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Home/Fish/ Freshwater/Carp, Gar & Rough Fish

Carp, Gar & Rough Fish 🐊

34 freshwater species in this group - identification, habitat, seasons, tackle, baits and technique for each.

34 shown
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Gizzard Shad

The gizzard shad is an abundant open-water baitfish that forms the forage base f…
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Threadfin Shad

The threadfin shad is a small open-water baitfish that forms the primary forage …
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Flannelmouth Sucker

The flannelmouth sucker is a large native sucker of the Colorado River basin, in…
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Northern Hog Sucker

The northern hog sucker is a bottom-hugging native of clean, rocky streams, an o…
Common Carp

Common Carp

The common carp is one of the most misunderstood fish in American fresh water.
Bowfin

Bowfin

The bowfin is one of the most ancient fish swimming in North American waters, th…
Longnose Gar

Longnose Gar

The longnose gar looks like something that swam straight out of the Cretaceous, …
Alligator Gar

Alligator Gar

The alligator gar is the largest fish in most of the waters it swims, a true fre…
Freshwater Drum

Freshwater Drum

The freshwater drum is one of the most widely distributed yet least appreciated …
Burbot

Burbot

The burbot is the strange one.
Northern Snakehead

Northern Snakehead

The northern snakehead is the most notorious invasive fish in American fresh wat…
American Paddlefish

American Paddlefish

The American paddlefish is one of the most ancient and unmistakable fish in Nort…
Lake Sturgeon

Lake Sturgeon

The lake sturgeon is a living fossil and one of North America's most awe-inspiri…
White Sturgeon

White Sturgeon

The white sturgeon is the largest freshwater fish in North America and one of th…
American Eel

American Eel

The American eel is one of the strangest and most fascinating fish an East Coast…
Spotted Gar

Spotted Gar

The spotted gar is one of the most ancient fish an American angler can catch, a …
American Shad

American Shad

The American shad is the largest member of the herring family, a silvery, deep-b…
Blue Tilapia

Blue Tilapia

The blue tilapia is a hardy African cichlid that has become one of the most wide…
Smallmouth Buffalo

Smallmouth Buffalo

The smallmouth buffalo is a big, heavy-bodied native sucker that ranks among the…
Grass Carp

Grass Carp

The grass carp is a giant, plant-eating fish native to Asia that has become a co…
Bigmouth Buffalo

Bigmouth Buffalo

The bigmouth buffalo is one of North America's most remarkable native fish, and …
Redhorse Sucker

Redhorse Sucker

The redhorse sucker is one of the most overlooked native game fish in America, a…
Clown Knifefish

Clown Knifefish

The clown knifefish is one of the strangest and most exciting fish an angler can…
Mayan Cichlid

Mayan Cichlid

The Mayan cichlid is a small, gorgeous, and pugnacious fish that has become a fa…
White Sucker

White Sucker

The white sucker is one of the most common native fish in North America, yet it …
Bighead Carp

Bighead Carp

The bighead carp is a giant, invasive Asian carp that has spread through much of…
Silver Carp

Silver Carp

The silver carp is the infamous "flying carp" - the invasive Asian carp that lau…
Quillback

Quillback

The quillback is a handsome native sucker, a member of the carpsucker group, oft…
Goldeye

Goldeye

The goldeye is a striking silvery river fish best known for its large, brilliant…
Shortnose Gar

Shortnose Gar

The shortnose gar is a prehistoric, armor-scaled predator of slow rivers and bac…
Florida Gar

Florida Gar

The Florida gar is a boldly spotted, armor-scaled predator of the Southeast's wa…
Hickory Shad

Hickory Shad

The hickory shad is a hard-fighting, acrobatic member of the herring family that…
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Shovelnose Sturgeon

The shovelnose sturgeon is the smallest and most abundant North American sturgeo…
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Fallfish

The fallfish is the largest native minnow in eastern North America, a silvery, h…

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