Fish Species in the Sam Rayburn Reservoir 2024

List of Fish Species in Sam Rayburn Reservoir

1) Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides)

While its species name may sound like this species is a salmonid, the largemouth bass is anything but. With its massive jaws and voracious appetite, this fish vies for the top of the piscivorous food chain. While adults predate heavily on other fish species, their opportunistic diet includes small birds, mammals, and amphibians. 

To ambush their prey, largemouth bass hides amongst aquatic plants and submerged debris, which is also the best place to target when fishing for them. Ideally, an angler will attempt to place a line nearby or above cover where a largemouth may be hiding to not entangle the hook in plants or on sticks in the water. Anglers may harvest up to 5 black bass in Texas. There is a minimum length limit of 14 inches (36 cm).

2) Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus)

To follow up a sunfish with an enormous mouth is another with a tiny mouth. The bluegills’ small mouths limit their diet. As a result, the bluegill almost exclusively predates on small invertebrates and fish. This species is native to the eastern half of the US and has been introduced to lakes and reservoirs throughout the country. Their introduction to these regions is primarily intentional as their small size makes them decent food fish for larger piscivores like largemouth and smallmouth bass. 

While not as popular as their black bass cousins, the bluegill is a common catch in the United States. They are exciting to novice and young anglers due to their small size and ease of capture. Bluegill will target tiny insect or worm baits and can be found in sluggish waters of lakes and rivers amongst weedy beds. 

There is no limit on bluegill in Texas.

3) Shad (Dorosoma spp.)

Large, predatory fish need something to snack on in the depths of the Sam Rayburn Reservoir, and two shad species make the cut, the more prominent American gizzard shad (D. cepedianum) and the smaller threadfish shad (D. petenense). The average length for the former species is 13 inches (33 cm), and the latter has an average length of 4 inches (10 cm). Body length is one way to identify a shad if you have a mature individual, but a more reliable method is checking the jaws. In threadfin shad, the lower jaw extends further than the upper jaw, while the jaws of the American gizzard shad do not.

Shad are important prey species for larger predatory fish. American gizzard shads are more tolerant to cold water and are distributed throughout eastern North America. In contrast, threadfin shad are native to just the southern United States and do not share this cold-water tolerance. As juveniles, shad diets consist of zooplankton and filtered organic material. Both species are almost exclusively herbivorous.

4) Longnose gar (Lepisosteus osseus)

Among some of the more exciting fish at Sam Rayburn Reservoir is the peculiar longnose gar. A handful of other gar species may also be spotted in Sam Rayburn Reservoir. The longnose gar boasts a long snout, as its common name suggests, and an elongated, sagittiform (or arrow-like) body. This body shape and snout are characteristics of a sit-and-wait predator. When a prey item passes by an eerily still longnose gar, it swipes its head to the size and impales the prey item on its sharp teeth.

They can be found in slow-moving sections of Sam Rayburn Reservoir, hiding amongst submerged vegetation, and lurking under cover. During the mating season, which lasts from late spring to early summer, mature adults can be found in clear streams searching for a spot to lay their eggs. Unfortunately, they have a historical reputation as a “trash fish” which resulted in their eradication from parts of their native range. In the last few decades, efforts have been underway to revitalize the gar’s image given their important role as a predator in their ecosystems.

5) Spotted bass (Micropterus punctulatus)

The spotted bass is a close relative of largemouth and smallmouth bass but does not grow as large as its notorious sportfish cousins. The species name “punctulatus” refers to the spots along this species’ body which extend to the caudal fin. To identify a spotted bass, one should examine the patterns on its body. The spots are most prominent on the sides of the body, whereas the belly is white. 

Spotted bass are not as common in the Sam Rayburn Reservoir as other Micropterus species, but they still may be caught within the reservoir’s swifter regions. They also prefer warmer water than other black basses. Like the other black basses, spotted bass have a generalist diet and consume various aquatic insects, fish, and crayfish. On average, they can be a foot (30.5 cm) in length and have the same nest-building spawning habits as other sunfish species. 

Anglers may harvest up to 5 black bass in Texas. There is a minimum length limit of 14 inches (36 cm).

6) Blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus)

Blue catfish are giant, powerful fish that consume almost anything. An average blue catfish is nearly 2 feet (61 cm) in length, but they can grow up to 4 ft (122 cm) and weigh over a hundred pounds (45.4 kg). They are popular for their large size, delicious filets, and their fighting temperament, making them an exciting and worthwhile sportfish.

This species thrives in clear streams with an abundance of invertebrates and small, which they feed upon. They have small eyes and poor eyesight, so blue catfish rely on their sensitive barbels to detect prey items in the water column or hide in the substrate. The diet of the blue catfish is very variable, ranging from invasive to small fish and some aquatic plants.

Catfish are a popular sport and food fish. They are well known for their flavor, and because they feed mainly from the water column and less from the substrate, they tend to taste better than species that are bottom-feeding specialists.

7) Crappie (Pomoxis spp.)

Crappies are very popular small sportfish. They are usually abundant where they naturally occur, and where they don’t, crappies are routinely stocked. The common name “crappie” refers to two species in the genus Pomoxis, black (P. nigromaculatus) and white crappie (P. annularis). Species within this genus are distinguished from other sunfish species by spiny gill covers. Species within this genus are distinguished from other sunfish species by the presence of spiny gill covers.

One can distinguish black crappie from white crappie by counting the dorsal spines supporting the dorsal fin. For example, black crappies have 7 – 8, whereas white crappies only have 5 – 6. The two species also differ in coloration, which is the primary way to tell them apart. The white crappie has silver coloration with black bars, and the black crappie has an abundance of dark spots along the body, which gives this species an overall darker appearance.

8) White bass (Morone chrysops)

Despite sharing the same name as black basses, the white bass belongs to an entirely different group of fish, the temperate basses. Temperate basses have distinct striping along their sides than black basses, which have a mottled or blotchy pattern. White bass can be distinguished from other temperate basses by their vibrant golden eyes and a single tooth patch in their mouth. This species spawns in early spring when males migrate upstream to scope out breeding territories.

Some weeks to months later, the females arrive and deposit their eggs in gravelly substrate. This is another significant distinction between temperate basses, which are scatter spawners, and black basses, which spawn in nests. 

Live shrimp and shad work as bait for this species. Texas Parks and Wildlife recommends using sinking bait and night and spoons and spinners during the day. There is a daily limit of 25 white bass in Texas.

9) Yellow bass (Morone mississippiensis)

Another temperate bass, the yellow bass, can be found in Sam Rayburn Reservoir. This species is yellow whereas the white bass is silver. Both species possess stripes that run down the length of their bodies. The two stripes along the yellow bass’ belly are fragmented, whereas the white bass’ stripes are usually complete and remain in a distinct line. 

Yellow bass are small fish with an average length of 9.4 inches (24 cm), and their diet of small insects and fish fry reflects this size. More significant adults can eat shads which also make plentiful baitfish. More are usually nearby where one yellow bass is caught because they form large schools like their silver cousins. Fishing for yellow bass is not common due to their small size, and they are usually caught unintentionally, but there is no limit on yellow bass in Texas.

10) Spotted gar (Lepisosteus oculatus)

Many species of gar live in the southeastern United States. The large Mississippi River provides ample habitat for them. One such species is the aptly named spotted gar. This species can be easily distinguished from other gar species by the presence of spots on all fins. As a member of the Lepisosteus genus, the spotted gar has a narrow snout. They are long-lived, with a maximum lifespan of 18 years. 

This species often remains motionless in the slow-moving segments of swamps, lakes, and rivers. They stay still in the water column for prey to swim by and, like other gear, impale the prey with their sharp teeth. Prey items include small fish like shad and crappie although the majority of their diet includes crustaceans.

11) Eyetail bowfin (Amia ocellicauda)

The eyetail bowfin is a recently distinguished species of bowfin. It was declared genetically distinct from the well-established species Amia calva, which had been the only recognized species of bowfin until 2022. This ancient group is commonly called “living fossils,” given their long history on Earth and historical importance. In this regard, they are an essential group of fishes, allowing researchers to study the body plans of fish that may have existed hundreds of millions of years ago. 

Given how new this species is, there is a lack of research on their ecology and biology and how they may differ from the original bowfin (A. calva). The biology and ecology are assumed to be like Amia calva. They have a distinct spot on their tail which can help distinguish them from the original bowfin.