Fish of the Delaware River

American Eel(Anguilla rostrata)Eels are yellowish brown to dark-olive, and lighter underneath. American eel has a snake-like body that is covered with a mucus layer. This makes the eel appear to be naked and slimy despite the presence of minute scales. The head is long, and tapers to a small mouth. The lower jaw sticks out a little farther than the upper jaw.Record – NJ: 6 lb. 13 oz. / PA: na

Bass - Largemouth(Micropterus salmoides)Usually, dark greenish above fading to a whitish belly. A series of dark blotches form a dark horizontal band along its midline back to its tail. Upper jaw extends well back past the eye in adults.Record - NJ: 10 lb. 14 oz. / PA: 11 lb. 3 oz.

Bass - Rock(Ambloplites rupestris) Red eyes and brown or bronze on the back and sides with faint lines of small dark marks that give the fish a striped appearance. Record – NJ: 1 lb. 5 oz. / PA: 3 lb. 2 oz.

Bass - Smallmouth(Micropterus dolomieu)Body is coppery-brown above with greenish-brown sides marked with darker vertical bars, Upper jaw extends back only to be in line with the middle of the eye.

Bass - Striped(Morone saxatilis)Stout, silvery body shading to olive-green on the back and iridescent white on the belly. Sides are marked with longitudinal dark stripes running from behind the gills to the base of the tail.

Bass - Striped, Hybrid (Cross between Morone saxatilis & M. chrysops)Can be told from striped bass by broken rather than solid horizontal stripes on the body. The general color of the fish grades from silver and black on the back to white underneath. The shade depends on the color of the water.

Bowfin(Amia calva)Color ranges from olive to brown, often with a camouflaged pattern of dark and light tones fading into lighter tones on the belly. The entire head is covered with a bony platelike armor instead of scales and a pair of short barbels protrudes near the nostrils. An eyespot at the upper base of the rounded tail is present in males and juveniles, but may be missing in females.Be sure to learn how to distinguish this native fish from the invasive snakeheads that swim in the same waters..

Carp - Common(Cyprinus carpio)Sides of the large scaled, thick body are usually bronze-gold to golden yellow and yellowish white on the belly. Thick-lipped, sucker-like mouth has two barbels (whiskers) on either side and there is a saw-toothed edge on the front of both the dorsal and anal fins.

Carp - Grass(Ctenopharyngodon idella)Body is oblong with moderately large scales; however, the head is scaleless. Back is olive-brown, sides are brassy or silvery, and the belly white to yellowish. Lacks the golden hue of common carp and has no barbels.

Catfish - Bullhead, Brown (Ameiurus nebulosus)Dark brown back, greenish-yellow sides, and white belly with squarish tail. Often has a dark mottling this sides, but it may be difficult to see in fish that are dark overall. There are dark “whiskers” (barbles) on chin and above mouth. The chin barbels are black or yellowish-brown as opposed to the white chin barbles of the Yellow Bullhead. Take extra care when taking bullheads off the hook. Their back (dorsal) and side (pectoral fins) can puncture your skin and give you a painful “sting.”

Catfish - Bullhead, Yellow (Ameiurus natalis)Sides are orange-brown to gold with some light mottling. Belly is yellowish to white. There are white or yellow “whiskers” (barbles) on chin as opposed to the black or yellowish-brown chin barbles of the Brown Bullhead. Take extra care when taking bullheads off the hook. Their back (dorsal) and side (pectoral fins) can puncture your skin and give you a painful “sting.”

Catfish - Channel(Ictalurus punctatus)Easily distinguished from all other Delaware River catfish by their deeply forked tail fin. They are usually olive brown or grey in color and, especially in smaller fish, have numerous dark spots. Upper jaw is longer and overlaps the lower and there are eight whishers (barbels) surrounding the mouth.

Catfish - Flathead(Pylodictis olivaris)The head is broadly flattened, with a projecting lower jaw. Pale yellow to light brown on the back and sides, and highly mottled with black and/or brown. The belly is usually pale yellow or cream colored. The tail fin is only slightly notched, not deeply forked as is the case with blue and channel catfish. Young fish may be very dark and almost black in appearance.

Catfish - White(Ameiurus catus)Bluish-gray on back and sides and white to yellowish-white underneath. Their tail is moderately forked. White to yellowish barbels are lighter than those of channel catfish.

Crappie - Black(Pomoxis nigromaculatus)A deep-bodied fish with a large mouth that extends to below the middle of the eye. Olive to grayish-green on back with yellowish-green to silver sides. Back and sides have many small, dark blotches that do not form into vertical bars as they do on the White Crappie.