Fishing The Big River

Scientific Name: Ictalurus punctatus
Family: Ictaluridae (bullhead catfishes) in the order Siluriformes (catfishes)

Description

Channel catfish, like our other catfish, have smooth, scaleless skin and barbels (“whiskers”) around the mouth.
The channel and blue catfish both have a deeply forked tail fin, but the channel catfish can be distinguished by
the following:

• It has scattered dark spots on the back and sides (the spots are often absent, however, in the smallest
  young and in large adults).
• The outer margin of the anal fin is rounded outward (convex) rather than straight.
• The anal fin usually has 24–29 rays (fewer than in the blue catfish).
• The base of the anal fin is relatively shorter than in the blue catfish.
• The profile of the back, from the dorsal fin forward, is gently sloping and slightly rounded outward, so
  the head and forward part of the body are less distinctly wedge-shaped than in the blue catfish.

The back and sides are olive brown or slate blue, usually with few to many roundish black spots. The belly is silvery white. The fins are yellowish or dusky, often with a narrow black fringe. Breeding males are a deep blue black on the back and sides, with the head swollen and knobby and the lips thickened and fleshy.

Similar species: The channel catfish is most likely to be confused with the blue catfish. The blue catfish is less
widely distributed and occurs mostly in the Mississippi, Missouri, and Osage rivers. It occasionally is found in
the lower reaches of those rivers’ larger tributaries, including the Grand, Gasconade, and Salt rivers. The blue
catfish never has dark spots on the back and sides, has a straight-edged (not rounded) anal fin with more rays
(30–35) and a relatively longer base, and has a more distinctive wedge-shaped profile. Also, it reaches a much
larger size than the channel catfish.

The channel catfish sometimes mate with blue and flathead catfish, producing hybrid offspring that blend traits
of both parents.

Missouri’s other catfish species do not have deeply forked tail fins.

Other Common Names
Spotted Cat
Blue Cat
Fiddler
Lady Cat
Chucklehead Cat
Willow Cat

Size

Adult length: commonly 12–32 inches; weight: commonly 1–15 pounds. Specimens as large as 45 pounds are
uncommon in Missouri.

Habitat & Conservation

The channel catfish is the most abundant and widely distributed large catfish in Missouri. It occurs over nearly
all of the state but is especially characteristic of the Prairie region streams of north and west Missouri, the
Mississippi and Missouri rivers, and the larger streams and ditches of the Bootheel lowlands. It is less abundant
in the central Ozarks than elsewhere. It occurs naturally or as a result of stocking in artificial impoundments
throughout the state.

The channel catfish occurs in a variety of habitats, but it is especially characteristic of large, rather turbid
streams with low or moderate gradients. Adults are found in larger pools, in deep water, or around submerged
logs and other cover. The young often occur in riffles or the shallower parts of pools.

During the day, adult channel catfish retire to deep water or lie about drift piles, submerged logs, or other cover.
At night, they move onto riffles or into the shallows of pools to feed.

Food

Channel catfish feed at night in shallow areas of pools and on riffles, using their sensitive barbels to locate food
on the bottom by taste, smell, and touch. These omnivorous fish eat fish, insects, crayfish, mollusks, and plant
material. One study found insects belonging to 50 different families in the stomachs of channel catfish in the
Des Moines River, indicating an extremely variable diet.

The diet varies greatly by size. Channel catfish less than 4 inches long feed almost entirely on small insects,
while larger individuals eat larger food items and have a more varied diet.

Status

Game fish.

Life Cycle

The channel catfish spawns in Missouri from about the last week of May, when water temperatures reach 75 F,
and continues through the third week of July. Often there are two peaks of spawning activity during this period.
Prior to spawning, the male catfish selects and cleans out a nest site. Natural cavities around piles of drift, logs,
or undercut banks, and the burrows of muskrats and beavers are favored nest sites. Semidarkness and seclusion
are major factors in the choice of nest sites. Females normally do not participate in the selection of nest sites or
in the care of the eggs or young.

The eggs are deposited in the bottom of the nest as a gelatinous mass having the appearance and consistency of
a large golden yellow mound of tapioca. They hatch in about a week, and the fry remain in the nest for 7 or 8
more days. The male guards the fry only until they leave the nest.

The survival of the young during the first year of life is much lower in clear ponds than in turbid ponds, and the
same probably holds true in streams. The lower survival rate in clear waters apparently is a result from greater
susceptibility to predation.

Channel catfish mature when they are about 4 or 5 years old, or are about 12 to 15 inches long. The lifespan
usually does not exceed 6 or 7 years, but individuals may sometimes live more then 10 years.

Human Connections

The channel catfish was established as the official Missouri state fish in 1997. It is one of the most sought-after
fish in Missouri. Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, and Tennessee have also declared the channel catfish their official
state fish.

The channel catfish is one of Missouri’s most highly prized game and food fishes. As a sport fish, it has no rival
in the larger prairie streams of northwest Missouri, where other game fish are scarce. It figures prominently in
the creel in streams and reservoirs elsewhere in Missouri and is widely stocked in farm ponds.

Catfish farming, the commercial propagation of channel catfish for sale as live or dressed fish, is an important
industry in Missouri.

Channel catfish may be caught on set lines, by jugging, or by still-fishing with rod and reel. A variety of live,
cut, or prepared baits, including fish, crayfish, worms, grasshoppers, liver, shrimp, chicken and chicken entrails,
blood, cheese, stinkbait, and commercial concoctions, are used to catch this fish. Occasionally it is taken on
spinners, small spoons, and other artificial lures retrieved slowly near the bottom. Fishing is best near dusk and
in the early part of the night, or on a rise following a heavy rain.

Ecosystem Connections

Catfish search stream bottoms, preying on creatures that will fit in their mouths, grazing on plants, and cleaning
up dead animal matter.

When catfish die, they become food for other animals. And despite notably attentive parental care, their eggs
and vulnerable young frequently are eaten by other animals, too.

Channel catfish are native to a wide range in North America, extending from southern Canada through the
eastern United States east of the Rocky Mountains, and into northeastern Mexico. They have been introduced in
many parts of the world.

The channel catfish has been called the “swimming tongue” because of the numbers of taste or taste receptors
over the body surface as well as on the barbels and in the mouth and throat. These are perfect adaptations for
life in murky water and nocturnal activity.

In addition to finding food by chemosensory (smell and taste) receptors, channel cats also can identify each
other as individuals by smell or taste. They can detect age, size, reproductive status, territorial or fright status,
and more by smell or taste alone.

When we people put our heads underwater, air in our ear canals prevents us from hearing well. But studies have
found that many fish communicate with sound. Channel catfish are one of those species. They make sounds by
clicking or grinding the pectoral fin bones within the pectoral girdle. Channel catfish can use this method to
produce a sudden, loud sound to startle predators, causing their enemies to hesitate and allowing the catfish to
escape. The sound may also alert nearby catfish of the danger. If you’re interested in learning more about how
fishes use sound, do an internet search on “acoustic communication in fish.” It’s a fascinating subject.

Scientific Name: Ambloplites rupestris
Family: Centrarchidae (sunfishes) in the order Perciformes (perch-like fishes)

Description

The northern rock bass, or goggle-eye, is thicker-bodied than most other sunfish, with a large mouth and very
large eyes. The spiny dorsal fin has 12 spines broadly connected to the soft dorsal fin. The anal fin has 6 spines.
The color is variable, but it is generally dark brown to bronze above, often blotched on the sides. There is a
distinct pattern of dark spots arranged in parallel lines along the sides; this differentiates the northern rock bass
from its closest relatives, the Ozark bass and shadow bass.

Other Common Names
Goggle-Eye

Size

Total length: to 11 inches; weight: to 1 pound; maximum about 17 inches and 2 pounds, 12 ounces.

Habitat & Conservation

Streams of the northern Ozarks, tributaries of the middle Mississippi, and a portion of the southwestern Ozarks.
Rarely in Ozark reservoirs. Larger individuals are found around boulders, logs, and vegetation beds in deep
pools. Most active twilight hours of dawn and dusk, and at night.Although its habits are much like those of the
smallmouth, the spotted bass is a more active fish. It is most active at dawn and dusk.

Food

Crayfish and aquatic insects; occasionally terrestrial insects and small fish.

Status

This game fish was previously recognized as a single species known as “rock bass,” but two very close relatives
of the northern rock bass have been recognized in Missouri. Although nearly identical in behavior, habitat, and
life histories, the shadow bass (Ambloplites ariommus) and Ozark bass (Ambloplites constellatus) differ from
northern rock bass and from each other primarily by where they are found.

Life Cycle

Rock bass spawn from the first week in April to as late as early June. Males of this solitary-nesting species
build saucer-shaped nests. In Ozark streams, the timing coincides with that of the smallmouth bass. Individuals
can live 7 to 9 years.

Scientific Name: Micropterus punctulatus
Family: Centrarchidae (sunfishes) in the order Perciformes (perch-like fishes)

Description

The spotted bass is a large, elongated fish with a large mouth. The upper jaw reaches to or only very slightly
beyond the rear margin of the eye in adults. Overall color is green with a dark horizontal stripe. The 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. The cheek scales are much smaller than the rest of the body
scales. The tongue has a rough patch.

Similar species: The closest relatives in Missouri are the largemouth and smallmouth basses. The three are in
genus Micropterus, whose members are generally called black basses.

Other Common Names
Kentucky Bass

Size

Total length: 10–17 inches; weight: 1⁄2–31⁄2 pounds; maximum about 20 inches and 4–5 pounds.

Habitat & Conservation

This species generally inhabits permanent-flowing waters that are warmer and slightly more turbid than those
where the smallmouth bass occurs. In the main channels of large rivers within its area of occurrence, it occurs
almost to the exclusion of other black basses. It is abundant in most large Ozark reservoirs, where it generally is
found at depths greater than those occupied by other black basses.

In cool, spring-fed streams, however, it is largely replaced by the smallmouth bass. In backwaters and
floodplain lakes along streams, it is largely replaced by the largemouth bass.

In the Bootheel lowlands, this is the most abundant species of black bass in flowing waters. Elsewhere in its
Missouri range, it is the most abundant black bass in the larger streams. In large Ozark reservoirs, this species is
more abundant than the smallmouth bass.

Although its habits are much like those of the smallmouth, the spotted bass is a more active fish. It is most
active at dawn and dusk.

Food

Carnivorous, feeding on crayfish, fish, and immature aquatic insects. Bass often catch their prey by ambushing
from a place of hiding. Suction created when the rather large mouth is suddenly opened helps them capture
prey.

Status

Game fish.

Life Cycle

Spotted bass apparently move annually between larger rivers and reservoirs and their smaller tributaries. They
appear in the smaller streams after high water in the spring and return to larger waters in the fall.

At any given locality, spotted bass begin nesting a few days later than smallmouths. In Missouri, nesting
activity is most intense from mid-April to early June. Nests are similar to those of the smallmouth, and both
species sometimes nest simultaneously in the same stream pools. During the first 4 years of life, the growth rate
of spotted bass is slightly faster than that of the smallmouth, but it is slower after that.

Individuals can live for about 6 years.

As many as 80,000 bass fry are produced in a single mile of Ozark stream, but these may be reduced to less than
100 by early September of the first year of life. They are most vulnerable when they are small; as they grow
larger, their potential predators become more limited. Individuals can live up to about 10 to 12 years.

Human Connections

The spotted bass is an important game fish in Missouri’s larger streams and reservoirs, although it is less
desirable because of its smaller size. Fishing methods are similar to those for taking largemouths and
smallmouths.

Ecosystem Connections

Introduced populations of spotted bass tend to replace the smallmouth through hybridization and
competition.

Scientific Name: Micropterus dolomieu
Family: Centrarchidae (sunfishes) in the order Perciformes (perch-like fishes)

Description

The smallmouth bass is a large, elongated fish with a moderately large mouth. The cheek scales are much
smaller than the rest of the body scales. The back and sides are greenish brown, with faint dark mottling and
bars; the belly is whitish, overlain with dusky pigment. There is no dark horizontal stripe, and it lacks rows of
dark spots. In adults, the upper jaw reaches to about the rear margin of the eye. The tongue usually has a rough
patch. The two dorsal fins are connected.
Similar species: The smallmouth bass is most closely related to the largemouth and spotted basses.
Other Common Names
Brown Bass
Brownie
Bronzeback

Size

Total length: 10 to 20 inches; weight 1/2 to 4 pounds; maximum about 22 inches long and 6 pounds.

Habitat & Conservation

Found predominantly in cool, clear Ozark streams and large reservoirs in the Ozarks. Found sparingly in the
upper Mississippi River and its principal prairie tributaries that have clear water and permanent flow. Thrives in
clear streams, with silt-free rock or gravel bottoms, near riffles but not in the main current. Although mostly
found in streams in Missouri, it can be found in natural lakes and ponds in the northern parts of its North
American range. Most active at dawn and dusk.

Food

Carnivorous, feeding on fish, crayfish, and large aquatic insects. When actively foraging for minnows and other
prey, smallmouth bass commonly prowl the shoreline in quite shallow water.
The first foods of smallmouth fry include midge larvae and microcrustaceans. Fry less than an inch long are
already capable of eating small fish.
An interesting habit of smallmouth bass is to follow a large turtle or sucker as it digs or roots in the bottom,
pouncing on any insects or crayfish that are disturbed by this activity.

Status

This is the most sought-after sport fish in the clear, cool streams of the central Ozarks. In recent years it has
become increasingly abundant and important in the sport fishery of Table Rock Reservoir and Stockton Lake.
Populations have declined in the Moreau River drainage partly because of hybridization with an introduced
population of the closely related spotted bass.

Life Cycle

Smallmouth bass spawn from early or mid-April (when the water temperature exceeds 60 F) and continues well
into June or even July. Peak spawning activity is in May. Smallmouth bass spawn in quiet water near shore, or
downstream from a boulder or other obstruction that breaks the force of the current. Typically, nests are located
where there is no perceptible current, not far from cover or deeper water to which the male retreats when
frightened.
The male smallmouth fans out a nest with powerful sweeping motions of his tail fin, in typical sunfish fashion.
The nest is swept clean of silt, sand, and fine gravel, leaving a saucer-shaped depression with a diameter about
twice the length of the male. The nest is floored by coarse gravel and rock.
Females enter the nest only to spawn. The male does not assume special breeding colors, and most of the time
the sexes are difficult to distinguish. However, when entering the nest, the female develops a strongly barred
and blotched pattern, while the male retains a uniform coloration. Spawning occurs during a period of 20 or 30
minutes, until the full complement of eggs is deposited. Sometimes more than one female enters the nest at the
same time, and a single nest may contain the eggs of several females.
Nests contain about 2,500 eggs on average, but sometimes 10,000 eggs are present. They hatch in 2 or 3 days.
The fry remain at the nest and continue their growth and development for about 12 more days; soon after, they
disperse.The male guards the nest and fry until they are gone.
As many as 80,000 bass fry are produced in a single mile of Ozark stream, but these may be reduced to less than
100 by early September of the first year of life. They are most vulnerable when they are small; as they grow
larger, their potential predators become more limited. Individuals can live up to about 10 to 12 years.

Human Connections

A popular sport fish of the Ozarks. The most effective live baits include minnows, crayfish, and hellgrammites.
Spinning and casting with the same types of lures used for taking largemouth bass also work. Some people
consider fly fishing to be the ultimate sporting method for catching “brownies.”
One of the craft breweries based in Missouri’s Ozarks named its “Bronzeback” beer to celebrate this favorite
sport fish.

Ecosystem Connections

In the Ozarks, the smallmouth bass is the dominant species of large, predatory fish in most streams. It is the
ecological replacement, or counterpart, for the spotted bass and the largemouth bass in the clear, cool,
permanent-flowing streams of the Ozarks.
The nests of smallmouth bass are centers of activity for other fishes. Longear sunfish, for example, commonly
gather around smallmouth nests and rush in to feed greedily on eggs or fry if the guardian male smallmouth is
distracted or frightened away.
Shortly after hatching, orangethroat darter fry sometimes inhabit the nests of smallmouth bass. Many bass nests
literally swarm with darters. It is believed that the young orangethroats benefit from the protection of the male
bass guarding its nest; the full-grown bass will not feed on such “small fry.” There may also be more of the
preferred prey for the orangethroat fry in these locations, too.

Scientific Name: Lepomis megalotis
Family: Centrarchidae (sunfishes) in the order Perciformes (perch-like fishes)

Description

The longear sunfish is deep-bodied, slab-sided, with a moderate-sized mouth, the upper jaw nearly reaching the
front of the eye. The back and sides are blue green, speckled with yellow and emerald; the belly is yellow or
orange. The side of the head is olive or light orange with sky-blue vermiculations (undulating, worm-like
markings). The ear (gill) flap is elongated, black, and often bordered in white. The pectoral fin is rounded.

Similar species: The longear sunfish is most closely related to bluegill, green sunfish, and other sunfishes.

Other Common Names
Pumpkinseed
Creek Perch
Sun Perch
Sunnie

Size

Total length: 5 to 6 inches; maximum about 7 inches and 4.5 ounces.

Habitat & Conservation

Avoids strong currents. Occurs in reservoirs, ponds, and in pools, inlets, and overflow waters adjacent to stream
channels. Favors clear, permanent-flowing streams having sandy or rocky bottoms and aquatic vegetation. It is
by far the most abundant and generally distributed sunfish over the southern half of Missouri. It is abundant in
Ozark streams of all sizes except for extreme headwaters. Most active in daytime.

Food

Carnivorous, feeding on insects, small crustaceans, and some small fish.

Status

Nongame fish.

Life Cycle

Individuals can live for 6 years. Nests in colonies, from mid-May to early or mid-August. The evenly rounded
nests are nearly always fanned out over small chert gravel. Often the nests are so close together that their rims
nearly touch. Courting males tilt to display their brightly colored sides to the females. After spawning, the male
swims low over the nest, fanning the eggs with his fins and chasing away intruders. He stays with the nest for
more than 2 weeks, until the fry have hatched and dispersed. This species typically reaches a length of about 11⁄2
inches its first year of life.

Human Connections

Despite its small size, the longear sunfish is an important panfish in Ozark streams because of its abundance and
willingness to bite. It provides excellent sport when taken on light tackle.

Ecosystem Connections

Like the smallmouth bass, the longear sunfish follows turtles and large suckers about as they forage over the
bottom, feeding on insect larvae and small crayfish that are exposed. Longears commonly gather about the nests
of smallmouth bass and other sunfishes (including their own species), rushing in to feed greedily on eggs or fry
if the guardian male is momentarily distracted or frightened away.