Tournament Fish
Other Species
Black Crappie:
The black crappie is silvery with a color pattern that is mainly irregularly arranged speckles and blotches (not vertical bars). The dorsal fin has 7 or 8 spines. Crappies, as a group, are popular panfish that are deep bodied and strongly compressed laterally (slab sided). The upper jaw is long, reaching well past the middle of eye. The two sections of the dorsal fin (spiny forepart and soft-rayed rear part) are broadly connected, without a notch between. The anal fin is nearly as long and large as the dorsal fin, and it has 6 spines. The upper surface of the head and forward part of the back are strongly concave. Similar species: White crappie have faint vertical bars instead of irregularly arranged speckles and blotches as the color pattern. They also have 6 dorsal fin spines instead of 7 or 8. Size: Total length: 9-10 inches (seldom exceeds 14 inches); weight: to about 4 pounds. |
Bluegill:
A small-mouthed sunfish with the upper jaw not reaching past the front of the eye. Spinous dorsal with 10 spines, broadly connected to soft dorsal, which often has a black blotch near the bases of its last rays. Long, pointed pectoral fins reach well past the front of the eye when bent forward across the eye. Black ear flap is moderately prolonged. Back and sides dark olive-green with emerald and brassy shine; breast and belly yellow or reddish orange. Chin and lower part of gill cover blue. Size: Length: to about 9½ inches; weight: usually to 12 ounces. |
Channel Catfish:
Also known as spotted cat, blue cat, fiddler, lady cat, chucklehead cat and willow cat. Like all Missouri catfish, the channel cat has smooth, scaleless skin and barbels (“whiskers”) around the mouth. The channel catfish, like the blue catfish, has a deeply forked tail, but can be distinguished by the dark spots on its sides and an anal fin with a rounded edge. Adults stay in deep water of larger pools during the day and move to shallows or near cover at night to feed. Size: Total length: 12-32 inches; weight: 1-15 pounds. Specimens as large as 45 pounds are uncommon in Missouri. |
Carp:
A heavy-bodied minnow with a long dorsal fin containing 17–21 rays, a stout, saw-toothed spine at front of both dorsal and anal fins, and two barbels on each side of upper jaw. Back and sides brassy olive, belly yellowish-white. Scales of back and sides prominently dark-edged, giving a crosshatched effect. Fins dusky, often overlain by red on tail fin and yellow or orange on lower fins. Size: Total length: 12–25 inches; weight: 1–8 pounds. One specimen in Missouri weighed 47 pounds. |
Drum:
A silvery, deep-bodied fish. The head and body slope upward from the snout to the dorsal fins and give the fish a distinct humpbacked appearance. The lips are milky white, and the pelvic fins are white, often tinged with orange. The dorsal fin is long and is divided into two distinct parts. Size: Total length: 12-20 inches; weight: 12 ounces to 5 pounds; maximum weight (in Missouri) about 40 pounds. |
Gar:
Distinct long and narrow snout. The width of the snout at the nostrils is less than the diameter of the eye. Large teeth on the upper jaw in single rows on each side. Brown or dark olive on upper parts, grading to white on the belly. Numerous rounded black spots on the body. Young fish have a distinct midbody stripe. Size: Total length: commonly to 3 feet; weight: 5-6 pounds; largest in our state are about 60 inches and 30 pounds. |
Hybrid Striped (White) Bass:
A silvery, spiny-rayed fish with several dark, horizontal streaks along the sides. Streaks often discontinuous. A sharp spine is present on the gill cover. Spinous and soft parts of dorsal fin entirely separate. Lower jaw projects beyond upper jaw. Hybrids superficially resemble white bass but grow larger than white bass, exceeding a weight of 5 pounds. The back of the tongue of a hybrid has either 1 distinct tooth patch or 2 patches very close together. (The tongue of a white bass has a heart-shaped tooth patch, and the tongue of a striped bass has 2 distinct parallel tooth patches. Anglers find hybrids strong, hard-hitting fish—“monster white bass.” If you are fishing for white bass and are unprepared for hybrids, they are easily capable of breaking the fishing line or throwing or destroying the lure. Thus heavier tackle is called for than one would use for white bass. Size: Weight: about 7-10 pounds; maximum 15-20 pounds. |
Largemouth Bass:
Upper parts are greenish; the lower sides and belly are white without dark spots or with spots that are irregularly arranged. Midside has a broad, dark continuous stripe. Large, elongated fish with a very large mouth. Upper jaw reaches far beyond the rear margin of the eye, except in small young. Smooth tongue. Dorsal fins not well connected. Cheek scales same size as rest of body scales. Size: Total length: 10 to 20 inches; weight: 0.5 to 4.5 pounds; maximum about 24 inches and 15 pounds. |
Muskie:
The largest of the pikes, this species is also known "musky." They are long and slender, with a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. They differ from other members of the pike family in having both the gill cover and cheek scaled only on their upper halves, and in having a row of 6 to 9 pores along each side of lower jaw. The color pattern on body consists of dark spots or bars on a light background. Usually there are 17 to 19 slender bones (branchiostegal rays) in the membranes along lower edge of gill cover, and 130 to 157 scales in the lateral line, which is series of sensory pores that form a faint line along both sides of a fish's sides. Size: Total length (in Missouri): commonly 36 to 45 inches; up to 48 inches. |
Smallmouth Bass:
Large, elongated fish with a moderately large mouth. Cheek scales much smaller than rest of body scales. Back and sides are greenish-brown with faint dark mottling and bars; the belly whitish overlain with dusky pigment. No dark horizontal stripe. Without rows of dark spots. Upper jaw reaches to about the rear margin of the eye in adults. Tongue usually has rough patch. Dorsal fins connected. Most closely related to largemouth and spotted bass. Size: Total length: 10 to 20 inches; weight 1/2 to 4 pounds; maximum about 22 inches long and 6 pounds. |
Spotted Bass (Kentucky Bass):
Large, elongated fish with a large mouth. Upper jaw reaches to or slightly beyond the rear margin of the eye in adults. Green with dark horizontal stripe. Upper parts are greenish with darker mottlings; the lower sides and belly are whitish with dark spots arranged in streaks. The midside has a broad, dark continuous stripe. Cheek scales much smaller than rest of body scales. Tongue has rough patch. Size: Total length: 10 to 17 inches; weight: 1/2 to 3 1/2 pounds; maximum about 20 inches and 4 to 5 pounds. |
Striped Bass:
A silvery, elongated fish with prominent dark, horizontal stripes along the sides. Stripes are typically not offset or broken and 3-5 will extend from behind the head to the base of the tail. Soft and spiny dorsal fins are separate. Gill cover has a very sharp gill plate. Teeth on upper surface of tongue usually in two parallel patches. Hybrids between the striped bass and white bass are stocked by the Missouri Department of Conservation in many impoundments around the state. These fish superficially resemble white bass but have 2 patches of teeth on the tongue very close together or else a single distinct tooth patch. Hybrids also achieve a larger size than white bass, exceeding a weight of 5 pounds. Size: Total length: 26-40 inches; weight: 5-20 pounds. A striped bass over 58 pounds was caught at Bull Shoals Lake in 2010. |
Sturgeon:
Long, streamlined, sharklike body; long bony snout; rows of sharp, bony, armored plates (scutes). The sucker-type mouth is located under the long bony snout. Lake sturgeon have short, rounded snouts compared to those of our other sturgeon species. Also, the four barbels dangling from in front of the mouth on a lake sturgeon are smooth and not fringed or serrated. Young lake sturgeon are mottled light and dark brown. Adults are solid dark brown or slate-colored with white belly. Size: Length: to 8 feet; weight: to 300 pounds. |
Walleye:
A slender, spiny-rayed fish with 2 separate dorsal fins. Mouth large, the upper jaw extending about to hind edge of eye. Jaws and roof of mouth have prominent teeth. The hind edge of the bone just in front of the gill cover is saw-toothed. Tail is forked. Back and sides yellowish or olive-brown with darker mottlings and blotches. Belly white. Two separate dorsal fins. Spinous dorsal fin streaked and blotched with black, usually with a large black blotch near bases of the last few spines. Very reflective eye. Size: Adult length: 12–28 inches; weight: 8 ounces to 8 pounds. Much larger specimens can occur. |
White Crappie:
Crappies are popular panfish that are deep bodied and strongly compressed laterally (slab-sided). The upper jaw is long, reaching well past the middle of eye. The two sections of the dorsal fin (spiny forepart and soft-rayed rear part) are broadly connected, without a notch between. The anal fin is nearly as long and large as the dorsal fin, and has 6 spines. The upper surface of the head and forward part of the back are strongly concave. This species of crappie is silver with 5-10 often faint, dark vertical bars. The dorsal fin has 6 spines. Similar species: Black crappie have irregularly arranged speckles and blotches instead of faint vertical bars as the color pattern. They also have 7 or 8 dorsal fin spines instead of 6. Size: Total length: 9-10 inches; weight: up to 4 pounds. |
Information on this page credited to Missouri Department of Conservation. www.doc.mo.gov