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Features: Coastal cutthroat trout are typically are blue/green on top, red along the lateral line, and white on the belly. They are lightly or heavily spotted and adults have a red slash mark on the throat. Habitat: The most common variety of trout in Oregon is the coastal cutthroat, found in the streams and beaver ponds in coastal drainages. They also are stocked in high mountain hike-in lakes where the water stays cool throughout the summer. Techniques: Cutthroats that are year-round residents of small streams may not get any bigger than 8- or 9-inches, but can reward the angler with…

Features: Bullheads present in Oregon are distinguished from channel catfish by their square or rounded tails and lack of spotting. They seldom exceed 18 inches in length and a weight of 2 pounds. Yellow bullheads are a more uniform yellow color with white or cream chin barbels and a rounded tail. Habitat: Bullheads are found on the bottom in the shallows of mud-bottomed ponds, lakes, reservoirs and backwaters of rivers. The yellow bullhead is found mainly in the Willamette basin. Technique: Bullheads can be caught any month of the year, but fishing is best from the first warm days of…

Features: Bullheads present in Oregon (brown, yellow and black) are distinguished from channel catfish by their square or rounded tails and lack of spotting. They seldom exceed two pounds and 18-inches long. Black bullheads have a square tail with a light vertical bar at its base and chin barbels that are all dark. Habitat: Bullheads are found on the bottom in the shallows of mud-bottomed ponds, lakes, reservoirs and backwaters of rivers. The black bullhead is primarily in reservoirs and streams tributary to the Snake River. Bullheads feed on almost any type of plant or animal material; insect larvae and…

Features: Smallmouth bass are golden green to bronze with dark vertical bars and blotches on the side. The upper jaw does not extend beyond the eye. In some locations, it has a red eye. Somewhat smaller than the largemouth, smallmouth bass in Oregon may reach 23-inches and exceed 7 pounds. Habitat: Smallmouth bass are adapted to flowing waters and do well in warm streams with deep holes and rocky ledges. They also prefer lakes and reservoirs with rocky shorelines and limited vegetation. Adult smallmouth feed mostly on fish and crayfish. Technique: Much of what was written about largemouth bass also…

Features: Sacramento perch are blackish above with about seven vertical dark bars that are irregular in form and position. They are not a true perch, but a sunfish. It is the only member of the sunfish family native to the west coast and, in Oregon, is found only in the Klamath Basin. Sacramento perch are distinguished from the other sunfish in Oregon by having 12 or 13 dorsal fin spines whereas all the others have 10 or fewer. Maximum size in Oregon is about 12-inches in length and a weight of about 3/4 pound, although in California they have been…

Features: Pumpkinseeds may be identified by the orange or red spot on the ear flap and the orange cheeks with wavy blue or turquoise stripes. Color is exceedingly brilliant and somewhat variable; olive to brassy-green above, the back finely dusted with gold or emerald. Habitat: Pumpkinseeds are found in the same habitats and often in association with bluegills. Adults often congregate beneath old deadheads and trees that have fallen into the water. Food habits are also similar to bluegill. They consume large numbers of snails by browsing on the stalks of aquatic vegetation. Techniques: Pumpkinseed are found in many of…

Features: Bluegills are distinguished from other panfish by the black ear flap and black spot at the rear base of the dorsal fin. Five to eight greenish, vertical bars are faintly visible on their sides. The body is olive-green in color, bluish above and silvery below. Breeding males develop a bright orange to red flush on the throat area. Adults in most waters measure 5- to 8-inches, but the state record bluegill exceeded 12-inches. Habitat: Bluegills prosper in clear, clean ponds, lakes and backwaters of slow streams with abundant vegetation. They feed on both plant and animal life, but primarily…

Features: Green sunfish have more of a bass-shaped body and a larger mouth than the other sunfishes, other than the warmouth. Also, unlike other sunfish except the warmouth, the pectoral fin is rounded, rather than pointed. Green sunfish are olive green on the back and sides with a yellowish-copper or brassy hue on the lower sides of the belly. Dusky, vertical bars are often present. Turquoise mottling, often in the form of bars, radiates backward from the snout and eye. They have a dark spot at the base of the rear lobe of the dorsal fin. Habitat: Green sunfish are…