While checking the minnow traps that I set in southern Illinois, I found that I caught a fish that I had not previously come across. The Brown Bullhead thrives in a variety of habitats, including lakes, ponds, and slow-moving streams with low oxygen or muddy conditions. In many areas of the United States they are opportunistic bottom feeders.

The species has few natural predators and is not popular with anglers in most areas (albeit very popular in some, such as the Oneida Lake area of Upstate New York, where it is featured each Spring by restaurants and the fish is a local delicacy) so it has thrived.

Their diet consists of algae, leeches, worms, mollusks, crustaceans, insects, crayfish, other smaller fish species and fish eggs. Brown Bullheads are typically nocturnal feeders. These fish have poor eyesight and are heavily reliant on their sensitive barbels to locate their food. They are omnivorous are said to eat almost anything that fits in their mouth.

Averaging 8 to 12 inches as adults, they have protective coloration to avoid predation. As a mode of physical defense against predators, they have a sharp spine on the leading edge of their dorsal and pectoral fins. To use this adaptation to avoid predation, Bullheads stiffen the spine while being attacked, impeding the predator’s ability to swallow while simultaneously releasing a venom to sting and burn the predator.

The Brown Bullhead is also widely known as the “Mud Pout,” “Horned Pout,” “Hornpout,” or simply “Mud Cat” – a name also used with the other Bullhead species.

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While herping in southern Illinois this month, I caught this sunfish which is endemic to the southern United States. It is the only species in the monospecific genus Centrarchus.

The Flier is similar in appearance to a Crappie. It is deep-bodied and saucer-shaped. It is generally olive-green to brassy in color, with numerous black spots on sides arranged in rows on adults. They reach a total average length of 5 to 7 inches, with a maximum size of about 8 inches.

Fliers often reside in dark, tannic, acidic backwaters of coastal swamps, creeks, ponds and canals. They thrive in areas with thick vegetative cover and can survive in locations with minimal levels of dissolved oxygen. Insect larvae, small crustaceans, worms, small fish and algae make up their diet.

A key identification characteristic of this fish when immature, is a dark eyespot, which has a reddish border on the dorsal fin. This eyespot disappears as the fish grows. Fish biologists have speculated the dark spot, when coupled with their eye, gives the appearance of a much larger fish. This adaptation is believed to deter potential predators.

A Second World War United States Navy submarine was named the USS Flier after this fish.

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While looking for cool creatures in a creek in Lisbon, Ohio this month, I caught a fish that I have never encountered before. Stonecats are small, slender, flat-headed catfish. Stonecats typically reach four to eight inches in length, but can reach 12 inches.

While the dorsal and pectoral spines of most members of this family cause wounds that irritate, the Stonecat has venom glands, particularly on the bases of the pectoral spines, that cause extreme pain similar to that of a wasp sting.

These fish reside in freshwater environments, and are found from large creeks to small rivers. They occasionally are found in tiny creeks, or rivers as large as the Lower Mississippi. Stonecats occupy gently to fast-moving riffle areas with rocky substrates.

The Stonecat is an opportunistic feeder, using its sensitive barbels during the night to search for food. They eat a variety of food items, such as aquatic insect larvae, mollusks, minnows, fish eggs, isopods, amphipods, crayfish, plant material, and worms.

Because Stonecats cannot tolerate heavy siltation or pollution, their presence or absence in a stream is an indicator of water quality. It was neat to come across this fascinating fish while herping.

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I caught this very fine fish in a minnow trap while visiting southern Illinois in October. At an average size of about a foot long, it looks like a miniature version of its relative, the Northern Pike.

The Grass Pickerel occurs primarily in the sluggish, vegetated waters of pools, lakes and wetlands. It is the most common and widely distributed pike in Missouri and Illinois.

Like other pikes, it has a duckbill-shaped snout, a large mouth with many sharp teeth, and a single dorsal fin. Its back and sides are olive or yellowish brown, and often barred or mottled with a darker color. A dusky bar angles downward and slightly backward from the eye.

This species hunts by ambush, darting out to seize prey from a place of concealment. Young Grass Pickerel eat small crustaceans, amphipods, isopods, and young aquatic insects. Larger examples eat small fish, crayfish, and dragonfly nymphs.

Its sleek, muscular, torpedo-shaped body, with fins positioned in the back for quick bursts of speed, are perfect adaptations for its lie-in-wait predatory habits and are worthy of admiration.

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This was a neat fish that I caught a few examples of while on my visit to southern Illinois. The Largescale Stoneroller may attain a length of 12 inches, but is usually about eight inches long. It is a dark-brown minnow with patches of brown or black scattered over the body. Its fins are short and rounded and its bluntly rounded snout projects beyond its mouth.

It is found natively in many of North American streams, rivers, lakes, and creeks. This fish inhabits well-oxygenated waters with low turbulence and a reduced flow of water. This species can tolerate waters that are polluted and therefore it does not have much competition in some habitats. It has been introduced to other areas of the United States, probably as escaped bait fish.

The Largescale Stoneroller’s lower jaw has a hard edge that is used for scraping algae when feeding. It is a herbivorous fish which eats diatoms, green algae, and blue-green bacteria, with a tendency to ingest less sand and silt than its relative the Central Stoneroller.

This creature prefers upland habitats above the Fall Line where they spawn from early March through April. Males excavate spawning pits in shallow water by moving stones with their mouths or pushing them with their heads.

It was fun to find a new fish and the Largescale Stoneroller certainly is an interesting one.

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While visiting Illinois this month, I came across a couple examples of this cool fish.

A member of the Herring Family, American Gizzard Shad is native to large swaths of fresh and brackish waters in the United States. Adults have a deep body, with a silvery-green coloration above, which fades to plain silver below. Although they can grow as long as eighteen to even twenty inches long, they are often in the range of eight to fourteen inches.

This fish is so named because it possesses a gizzard-like organ, a sack filled with rocks or sand, that aids the animal in the breakdown of consumed food. The American Gizzard Shad inhabits a variety of quiet-water habitats, including natural lowland lakes and ponds, artificial impoundments, and the pools and backwaters of streams and rivers.

It is most active at dusk and at night. American Gizzard Shad travel in large, constantly moving schools near the water’s surface and frequently leap clear of the water or skip along the surface on their sides, earning it its other common name “Skipjack.”

American Gizzard Shad are filter feeders that eat mostly plant material, phytoplankton, and algae. To eat, they take water or mud into their mouths and then strain it though a set of rakes on their gills. Water and sediment are removed, and food is captured and eaten.

Because of their small size and relatively high abundance, this species has been introduced into many lake and river systems as a source of food for game fish, such as Walleye, Bass, and Trout.

It was cool to net a couple of examples of this neat creature while on my herping adventure.

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While investigating a creek in Ohio, I turned up a few of these small, but colorful fish. Rainbow Darters only grow to be about 3 inches long. They can be a very brightly-colored creatures, depending on their sex and whether it is breeding season.

Females have brown stripes, while males usually have blue stripes that are separated by orange coloring. The first dorsal fins usually have red coloring close to the body, with a blue fringe. However, in female rainbow darters, this coloring is not very well developed and may simply appear as thin lines.

Rainbow Darters inhabit small rivers and streams in eastern North America. They have been widely located in vast numbers in the Ohio River Valley and the tributaries of the Great Lakes. They are also found throughout the Mississippi River, as far north as Minnesota and as far south as southeastern Louisiana.

This species prefers the fast-moving currents of shallow riffles in creeks and small rivers. They also have a preference for gravel or rocky-bottom streams. Typically adult fish are found in faster and deeper running waters, while younger rainbow darters are more common in slower, shallower areas and pools.

Rainbow Darters are considered shy and stay hidden for most the day between or along rocks unless they are looking for food or reproducing. They feed on a variety of aquatic insect larvae, small snails, and crayfish. They also feed on various fish eggs, typically either minnow or lamprey eggs.

It was great to be able to capture a few of these cool creatures while out in the field.

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While fishing in the Ohio & Erie Canal, I caught this fine fish. It is widely farmed both as a table fish and to stock lakes and rivers as a sport fish.

The Rainbow Trout is native only to the rivers and lakes of North America, west of the Rocky Mountains, but its value as a hard-fighting game fish and tasty meal has led to its introduction throughout the world. This popular fish has been stocked in almost every one of the United States and on every continent except Antarctica.

Also called Redband Trout, they are attractive fish that derive their name from their beautiful, multi-hued coloration. Their bodies are blue, green, or yellowish, shading to silvery white on the underside, with a horizontal pink-red stripe running from the gills to the tail and black spots along their backs.

Steelhead and Rainbow Trout are the same species, and members of the Salmon Family. Rainbow Trout are freshwater only, and Steelhead are anadromous, or go to sea. Unlike most Salmon, Steelhead can survive spawning and can spawn in multiple years. Adult Rainbow Trout and Steelhead range in size. They can reach 45 inches in length, but are usually much smaller. They can weigh more than 50 pounds, but a more typical weight is 8 pounds.

This is a cool- to cold-water fish species that does best in areas where the water remains below 70°F. Rainbow Trout are carnivores and feed on a wide variety of prey including insects, crustaceans, mollusks, fish eggs and fish. In habitats that are dense with aquatic vegetation, they often have the opportunity to eat arthropods that fall into the stream.

A group of rainbow trout is called a hover.

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While exploring a creek near Youngstown, Ohio, I caught a fish that I had never encountered in the wild before. Its natural geographic range extends from the Great Lakes south along the Mississippi River basin to Louisiana, and east across the Midwestern United States to New York State.

Despite me not being familiar with it, the Bluntnose Minnow is very ubiquitous and may be the most common freshwater fish in the Eastern United States. It occupies a broad range of habitats including lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams and prefers shallow areas of clear water with sand and gravel bottoms.

This fish is commonly used for bait in the fishing industry. Averaging three inches in length, its characteristic rounded face is where the common name “Bluntnose Minnow” originated.

These fish prefer to feed on aquatic insects, algae, diatoms, aquatic insect larvae, and small crustaceans called entomostracans. Occasionally they will eat fish eggs or small fish.

A close relative, the Fathead Minnow, gives off a chemical called “alarm substance” when under attack. Scientists think the substance may be a distress signal that attracts other predatory fish who interrupt the first predator, allowing the minnow to escape.

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While visiting Southern Illinois last October, I found a few examples of a neat fish that I had never encountered before. A tiny catfish, an adult Tadpole madtom is typically 2–3 inches long – however they have been recorded to reach a length of 5 inches.

This species lives in the pools and backwaters of sluggish creeks and rivers, as well as in shallow areas of lakes. It avoids fast rocky streams and usually is found near rocks or debris over a soft substrate. Its range includes most of the eastern United States.

These catfish, as well as the other Madtoms, can inflict a painful puncture wound with the spines on their pectoral and dorsal fins. When one is stung or pricked by one of the spines, there is a burning sensation similar to a bee or wasp sting.

Like many catfish species, Madtoms have venom glands at the base of these fins. The glands secrete venom that becomes incorporated in the slime and cells that make up the spine. This is a useful defense mechanism to keep it from being eaten by predators.

Like others in its family, it is nocturnal and relies on its sensory “whiskers” (called barbels) to find its favorite foods. The Tadpole Madtom feeds on insects and other invertebrates, as well as occasionally consuming algae and aquatic plants.

It was a really neat experience to meet this very cool fish while visiting the “Land of Lincoln.”

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