Identification tips, where to find, and how to fish for rainbow trout, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, panfish (bluegill, redear sunfish, and black crappie), channel catfish and striped bass.
Rainbow Trout | Largemouth Bass | Smallmouth Bass | Striped Bass | Panfish - Bluegill | Panfish - Redear Sunfish | Panfish - Black Crappie | Channel Catfish
Rainbow Trout
Identification
Trout have a forked tail, two widely spaced dorsal fins, (a fleshy adipose fin), small scales, and teeth. They may have a pink band on each side of their body, a silver back with black spots, and a silver belly.
Where to fish
These colorful creatures thrive in cool, clear, oxygen-rich water. In winter, they are usually found in the open-water areas of lakes near the surface, and in deeper, cooler water in the summer.
How to fish
Use night crawlers, red worms, salmon eggs, or power bait on a #8 hook about two feet off the bottom with a sliding sinker. Also, shiny lures less than one inch long may be cast or trolled. Try wet or dry flies in streams or along lake shorelines. Trout are most active in cooler air and water temperatures.
Limit
Five per day.
Largemouth Bass
Identification
These fish have thick, elongated bodies with a black stripe along each side. Their jaw extends past the midpoint of their eyes. They can grow to 17 pounds or more.
Where to fish
The best time to fish for bass is during the spring. They prefer warm, shallow, shaded, weedy, or tree-covered areas.
How to fish
Use natural bait (nightcrawlers and crayfish) or black or purple plastic worms rigged with #1 weedless hooks and crank baits or bass plugs. They must be at least 12 inches long to keep.
Limit
Five per day in combination with smallmouth bass.
Smallmouth Bass
Identification
These fish have thick elongated bodies often with vertical barring along each side. Their jaws do not extend past the center of their eyes. They may grow to five-plus pounds.
Where to fish
Smallmouth bass prefer cooler and deeper water than largemouth bass. They are more often found in moving water near inlets and steep, rocky areas.
How to fish
Smallmouth bass prefer plastic lures, especially those combined with a spinner pulled through their habitat. Crickets and nightcrawlers are also good baits. Must be 12 inches long to keep.
Limit
Five per day in combination with largemouth bass.
Striped Bass
Identification
These fish have thick, elongated bodies with black lateral stripes.
Where to fish
They patrol open water, 10-40 feet below the surface. They will move into the shallows to feed on small fish.
How to fish
Use a strong rod and reel with at least 20 lb. test line, because a 20 year-old "striper" may weigh 40 lbs. Use trolling lures resembling small fish. Must be 18 inches long to keep.
Limit
Two per day.
Panfish--Bluegill
Identification
Identification: Bluegill have pointed pectoral fins, blue-black gill covers, and vertical bars on the side. Typical panfish have a forked tail and a fused, spiny-soft dorsal. Their compressed, short bodies are designed for short bursts of speed in backwater areas.
Panfish--Redear Sunfish
Identification
Redear sunfish have pointed pectoral fins, dark gill flaps with orange-red edges, and a spotted pattern covering their bodies. Bluegill and sunfish can grow to three-plus pounds. Typical panfish have a forked tail and a fused, spiny-soft dorsal. Their compressed, short bodies are designed for short bursts of speed in backwater areas.
Where to fish
These fish prefer shallow, muddy shoreline areas where submerged trees and weedbeds are found. Sunfish prefer deeper areas than bluegills.
How to fish
Use a bobber to hold a #12 hook three to four feet off the bottom. Use red worms, meal worms, or grasshoppers.
Limit
No size or catch limit.
Panfish--Black Crappie
Identification
Black crappie have seven to eight dorsal spines with dark, random spots on their bodies and fins. Pectoral fins are round. Typical panfish have a forked tail and a fused, spiny-soft dorsal. Their compressed, short bodies are designed for short bursts of speed in backwater areas.
Where to fish
Most of the year, crappie spend their time in close-knit schools in open and deeper water than sunfish. During the spring spawning season they feed along the surface on schooling minnows. After spawning they can be found around sunken brush piles. Crappie can grow to three-plus pounds.
How to fish
Try streamer flies, jigs, grasshoppers, or grubs pulled along the surface or bobbed around brushy areas, or mid-water worm trolling.
Limit
Anglers may keep a daily limit of 25 crappie of any size.
Channel Catfish
Identification
The head of this type of fish is flattened top to bottom. These fish have no scales. They use their whiskers as scent sensors to locate their meals. They have pointed, forked tails, spots on their olive green-blue bodies, and black whiskers.
White catfish have a uniform skin color, white bellies and lobed tails. Catfish can grow to 35-plus pounds.
Where to fish
Catfish comb shallow shoreline areas near vegetation and undercut banks.
How to fish
These fish eat almost anything. Some of the best baits are chicken liver, crayfish tails, anchovies, mackerel, nightcrawlers, clams, or sardines, placed on a #2 hook with a 1- to 6-ounce sinker.
Limit
Fish of any size may be kept to a limit of five per day.
Illustrations (above) by: Joseph Tomelleri