Freshwater Sportfish

by: Rachel McGuire

Alabama is known for its freshwater sportfishing scene. Sportfish, otherwise known as game species, are types of fish that are prized by anglers for the sport, and not exclusively for consumption.

Alabama sportfish can be divided into the following major groups: black bass, bream (or sunfish), crappie, temperate bass, pickerel, perch, and trout.

Black Basses

Black bass of Alabama include the largemouth bass, redeye bass, shoal bass, smallmouth bass, spotted bass, and Alabama bass. As a group, black basses have weak reproductive barriers which have led to rampant hybridization (that produces fertile offspring), particularly in the Southeastern U.S., that endangers some of the rarer, more localized black basses that are smaller, slower-growing, or more specialized in their habitat needs.

Let’s begin with the state freshwater fish of Alabama and the primary freshwater species: the largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides). Largemouths are heavy-bodied fishes with an olive green to brown back, greenish sides with a broad black band of oval blotches, and a white vent. These fish range from 12-30 inches long and an average weight of 1-5 pounds, with trophies starting in the 8+ pound range. The state record is a whopping 16 lbs 8 oz in Shelby County from 1987. Largemouths can be found throughout the state in almost all aquatic habitats, but are especially productive in lakes, ponds, and reservoirs.

Redeye bass (Micropterus coosae), also known as the Coosa Bass, are slender fish with a large mouth. The back and sides are olive to brown with dark brown mottling. Breeding males will have a light blue-green on the lower head and throat. Redeyes are typically between 14-17 inches and can be distinguished from smallmouth and shoal bass by the white upper and lower margins of the caudal fin. Redeyes are endemic to the Mobile basin and found above the Fall Line in the Coosa and Tallapoosa River Basins, but are absent in the Black Warrior River Basin. This species is found in small to medium-sized streams, rarely in impoundments and large rivers, near aquatic vegetation, submerged stumps, or undercut banks. Redeyes eat insects, crayfish, and small fishes. There are 4 types of redeye bass in Alabama. Those found in the Tallapoosa River are known as “Tallapoosa Bass.”

Shoal bass (Micropterus cataractae) are endemic to the Apalachicola River Basin in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. Shoalies are often confused with Redeyes, despite the fact that their ranges do not overlap. Shoal bass lack the white edges on the upper and lower margins of the caudal fin as well as lack teeth on the tongue (which is present on Redeyes). Shoalies are olive green on the back with white vents and several rows of dark scales resembling parallel lines on the lower body. This species is reaches 12-18 inches long. Shoalies are found (no surprise) in shoals and riffles of small to moderate fast-flowing streams.

The smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) is an angler favorite known for its great fighting. Despite its name, Smallies have relatively large mouths. This species lacks the characteristic black stripe or black blotches found on largemouth and spotted bass. Smallies are typically 15-20 inches and in Alabama are only found within the Tennessee River Basin. Efforts to introduce them to Smith Lake, the Cahaba, Coosa, and Tombigbee Rivers have been unsuccessful. Smallies are found in clear streams, rivers, and reservoirs and often found near underwater structures.

Spotted bass (Micropterus punctulatus) are slender fishes with large mouths and black blotches on the midbody that become more band-like with age. The body is typically olive green, with light gray lower sides, and a white vent. This species reaches 12-17 inches and if found throughout the state in small to large flowing streams, rivers, and reservoirs. The Alabama bass (Micropterus henshalli) was previously considered a subspecies of the spotted bass, but is now considered a different species entirely, was native to the Mobile River Basin, but has been widely introduced as a sportfish. The Alabama bass can grow faster and larger than the true spotted bass and is considered invasive in some parts of the Southeast such as North Carolina.

Bream (Sunfish)

There are many misnomers when it comes to this group of fishes. Technically “sunfish” refers to all species in the freshwater fish family of Centrarchidae which includes black basses, rock basses, crappies, banded sunfishes, and “true” sunfishes. This encompasses the vast majority of all of Alabama’s freshwater sportfishes. Anglers often use the name bream (pronounced “brim”) to refer to several of the larger sunfish in the genus Lepomis. There are 15+ species of bream, or sunfish, found in Alabama. Bream most often specifically refer to bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) or redear sunfish (Lepomis microlophus). Especially colorful species of bream are often called “pumpkinseeds,” even though there is a particular species called the pumpkinseed sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus).

One thing these fish do have in common is that they are tasty and serve as great “panfish,” just ask The Bluegill Restaurant in Spanish Fort, AL! These oval-shaped and relatively flat fish are found throughout the state.

The most common species of bream is the bluegill. The largest on record was caught in Alabama in 1950, weighing in at a whopping 4 pounds, 12 ounces. Bluegill prefer slower moving water with aquatic vegetation to hide in as they consume aquatic insects, small crustaceans, minnows, and algae.

The redbreast sunfish has vibrant reddish to orange color on the underbelly and a yellow-green to blue-green body with long and narrow ear flaps, often black in color. Redbreasts have a highly variable diet and are more successful in faster moving waters than the common bluegill. Redbreasts are predominately found in lower Alabama as well as the Tallapoosa and Coosa River Basins.

The longear sunfish has gorgeous color (as seen above) with breeding males often developing metallic blue spots on the back and sides with wavy lines on the head and orange membranes on the vertical fins. Fun fact: despite its name, the longear sunfish does not produce sound during courtship, leading this author to wonder, what might it be listening for then? Just kidding! In all seriousness, fish acoustics are interesting and a part of the auditory system in fish called the otolith is used to age many species, much like aging a tree by its tree rings.

Crappie

Alabama is home to two species: the black crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus) and the white crappie (Pomoxis annularis) that are similar in appearance, with a a few differences. Black crappies have 7-8 dorsal spines, while white crappies typically have 6 dorsal spines. Black crappie dorsal fin bases are equal to or longer than the distance from the rear margin of the eye to the origin of the dorsal fin base, with white crappie having shorter dorsal fin bases. Lastly, white crappies have 8-10 vertical, dark gray reticulated bands that are not present on black crappie.

Both crappies reach 12-20 inches and are native to the Mississippi Valley, but have been introduced widely in most of the U.S. and even parts of northern Mexico and Canada. They are deep-bodied fishes that are laterally compressed that are typically found in rivers and reservoirs, and occasionally, medium-sized streams. White crappie are slightly more tolerant of turbidity than black crappies. Both species form schools and venture to feed in shallower waters before spawning from April to May where anglers catch them en masse using live minnows and jigs.

Temperate Bass

The temperate bass include two natives – the white bass and yellow bass – and the introduced anadromous striped bass along with hybrid striped bass (sometimes called “wipers”).

The native white bass (Morone chrysops) looks like a striped bass with much fainter lateral stripes; however, the single tooth path on its tongue distinguishes it from stripers. Adults are typically 10-15 inches long and predominately found in the Tennessee and Chattahoochee River Basins. White bass are found in large streams, rivers, and reservoirs in the surface and pelagic zones. They are aggressive predators (feeding on shad) that have very fast growth rates.

The native yellow bass (Morone mississippiensis) is a smaller bass (8-11 inches long) with a yellowish gold body and eye. They have black longitudinal stripes with the lower 3-4 stripes “broken” on the sides. The tongue lacks a tooth patch, unlike the rest of the temperate bass. Yellow bass are native to the lower Tombigbee, Tennessee, and Mobile Delta. Yellow bass have been introduced elsewhere in the state including the upper Cahaba River and several lakes. This is a schooling species that migrates into large streams to spawn in April and May.

Striped bass are a large fish (20-24 inches and up to 20+ pounds) that migrate between fresh and marine waters. Their bodies are relatively cylindrical with distinct, often broken stripes down their body to their tails. Stripers have two tooth patches on the back of the tongue. Landlocked stripers have been stocked in Alabama for angling.

Pickerel

Alabama’s Pickerel include chain pickerel (Esox niger) and redfin pickerel (Esox americanus). Chain pickerel are the largest native pike found in Alabama. Adults have dark green to brown backs with rectangular patterns that resemble a chain and grow to 15-30 inches. Chain pickerel have been found in every Alabama river basin with the exception of the Yellow and Blackwater Rivers in the southern part of the state.

Redfin pickerel grow to 7-12 inches and are predominately found below the Fall Line in Alabama. Redfin prefer habitats with lots of aquatic vegetation and clear water. One distinguishing characteristic between chain and redfin pickerel is the vertical bar beneath the eye which is nearly perpendicular for chain and slightly slanted backward for redfin pickerel.

Perch

The three top species of perch caught by anglers in Alabama are the walleye (Stizostedion vitreum), sauger (Stizostedion canadense), and yellow perch (Perca flavescens).

The yellow perch is the largest of the group (reaches up to 12 inches) and has obvious black saddles across the back with a yellow green to golden body, along with a white vent and breast. This species is found in moderate to large streams, tributaries of the Mobile Delta, and reservoirs. Native to the Mobile Basin, yellow perch have been introduced above the Fall Line in the Tennessee River and Chattahoochee River.

Rainbow Trout

Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) are native to the Pacific Coast from Alaska to Mexico, not Alabama. This species is only present in Alabama due to stocking in several parts of the state including Mud Creek in Tannehill State Park, spring-fed ponds of Lauderdale and Limestone counties, and in Inland Lake. The Sipsey Fork, the tailwaters below Smith Lake, has a long history (since 1974) of stocking rainbows with year-round trout fishing available.

Rainbows, like other trout species, require colder waters between 45-66 degrees F. Rainbows consume small crustaceans and larval insects. This fish has a wide size range from 9-29 inches with the state record of 9 pounds, 1 ounce from the Tannehill Historical State Park.