regular vertical bars. The best way to
distinguish the two species is to count the dorsal fin spines. White crappies typically have six, and black
crappies usually have seven or eight. |
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| Gar,
Alligator |
| Once a popular big-game fish on the
Kansas river, the alligator gar is now rare in Kansas due primarily to changes in its habitat. It is one of the largest freshwater fishes in
North America, and specimens over eight feet long and up to 215 pounds have been caught in the state.
The snout is very short and broad like an alligator's snout. The distance from the snout's tip to the corner
of the mouth is shorter than the rest of the head. |
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| Gar,
Longnose |
The longnose gar is
Kansas' most widespread and abundant gar. It is common in sluggish pools and
backwaters of streams statewide and is the gar most frequently found in lakes. It has a very long narrow
snout, and the width of the upper jaw at the nostrils is less than the eye diameter. This large fish
commonly exceeds three feet in length and may weigh over 25 pounds. |
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| Gar,
Shortnose |
| The shortnose gar is found in many of
Kansas' medium and large streams, but is most common in
Kansas' larger rivers. It has a moderately short, broad snout, and the distance from the tip of the snout to the corner of the mouth is equal to or longer than the rest of the head. Dark spots are usually few and confined to the fins. Shortnose gars reach a length of about 30 inches and a weight of 3-1/2 pounds. |
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| Gar,
Spotted |
The spotted gar is very similar to the shortnose but has well-defined round black spots on top of the
head, snout and body. It seldom exceeds three feet long and 8 pounds in weight. This gar prefers quiet,
clear waters with heavy aquatic vegetation or standing timber and is most common in the lowland
streams of eastern, central and southern Kansas. |
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| Paddlefish |
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The paddlefish or "spoonbill catfish" has a long paddle-shaped snout distinguishing it from all other
Arkansas fish. Sometimes exceeding 100 pounds, this large smooth-skinned fish has declined in
numbers due to dwindling habitat and is now found primarily in the
Kansas river. It has a large toothless mouth and feeds predominately on microscopic plants and animals
filtered through many fine gill-rakers. Those taken by sport anglers are usually caught by blind snagging
in dam tailwaters. Paddlefish eggs are processed and sold as caviar, and the quality of
Kansas paddlefish caviar is said to equal that of world-renowned caviar from the Soviet Union. |
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| Sauger |
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The sauger is among
Kansas' most neglected sportfish, perhaps because the best fishing for this
species is from December through February when few people are fishing. Saugers resemble walleyes
but seldom exceed 1-1/2 pounds. They have round black spots on the spiny dorsal fin and distinct, dark
saddles on both sides of the body, both of which are lacking in walleyes. The best sauger fishing is
around rock dikes and riprapped banks below dams. Small jigs, live minnows and
jig/minnow combinations are among the best baits. |
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| Sunfish,
Green |
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Green sunfish thrive in areas where few other sunfish can live. They are equally at home in silty, sluggish,
mud-bottomed hideouts and clear, cool mountain streams. Most weight less than 1/2 pound. They have
heavy lips, a large mouth, a short rounded pectoral fin and a short, black, light-edged ear flap. Body color
is typically bluish green with emerald and yellow reflections. The cheeks have prominent blue streaks,
and the dorsal fin has a heavy dark blotch. Breeding males have broad whitish or orange fringes on the
dorsal, tail and anal fins. |
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| Sunfish,
Orangespotted |
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Kansas also has several other small, less common sunfish sometimes caught by anglers. The
orangespotted sunfish is a brightly colored sunfish found primarily in turbid, mud-bottomed lowland
streams, oxbow lakes and small creeks. It is seldom sought since it doesn't exceed four inches in length.
The spotted sunfish is also small, rarely over six inches long, but is occasionally caught in lowland
streams and oxbow lakes and a few upland streams. The dollar sunfish and bantam sunfish are also
seen occasionally by Kansas anglers, but neither grows much bigger than three inches long. |
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| Sunfish,
Spotted |
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Kansas also has several other small, less common sunfish sometimes caught by anglers. The
orangespotted sunfish is a brightly colored sunfish found primarily in turbid, mud-bottomed lowland
streams, oxbow lakes and small creeks. It is seldom sought since it doesn't exceed four inches in length.
The spotted sunfish is also small, rarely over six inches long, but is occasionally caught in lowland
streams and oxbow lakes and a few upland streams. The dollar sunfish and bantam sunfish are also
seen occasionally by Kansas anglers, but neither grows much bigger than three inches long. |
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| Walleye |
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The walleye is the largest perch family member in North America. This long, streamlined fish has glassy,
marble-like eyes and a mouth full of sharp teeth. Unlike its cousin, the
sauger, the spiny dorsal fin has a
large black blotch near the bases of the last few spines. Adults commonly weigh 4 to 10 pounds and
several fish over 20 pounds, near world-record size, have been caught in
Kansas, usually during the
peak spawning months of February, March and April. Good baits include live minnows and bream,
minnow-imitation crankbaits and jig/minnow combinations. |
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Warmouth |
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The warmouth or "goggleye" is seldom sought for its own merits, but many are caught while fishing for
other species. It is usually found in quiet lakes with mud bottoms and abundant vegetation where it often
hides in hollow trees or stumps. Color is typically olive-brown with dark markings, and unlike its lookalike
cousins, the rock bass, the warmouth has three anal fin spines and a rough patch of teeth on the tongue. |
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