Freshwater Fishes of Connecticut

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• Yellow Bullhead

  They were first observed in Connecticut in the early 1980s at a few disjunct sites in the lower Housatonic and upper Quinebaug River drainages. Populations are expanding in both of these drainages, and individuals have recently been discovered in the Connecticut River drainage as well.

• Chain Pickerel

  The chain pickerel is Connecticut’s largest native freshwater predatory fish. Before the introduction of bass, it was the top predator in the state’s lakes and ponds.

• Mullets

  Mullets are torpedo-shaped fishes with horizontal mouths.

• Yellow Perch

  Yellow perch are one of the state’s most popular panfishes. They actively feed during the winter, making them a staple for ice anglers.

• Atlantic Menhaden

  Also known as “mossbunker” or simply “bunker.” Menhaden are important forage fish for large predatory fishes such as striped bass and bluefish.

• Sea Lamprey

  The state's only parasitic fish to enter freshwater, the sea lamprey gets a bad reputation. Learn more about this fascinating fish.

• Longnose Dace

  The longnose dace has a hydrodynamic body similar to a miniature sturgeon that helps it hold near the bottom in fast water.

• Pumpkinseed

  One of our most colorful freshwater fishes.

• Sturgeons

  Learn about these huge, prehistoric fishes that are threatened and endangered in Connecticut.

• White Crappie

  White crappie are so similar in appearance to black crappie that most Connecticut anglers probably do not recognize them as a separate species.

• Gizzard Shad

  Gizzard shad were first observed in Connecticut during the late 1970s, apparently the result of a natural range expansion.

• Bluntnose Minnow

  It is unclear how or when bluntnose minnows arrived in Connecticut.

• Rainwater Killifish

  Where numerous, rainwater killifish are thought to be an effective control of mosquito larvae.

• American Shad

  In 2003, the American shad was designated Connecticut’s “State Fish.”

• Killifishes

  Both marine and freshwater killifishes are distributed throughout Central and Eastern North America from southern Canada to the Yucatan, including Cuba and Bermuda.