Field guide
Fish of Indiana lakes
The 18 fish recorded in the most Indiana lakes on this site. Each page maps every lake where the fish is recorded, shows DNR survey catch rates, how to tell it from its look-alikes, and how it lives. Lake counts come from the same records as the lake pages.
Largemouth bassMicropterus nigricans108 lakes
BluegillLepomis macrochirus105 lakes
BullheadsAmeiurus natalis (yellow) · A. nebulosus (brown) · A. melas (black)94 lakes
WarmouthLepomis gulosus90 lakes
CrappiePomoxis nigromaculatus (black) · Pomoxis annularis (white)89 lakes
Redear sunfishLepomis microlophus84 lakes
Yellow perchPerca flavescens57 lakes
GarsLepisosteus oculatus (spotted) · L. osseus (longnose) · L. platostomus (shortnose)53 lakes
Channel catfishIctalurus punctatus53 lakes
BowfinAmia ocellicauda41 lakes
PumpkinseedLepomis gibbosus39 lakes
Green sunfishLepomis cyanellus32 lakes
Redfin (grass) pickerelEsox americanus29 lakes
Northern pikeEsox lucius26 lakes
Longear sunfishLepomis megalotis22 lakes
Rock bassAmbloplites rupestris19 lakes
WalleyeSander vitreus20 lakes
Smallmouth bassMicropterus dolomieu12 lakesAbout this guide
Illustrations are AI-generated, not photographs, and not to scale. A lake that isn’t listed for a fish may still have it: records exist only where someone caught, netted or stocked it. 111 lakes on this site have at least one fish record. Survey catch rates come from Indiana DNR community surveys (night electrofishing and nets) and measure how many fish a lake holds, not how many an angler will catch. Looking for invasive species? See the invasive species guide.