I hope you enjoy these native fish, and please share your own favorites in the comments. Even when it comes to trout and bass, most don’t the diversity that exists – an imperiled diversity, at that. I also purposefully chose some lesser-known species and subspecies of familiar game fish. But I chose these species to show that we don’t even know many of the larger fish swimming around local waters. There are so many spectacular freshwater species globally, and a host of colorful and cool smaller species in the U.S. In this blog, I’ve focused on larger U.S. We assume that the oceans are where the fish diversity is.Ĭonsider this: Freshwater encompasses only 0.01 percent of the world’s water, yet accounts for nearly half of all fish species. Most of us know that coral reefs are teeming with colorful species. Even many well-rounded naturalists are hard pressed to identify most fish found in local streams and rivers. The truth is, most people can only name a short list of freshwater fish species, if they think about freshwater fish at all. And this seems to happen wherever I travel and fish I encounter a predictable assortment of popular game species that have been stocked far and wide, with little regard to native fish diversity. Instead, I encountered a “game” fish far from its native range. But I was visiting a northern California river with several fascinating native species. I felt a little deflated.ĭon’t get me wrong. I felt my usual surge of excitement as the fish leaped into the air. I reeled in my lure along the river’s bank when a fish struck.

Coolest freshwater fish