Delaware Fish ID

Stocked trout grown on fish farms and then stocked in local waterways around the world. This is why Delaware charges for a trout stamp, to pay for the trout stocking program.  Despite these being fish grown on a fish farm.  There is a Delaware consumption advisory for stocked trout as well as just about every

     All fish must meet or exceed the size requirements to be eligible for a citation and or a Delaware state Record.  The Delaware state certified scales are located at most bait shops through out the state of Delaware. Tournament Weight Stations in Delaware.      There is also a catch and release live citation

Spanish Mackerel (Scomberomorus maculatus) The Spanish Mackerel, also known as Scomberomorus maculatus, is a type of migratory fish that can be found in the waters off the coast of Delaware. These fish have a distinct appearance, with a green back and silvery sides, and three rows of oval or elliptical yellow spots. The lateral line

  Scalloped Hammerhead Juvenile (Sphyrna lewini)   In the late summer a lot of these juvenile scalloped hammerheads are caught in the surf and surrounding waters.  Boaters will see them swimming just below the surface of the water   The adult hammerhead sharks move into the surf areas to pup.  A few years ago a hammerhead

Grouper are in the sea bass family (subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae ) and during the late summer months we will find several off our coast that travel north with the gulf stream, or are pushed in by storms.  We have seen many kinds in our waters over the years. They look like bass

  Cobia (Rachycentron canadum) Also known as … Bonito, Ling, Crabeater, black kingfish, black salmon, lemonfish, prodigal son, aruan tasek, coby Description … Cobia are large long fish with a dark chocolate brown colors on the back and sides that fade to a white belly.  The juveniles will often have a brown back with a white horizontal

Burr Fish (Chilomycterus schoepfi) Also known as … striped burr fish, boxfish, porcupine fish, Description … The Burr Fish has a short round body, covered in short sharp spines.  They are yellowish green in color with parallel dark brownish or blackish wavy stripes.  There are large spots at the base of the dorsal fin and

Atlantic Menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) Also known as … Bunker, mossbunker, fatback, bugfish, bunka Atlantic Menhaden have a compressed body that is silvery in color with a distinct black shoulder spot behind the gill.  They feed on plankton and are important filter feeders in all estuaries along the east coast.    They are the most sought after

Striped Cusk Eel (Ophidion marginatum) Also known as … cusk eel, Description … They are a elongated tapering fish with an eel-like appearance but can be distinguished from true eels by their ventral fins.  These are developed into a forked like barbel organ below the mouth in the cusk eels, contrasted by either missing entirely

Smooth Dogfish (Mustelus canis) Also known as … dusky smooth-hound, smooth dogfish, hound shark Description … Smooth dogfish are basically the same as spiny dogfish.  Except for the lack of the dorsal spines, and  smooth dogfish have an anal fin.  Their jaw features flat, almost pavement like teeth, relatively small eyes with a spiracle or air

Spiny Dogfish (Sqalus acanthias) Also Know as … spurdog, mud shark,  piked dogfish Description … Spiny dogfish have a long slender body with 2 dorsal fins almost equal in size.  The pelvic fin on the underside is positioned between the 2 dorsal fins and the anal fin is absent.  The jaw is filled with small teeth.

Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) Also known as … Channel Cat, River Catfish, Spotted Cat and Blue Channel catfish Description … Channel catfish are a very common and popular food fish.   Channel Catfish are very similar to Blue channel Catfish (invasive species in Delaware) but they can be easily distinguished from each other by looking at their

American Eel (Anguilla rostrata) Also known as … Description … The American eel is slender and snakelike, covered in a mucous layer.  They do have minute scales despite the slimy feel and look.  There is a long dorsal fin that runs from the middle of the back and is continuous and the ventral fin is

Northern Stargazer (Astroscopus guttatus) Description … Stargazers bury into the sand with shovel like pectoral fins. they can look straight up waiting for prey to swim by and breathe through nostrils on their head.  They have an organ just above the eyes that can produce an electrical charge for defense against predators. Not a good

Southern Star gazer (Astroscopus y-graecum) Also known as … stargazer, aniquim, miracielo pintado, uranoscope tachete Description … Stargazers bury into the sand with shovel like pectoral fins.  They can look straight up waiting for prey to swim by and breathe through nostrils on their head.  They have an organ just above the eyes that can produce an electrical

Clear Nose Skate (Raja eglanteria) Also known as … skate, jersey flounder, Delaware state fish (joke) Description … The clear nose skate is probably the most common caught fish on the Delaware shore.   When they are hitting bait constantly, people literally want to call it a day.  they are attracted to cut baits and

Smooth Butterfly ray (Gymnura micrura) Also know as … Description … The smooth butterfly ray is called this due to the smooth tail that has no spikes or spines present.  A broad diamond shaped body which is much wider than it is long.  The pectoral fins resemble large wings and it has pointed head.  They

Cownose Ray (Rhinoptera bonasus) Also known as … Description … The cownose ray is a species of eagle ray found all over the east coast.  A broad flat body with winglike pectoral fins.  A long whip like tail with a barbed spine at the base of the tail.  The front of the head has an

Pompano ( Trachinotus carolinus) Also known as … Florida pompano, Description … Pompanos are in the Jack family.  They have a broad, round, flattened body and a small underslung mouth.   The tail is a deep fork and small pectoral fins.  There are greenish gray in color with hints of yellow along the back fading

 Spotted Hake (Urophycis regia) Also known as … Ling Cod, spotted codling, Often mistaken for its cousin the Red Hake (Urophycis chuss) … Red hake have a filamentous third ray on the dorsal fin and no spots. Description … The spotted hake’s body tapers to the tail.  With two dorsal fins and 2 filamentous pelvic fins

Oyster Toadfish (Opsanus tau) Also Known as … ugly toad, oyster cracker, oyster catcher, bar dog, mother in law fish, orange crush Description … The oyster toadfish is one of the uglier fish in our waters.  They have a broad flat head with a large mouth and lots of small teeth.  They have strong jaws they

Northern Sea Robin ( Prionotus carolinus) Also known as  … sea robin,  gurnard Description … The northern sea robin has a long tapered body with a broad head and a tough, bony covering and numerous spines.  Large pectoral fins can spread out and resemble wings of a bird.  They have 3 to 4 feelers at

White Perch (Morone americana) Also known as … White perch, often confused with sand perch and white crappie Description … White perch have a silvery, greenish-gray body, they are highly domed in shape with a gray or blackish back.  This fades to a whitish belly.  There are faint lines on the side and slightly forked

Houndfish (Tylosurus crocodilus) Also known as … crocodile needlefish Description … Houndfish are long slender fish with a cylindrical shaped body, a bony head and jaws covered with sharp teeth.  The dorsal fin is located close to the rear of the body followed by a caudal penduncle with a keel .  Their colors are greenish to blueish

Lizardfish (Synodus foetens) Also known as … lizard fish Description … Lizardfish are a long slender fish with a almost cylindrical body.  The head is pointed and reptilian in appearance, with a large mouth full of sharp teeth.  Their skin also has the appearance of a reptile, but they do have scales.  They are brown

Pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides) Also known as … pin perch, sand perch, butterfish Description … The pinfish is a small fish only growing to about 4.5 inches.  They have a silvery sheen with 5 to 6 vertical bars on the side.  Olive colored backs with yellow and white pigments, with blue, green, and purple iridescence.  The anterior

Windowpane flounder (Scophthalmus aquosus)  Also know as … sand flounder, paper mouth, sundial flounder Description … Windowpane or Sundial flounder are more rounded in shape (less oval) than their flatfish cousins and are easily distinguished.  They are thin bodied with less muscle than other flatfish and the eyes are on the left side.  They are  pale

Winter Flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) Also known as … Flounder, Sole, Lemon Sole, Georges Bank Flounder, Blackback Flounder   Winter flounder are a right eyed flatfish, not to be confused with its left eyed cousin the summer flounder.   During the summer it lives in deeper off shore waters and then spends the winter in shallow coastal

Summer Flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) Also known as .. Flounder, Fluke, Flattie Description … Flounder have a rounded flat body, brown on one side (left side) and white on the other side (right).  Both eyes are on the left side of the body.  They have very sharp, well developed teeth that are cone like in shape on

Spot (Leiostomus xanthurus) Also known as … Norfolk Spot, Yellowbelly, striper candy, spot croaker Description … Spot are overall silvery in color with a white belly.  There is a prominent black spot behind the gill cover, above the base of the pectoral fin, and is the reason for their name.  They are in the drum family

Northern Puffer (Sphoeroides maculatus) Also known as … Blow Toad, Blowfish, Swell Toad Description … The northern puffer has a box like or blunt body shape.  They can rapidly increase their size or alter their shape by swelling their belly with air or water and resemble a sphere.  This is defense mechanism for protection to scare

Gray Triggerfish (Balistes capriscus) Also known as … triggerfish Description … The gray triggerfish is a deep bodies fish with a large first spine within the first dorsal fin.  This spine can be extended to lodge the fish into rocky areas and used as defense.  It works much like  a trigger.   They are grey

Spade fish (Chaetodipterus faber ) Also know as … angelfishes, atlantic spades, butterfly fishes, jackasses, leather coats, moonfish, ocean cobblers, paouas, pot covers, sea donkeys, spadefishes, Threebanded sheepheads, threetailed porgy, tripletails, white angels, and white angelfishes   Description … The spade fish is a deep bodied fish with pointed second anal and dorsal fins.  These give

Sheepshead (Archosargus probatocephalus) Also known as …  convict fish Description .. Grayish in color this is a deep bodied fish.  The sides and back are prominently gray and the belly is only slightly lighter in color.   They have 5 or 6 black or very dark brown bars that run down the sides which fade

Southern Kingfish (Menticirrhus americanus) Also know as … Roundhead, Sea Mullet, Whiting, King Whiting, Virginia Mullet Description … The southern kingfish is another popular fish to catch in the summertime to the fall in Delaware,  showing up in the surf, inland bays, and Delaware bay.  They are often confused with the northern kingfish but have a lighter

Northern Kingfish ( Menticirrhus saxatilis) Also known as  … Roundhead, Sea Mullet, Whiting, King Whiting, Virginia Mullet Description … Kingfish are a popular fish in the surf and bays in Delaware  during the summer into the fall.  They are a member of the drum family but do not make the typical drumming or croaking noise due

Weakfish (Cynoscion regalis) Also known as … Gray Trout, Yellowfin Trout, Squeteague, Tiderunner Description … Weakfish are Delaware’s state fish (July 7, 1981 ) and back in the day were very abundant.  They are a member of the drum family, Sciaenidae.  Their names come from their weak mouths when fishing for them the hooks can easily tear

Tautog (Tautoga onitis)   Also known as Blackfish, Chub, ‘Tog, White Chin. Description .. Tautog are a favorite fish for many anglers to catch and eat.  They are a thick bodied fish, that have thick lips that cover large irregular teeth, which have the incisors in the rear and the molars in the front.  They

Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis ) Also known as … Rockfish, linesider, shorts, schoolies, shorties, and surf rats Description … Striped bass are silvery overall in coloration with a white belly.  Their back tends to be dark with an olive or dusky brownish color. There are 7 to 8 black stripes that run horizontal down the

Speckled Trout (Cynoscion nebulosus )   Also Known as … Speckled Trout, Spotted Trout, Speck Description … The speckled trout is a grayish silver color with a blueish iridescent tint.  This fades to silver on the side with a white belly.  Their back and sides are covered with distinct blackdots that extend to the caudal fin

Red Drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) Also known as  … Channel Bass, Redfish, Puppy Drum, Spottail Bass Description .. Red drum have a copper to bronze coloring on the back that fades to a white belly.  They may be more silverish in clearer waters.  Ocellated spots are usually present on the tails.   The Caudal fin (tail) is

Bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix ) Description … Blueish are greenish in color that fades to a light colored belly.  They have a sharply forked caudal fin (tail).  The mouth has razor sharp teeth, you never want to “lip” one of these fish or get your fingers near their mouth.  Bluefish commonly range in size from seven-inches

Hickory Shad (Alosa mediocris) … Hickory Shad are silver on their sides with a grayish to green back, and a prominent dark spot, followed by a row of lighter spots (especially when fresh) on the upper part of the side just behind the gill cover the body is long but compressed in shape. Asymmetrical from

Black Sea Bass  (Centropristis striata ) Description … Black sea bass are very dark brown on the sides and back, the belly and fins also tend to be dark.   Females have constant curve slope from the head to the top of the back.  Males have a pronounced “dent” before the dorsal fin and are

Black Drum   (Pogonias cromis ) Description … Black drum are bronze, grayish, copper colored back fading to a lighter colored belly.  Puppy drum (juveniles) have vertical dark stripes they are similar to sheepshead, and these stripes fade in adults.  Their high arched back gives them an appearance of having a hump. Rounded teeth up

  Atlantic Croaker ….   (Micropogonias undulatus) Description …  Closely related to the black drum they make a “croaking” sound that is very distinct by vibrating strong muscles against their swim bladder.  They are Silverish in color with a white belly with a faint bronze to golden cast, and yellowish fins. Faint or bronze to golden cast