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Nebraska Fish

Nebraska is in the center of the Great Plains of North America. With its cold winters, hot summers and variable rainfall, it is a harsh place to be a fish. Yet, Nebraska is home to more than 100 species of fish, 78 of which are presumed to be native. Get acquainted with Nebraska’s fish species and, if you’re an angler, learn to identify them as rules about each species, such as what and how many you can keep, is different.

Categories of fish

Find a list of each category of fish in Nebraska.

The following sport fish can be found in Nebraska:

All sunfish hybrids
American eel
Black crappie
Blue catfish
Bluegill
Brown trout
Burbot
Channel catfish
Chinook salmon
Cutthroat trout
Flathead catfish
Redfin pickerel

Goldeye
Green sunfish
Largemouth bass
Muskellunge
Northern pike
Orangespotted sunfish
Paddlefish
Pumpkinseed
Rainbow trout
Redear sunfish
Rock bass

Sauger
Saugeye
Shovelnose sturgeon
Skipjack herring
Smallmouth bass
Spotted bass
Striped bass
Stripped bass hybrid (wiper)
Tiger muskellunge
Walleye
White bass
White crappie

Use the fish identification information below to learn more about each species.

The following panfish can be found in Nebraska:

All sunfish hybrids
Black crappie
Bluegill
Green sunfish

Orangespotted sunfish
Pumpkinseed
Redear sunfish

Rock bass
White crappie
Yellow perch

Use the fish identification information below to learn more about each species.

The following sunfish can be found in Nebraska:

All sunfish hybrids
Bluegill

Green sunfish
Orangespotted sunfish

Pumpkinseed
Redear sunfish

Use the fish identification information below to learn more about each species.

The following commercial fish can be found in Nebraska:

Black bullhead
Freshwater drum

Yellow bullhead

Yellow perch

Use the fish identification information below to learn more about each species.

The following baitfish can be found in Nebraska:

Alewife
Bigmouth shiner
Brassy minnow
Creek chub
Devil crayfish*
Emerald shiner
Fathead minnow
Gizzard shad
Golden shiner

Goldfish
Longnose dace
Northern crayfish*
Northern leopard
Frog*
Papershell crayfish*
Plains killfish
Plains leopard frog*

Red shiner
Ringed crayfish*
River shiner
Sand shiner
Stoneroller
Suckermouth minnow
Tiger salamander*
White sucker

* Amphibians and crustaceans covered under baitfish regulations

Use the fish identification information below to learn more about each species.

The following non-game fish can be found in Nebraska:

Longnose gar
Shortnose gar
Common carp
Mirror carp
Flathead chub

Grass carp
Big buffalo
Small mouth buffalo
Black buffalo
Blue sucker

Shorthead redhorse
River carpsucker
Quillback
Longnose sucker
White perch

Use the fish identification information below to learn more about each species.

Fish identification

Learn key characteristics of subsets of fish in Nebraska and how to identify them. You also can download our Fish Key publication, a guide to identifying the most commonly caught fish in the state. Download the guide.

Bowfin

Bowfin

Learn how to identify bowfin.

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Catfish

Catfish

Learn about the different types of catfish in Nebraska.

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Codfish

Codfish

Learn about the codfish in Nebraska.

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Drum

Drum

Learn how to identify drum.

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Eel

Eel

Learn how to identify an American eel.

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Gar

Gar

Learn about the different kinds of gar found in Nebraska.

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Herring

Herring

Learn about the different kinds of herring in Nebraska.

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Killifish

Killifish

Learn about the two kinds of killifish in Nebraska.

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Lamprey

Lamprey

Learn how to identify lamprey.

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Minnow - Large

Minnow – Large

Learn how to identify different kinds of minnows.

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Minnow - Small

Minnow – Small

Learn about the many kinds of small minnows in Nebraska.

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Mooneye

Mooneye

Learn how to identify the species of mooneye in Nebraska.

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Paddlefish

Paddlefish

Learn how to identify paddlefish.

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Perch

Perch

Learn how to identify the different kinds of perch in Nebraska.

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Pike

Pike

Learn how to identify the species of pike in Nebraska.

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Silverside

Silverside

Learn how to identify silverside.

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Smelt

Smelt

Learn how to identify smelt.

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Stickleback

Stickleback

Learn how to identify a stickleback.

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Sturgeon

Sturgeon

Learn how to identify the three kinds of sturgeon in Nebraska.

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Sucker

Sucker

Learn how to identify the different types of suckers in Nebraska.

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Sunfish

Sunfish

Learn about the different kinds of sunfish.

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Temperate Bass

Temperate Bass

Discover the five kinds of temperate bass in Nebraska.

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Trout

Trout

Nebraska is home to four trout species — brook, brown, rainbow and cutthroat.

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Pallid sturgeon

At-risk species

Seven species of fishes are at greatest risk of extirpation in Nebraska. These include three big river fishes: the pallid sturgeon, lake sturgeon and sturgeon chub; and four small-stream fishes: the northern redbelly dace, finescale dace, blacknose shiner and Topeka shiner. The big river fishes are found in the Missouri River, where species are at risk due to habitat changes. The small stream fishes are at risk because their specialized habitats have been altered or are at risk of disappearing.

zebra mussels on a log

Aquatic invasive species

Aquatic Invasive Species are exotic or non-native aquatic organisms that pose a significant threat to the aquatic resources, water supplies or water infrastructure of this state. These organisms can be plants, fish, mussels, crayfish, invertebrates or pathogens.

Related Content

Where to Fish

Where to Fish

Nebraska provides plentiful & diverse fishing opportunities for anglers. Find our top resources.

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Attend a Fishing Event

Attend a Fishing Event

From community fishing events to tournaments, Nebraska hosts it all for new or avid anglers.

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Fisheries Programs

Fisheries Programs

Many programs have been implemented to enhance angling opportunities and experiences in Nebraska.

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Fishing Guides and Reports

Fishing Guides and Reports

Our guides & reports give information on rules, fish stockings, fish size and top fishing spots.

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Fishing Permits

Purchase stamps, resident and non-resident fishing permits here.