LOCATION:Large lakes with deep and shallow basins.
REACH MATURITY:Females, 5-7 years, 30-36 inches. Males, 4-5 years, 28-31 inches.
SPAWN:Mid April to mid May. Water temperature 50-60 degrees.
AVERAGE LIFESPAN:8 years. Many fish live up to 15 years.
HABITAT & BEHAVIOR: These solitary fish tend to stay in the same area of a lake, lurking in thick weedbeds waiting for prey to ambush. Predators at the top of the food chain, muskellunge roam only if there is a lack of food. Lakes can support only a few of these voracious eaters per acre of water. Their feeding schedule is unpredictable, but it takes five to seven pounds of forage fish to produce one pound of muskellunge.
SPAWNING HABITAT:Muck bottoms covered with decomposing vegetation in shallow bays 1-3 feet deep.
DIET:Perch and sucker fish are favored but any species will be eaten, as well as small animals like ducks and muskrats
LOCATION:Medium to large-sized lakes with weedy, cool to warm waters
REACH MATURITY:Females, 2-3 years, 20-22 inches. Males, 1-2 years, 16-18 inches.
SPAWN:Late March to Early April. Water temperatures of 38-42 degrees.
AVERAGE LIFESPAN:7 years.
HABITAT & BEHAVIOR:Most active during the daylight hours. They lurk amidst weedbeds for cover during the day, feeding continuously on any prey they can ambush. In the night, they seek cover in deeper water among the weeds. When the summer heat makes shallow waters warm, they seek out cool water depths. Pike like cold water and tolerate low oxygen levels, making them more active than most fish in the winter.
SPAWNING HABITAT:The shallow, flooded vegetation of wetlands along a lake.
DIET:Sightfeeders, pike eat any fish or small animal they can fit down their throat, including other northern pike.
LOCATION:Lakes of 200 acres or more throughout Wisconsin.
REACH MATURITY:Females, 4-5 years, 15-17 inches. Males, 2-3 years, 12-13 inches.
SPAWN:Mid April to early May. Water temperatures of 42-50 degrees.
AVERAGE LIFESPAN:6-7 years.
HABITAT & BEHAVIOR:Walleye have the least identifiable habitat. Schools of walleye travel in open water during the day and feed along the lake bottom or near shallow weedbeds at night. Walleye are very sensitive to light and seek deeper, darker waters when it's sunny.
SPAWNING HABITAT:Walleye deposit eggs on rocky and windswept lakeshores, on the grasses of flooded backwater marshes, or on gravel bottoms of inlet streams depending on the lake habitat available and the strain on walleye.
DIET:Walleye feed at night on crayfish, insects, worms, perch, and most other species of fish.
LOCATION:Warm, shallow lakes and ponds
REACH MATURITY:3-4 years, 10-12 inches
SPAWN:Late April to early June. Water temperatures 62-65 degrees
AVERAGE LIFESPAN:Females, 9 years. Males, 6 years.
HABITAT & BEHAVIOR:During the day, largemouths are found in warm and weedy waters less than 20 feet deep, under lily pads, docks, or brush. At night, lying under logs or near the deep edge of a weedbed. Largemouths like warm water and warm weather. Sedentary in winter, they move to deeper waters.
LOCATION:Large, clear water, gravel bottom lakes throughout Wisconsin.
REACH MATURITY:3-4 years, about 11 inches.
SPAWN:Mid May to the end of June.
AVERAGE LIFESPAN:5-6 years.
HABITAT & BEHAVIOR:Smallmouth bass feed on forage fish along weedy shorelines in the early morning and rest near a rocky ledge, submerged log, or boulder at night. Peak periods for activity are dusk and dawn, as they avoid bright lines and prefer cool water 68-70 degrees. In summer, they seek out cool water depths.
SPAWNING HABITAT:Nest builders along sand or gravel bottoms in water about 18 inches deep.
DIET:Crayfish, insects, and small fish.
LOCATION:Most lakes and ponds in Wisconsin.
REACH MATURITY:2-3 years.
SPAWN:April to early May. Water temperatures 44-52 degrees.
AVERAGE LIFESPAN:6 years
HABITAT AND BEHAVIOR:Schools of rock bass travel in cool open water and feed along the lake bottom during the daytime. They are inactive at night, lying suspended near the bottom. A very tolerant fish, rock bass withstand low oxygen levels, turbid water, high lake fertility, and a wide range of temperatures.
SPAWNING HABITAT:Long strands of eggs are laid along shallow shorelines and submerged weeds or brush, or on gravel and sand bottoms where there is no vegetation.
DIET:Plankton, insect larvae, minnows, and worms.
LOCATION:Most lakes and ponds in Wisconsin.
REACH MATURITY:2-3 years.
SPAWN:April to early May. Water temperatures 44-50 degrees.
AVERAGE LIFESPAN:4 years
HABITAT AND BEHAVIOR:Schools of white bass travel in cool open water and feed along the lake bottom during the daytime. They are active at night, lying suspended near the bottom unless hungry. A very tolerant fish, white bass withstand low oxygen levels, turbid water, high lake fertility, and a wide range of temperatures.
SPAWNING HABITAT:Long strands of eggs are laid along shallow shorelines and submerged weeds or brush, or on gravel and sand bottoms where there is no vegetation.
DIET:Plankton, insect larvae, minnows, and worms.
LOCATION:Most lakes and ponds in Wisconsin.
REACH MATURITY:2-3 years.
SPAWN:April to early May. Water temperatures 44-52 degrees.
AVERAGE LIFESPAN:7years
HABITAT AND BEHAVIOR:Schools of perch travel in cool open water and feed along the lake bottom during the daytime. They are inactive at night, lying suspended near the bottom. A very tolerant fish, perch withstand low oxygen levels, turbid water, high lake fertility, and a wide range of temperatures.
SPAWNING HABITAT:Long strands of eggs are laid along shallow shorelines and submerged weeds or brush, or on gravel and sand bottoms where there is no vegetation.
DIET:Plankton, insect larvae, minnows, and worms.
LOCATION:Clear, cool, and quiet lakes throughout the state.
REACH MATURITY:2-4 years
SPAWN:May and June. Water temperatures 60-68 degrees.
AVERAGE LIFESPAN:4 years.
HABITAT & BEHAVIOR:Crappie prefer open water but also can be found resting near structure, like submerged stumps or logs, or amidst sparse patches of aquatic plants. Crappie travel and feed in loose schools, migrating with the weather to find cool water they prefer. In spring, find them in water 1-2 feet deep; in May and June, 6-8 feet deep; and in summer in cool water 10-15 feet or deeper. They remain active during the winter, which makes them popular for ice fishing
SPAWNING HABITAT:Nest builders on sand and gravel bottoms in water 2-6 feet or deeper
DIET:Zooplankton, aquatic insects, insect larvae, and small fish
LOCATION:Most lakes throughout Wisconsin.
REACH MATURITY:1-3 years, 3-10 inches
SPAWN:Late May to early August. Water temperature 67-80 degrees.
HABITAT & BEHAVIOR:Bluegill travel in small groups and congregate with other sunfish. They prefer very warm, quiet, shallow waters under the cover of weedbeds and submerged brush. Bluegill tend to stay close to the shore during the day and at night move into open water; they feed primarily at dawn and dusk. Intolerant of low levels of oxygen, they are often the first fish to succumb to winterkill
SPAWNING HABITAT: Meticulous nest builders on shallow sand or gravel beds, lames spend days fanning sand and gravel with their tail to make the nests.
DIET:Insects are a major component of their diet, along with zooplankton, small crayfish, and small fish.
Catfish are any of about 31 families and 2,000 species of fish belonging to the order Siluriformes, most of which are found in freshwater. Distributed throughout the world, they are most diverse in South America. Catfish are distinguished by the presence of barbels, or "whiskers"; the lack of true scales; strong spines at the front of the dorsal and pectoral fins; and, in most cases, an adipose fin on top of the body, in front of the caudal fin. The body is usually partly to completely armored. Most catfish have small eyes and therefore rely on taste, smell, and hearing. The barbels and much of the skin are often covered with taste buds. Many catfish are inactive during the day, coming out to feed at night. Freshwater catfish usually spend much of their time (and lay their eggs) in hollow logs, undercut banks, and other hiding places; if these are removed, catfish populations decline. One or both parents guard the eggs until they hatch. The eggs are usually large, 2 to 10 mm (0.1 to 0.4) in diameter; males of some marine catfish species brood their eggs in the mouth.
Many species of freshwater catfish are used for human food. North American catfish of the genus Ictalurus are important commercially and are popular with anglers. Catfish farming, which involves raising and marketing such species as the channel catfish, I. punctatus, is a rapidly growing business in the southern United States. North American catfishes are fairly typical; others, however, are more distinctive in appearance or behavior. A parasitic catfish, the candiru, Vandellis cirrhosa, a minute South American catfish with strong, recurved spines, has been known to enter the urinary tract of persons wading in the water. The electric catfish, Malapterurus electricus, native to Africa, is capable of producing an electric charge of up to 350 volts, enough to stun a human. The predatory walking catfish, Clarias batrachus, has lunglike organs that allow it to breathe air; this ability enables it to move over land from one body of water to another. Imported to the United States as a curiosity from Asia, walking catfish have escaped into rivers in southern Florida and have replaced native fish in some local waters. A European catfish, the wels, Silurus glanis, is one of the largest freshwater fishes; it may reach a length of 4.5 m (15 ft) and a weight of 300 kg (660 lb)
LOCATION:Warm, weedy lakes, ponds, inpoundments, and sluggish streams throughout the state
REACH MATURITY:3-4 years, 7-9 inches.
SPAWN:April through June or later. Water temperatures 70-77 degrees.
AVERAGE LIFESPAN: 5-6 years
HABITAT AND BEHAVIOR: Bullheads are nocturnal fish that travel at night and lie inactive in weedbeds during the day. They often travel in schools. Bullhead are tough fish known for their ability to survive conditions that no other fish can tolerate-low oxygen and high carbon dioxide, acidity, and pollutant levels (Cherokee Lake:=) Bullhead are scaleless and covered with a tough skin. SPAWNING HABITAT: Female bullhead build nests that are saucer-shaped indentations in the mud bottom of shallow waters. Nests are built near a protective cover such as matted vegetation, wood debris, or overhanging banks.
DIET:A common diet includes algae, insects, larvae, snails, leeches, crayfish, and small fish. Bullhead feed primarily just before dawn and after dark.
