Fish Species

• Walleye: The Missouri River, including Lakes Sakakawea and Oahe, and Devils Lake produce good catches of walleye.
• Perch: Devils Lake's perch fishery is know nationwide for catches of 1 pound-plus fish.
• Paddlefish: The Missouri and Yellowstone rivers' confluence provides the best paddlefishing in the state. A special tag is required to fish for paddlefish.
• Chinook Salmon: Lake Sakakawea is the only water in the state with this species.  Although chinook numbers are down as a result of low water levels in recent years, the lake continues to support a population of chinook.
• Catfish: Best catfishing is found on the Red River, Garrison Dam Tailrace, directly below Lake Sakakawea, and Lake Tschida in southwestern part of the state.
• Northern Pike, bass, bluegill, crappie, muskellunge, sauger, and trout are found in many waters, too numerous to list here. 

 

Some fish species commonly misidentified by anglers.

Walleye and Sauger

These members of the perch family have two dorsal fins that are completely separated. The first fin is spiny while the second fin has soft rays.

Walleye (wall-eyed pike)
Walleye are a dark-olive color with an over-all golden brown mottling and a white belly. A black blotch on the lower rear portion of the front dorsal fin helps identify the walleye. They prefer sand and gravel bottom areas, habitat commonly found in our large reservoirs.

Sauger (sand pike)
The sauger resembles the walleye but is usually not as large or as stockily built. It has a blotched body color and rows of dark spots on the dorsal fin instead of the one black blotch of the walleye. Sauger typically inhabit fairly fast moving water of rivers and streams. The saugeye is a cross between a walleye and sauger but cannot be positively identified by external physical characteristics.

Northern Pike and Muskellunge

These members of the pike family have long bodies and long snouts with large teeth. The dorsal fin is located far back on the body.

Northern Pike (northern, pike, jack, snake, pickerel, and hammer handle)
Pike are marked with horizontal body spots and never have more than five pores on each side of the lower jaw. Pike have scales covering their entire cheek. The northern pike was named our State Fish by the 1969 Legislative Assembly.

Muskellunge
Muskellunge have vertical dark bars on their sides and from 6 to 8 pores on each side of the lower jaw. They have scales only on the upper half of the cheek. The tiger muskie is a hybrid cross between a muskellunge female and a northern pike male.

NOTE: Background colors of fish can vary slightly depending on environmental characteristics of the water body and its geographic location.

Location of submandibular pores on underside of lower jaw:

Northern Pike - 5 or fewer pores on each side

Muskellunge - 6 to 8 pores on each side

Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass

These members of the sunfish family members are deep and stockily built, attractive in coloration, and popular as panfish. Their dorsal fin has a spiny front portion and a soft rayed rear portion that are joined together. The dorsal fin is almost separated into two parts.

Largemouth Bass (largemouth black bass)
The back and upper sides of the largemouth is a dark green color and its sides have dark irregular patches. As its name implies, the mouth is large with the end of the upper jaw extending to or beyond the rear margin of the eye. It prefers small lake (stock dam) habitat. Its eyes are golden in color.

Smallmouth Bass (smallmouth black bass)
The smallmouth is similar in color to the largemouth except for barred markings on its sides and red colored eyes. The mouth is smaller and the rear of the upper jaw does not extend beyond the center of the eye. It prefers habitat similar to the walleye.

Trout

Trout in North Dakota are all introduced. They are beautiful fish and sporty to catch. They are fine scaled and are native to oceans and cold waters of rivers and lakes. Our state's conditions offer little chance for most trout family members to spawn and reproduce successfully without the aid of a fish hatchery.

Rainbow Trout
The rainbow has been widely stocked in North Dakota. It varies in coloring but usually has pinkish streaks on its sides and small black spots on its sides, fins, and tail. The rainbow has 9-12 rays in its anal fin. Rainbows are found in a variety of coloration due to where they originate, where they are stocked, and the time of the year. Popular rainbow strains presently stocked into North Dakota waters include Shasta, Eagle Lake and Arlees.

Brown Trout (German Brown Trout)
The brown trout is native to Europe and should be able to survive under warmer water conditions than the rainbow. It is found in the Missouri River system and a few lakes where it is regularly stocked. Like the rainbow, it has 9-12 rays in the anal fin. It has spots that are much larger and more colorful than those of the rainbow. The spots on the brown trout may be black, brown, orange, or red and are surrounded with a light colored halo. On large browns, the spots may be irregular shaped or even x-shaped. The brown usually does not have spots on its tail.

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