Freshwater Drum

Common names: white perch, sheepshead, gaspergou , goo, croaker, thunderpumper, crocus, silver bass, gray perch, lake drum, jewel-head, grunt, bubbler, grinder, river drum

Scientific name: aplodinotus grunniens

Size: Commonly reaching 1/2 pound and occasionally as large as 8 pounds.

Features and benefits: Sheepshead, because of their diet, and with proper care, is an excellent eating fish; as good as, if not better than the walleye. The meat is moderately firm, mild, and sweet tasting. Meat color turns snow white when cooked. Sheephead may be used as a substitute for snapper, grouper, tilapia, pike, or halibut.

Common Carp

Common names: German carp, European carp, scaled carp, leather carp, mirror carp, bulgemouth bass, king carp, Israeli carp.

Scientific name: Cyprinus carpio

Size: Varies - 9 inches to 3 foot long and weights of 2 to 30 pounds(1 to 14 kgs).

Features and benefits: The fish has a heritage in native Europe and Asia as the menu for royalty as a delicacy food. As the cost of protein based foods escalates, utilization of over-abundant and inexpensive fishes as substitutes will be found. Carp are relatively easy to acquire and are inexpensive. Carp has the preeminent advantage over such fish as the black bass, trout, grayling, and others in that it is a vegetable feeder. Carp when processed, can taste a good deal better than some so-called game species. Carp can be baked, pickled, smoked, steamed, fried, prepared as gefilte fish, or put into chowders or soups. It can be ground and stuffed into sausages or made into appetizing fish spreads, patties, or pies.

Freshwater Sucker

Common names: white sucker, spotted sucker, northern redhorse, river redhorse, golden redhorse, blue sucker

Scientific name: Catostomidae - Greek

Size: Suckers range is approximately 10 to 16 inches and weigh about 1 to 5 pounds.

Features and benefits: Suckers are usually marketed as “mullet” in fresh and frozen forms. Suckers make an excellent smoked product and can be turned into flavorful fish sausages, due to the whiteness, flavor, and texture of the meat.

Bigmouth Buffalo

Common names: common buffalo, gourdhead buffalo, redmouth buffalo fish, stubnose buffalo, mud buffalo, lake buffalo, slough buffalo

Scientific name: Ictiobus - Greek cyprinellus - Latin

Size: Commonly up to 30 inches and 15 pounds (6.8 kgs), but 30-40 pound fish are not unusual.

Buffalo Smallmouth

Common names: blue pancake, brown buffalo, suckermouth buffalo, rooter, razorback, quillback buffalo, carp, humpedback buffalo, liner, roachback

Scientific name: Ictiobus - Greek bubalus - Greek

Size: Smallest of the buffalofish, but can grow up to 15 pounds. It is usually considered superior in flavor to the other species.

Quillback

Colloquial names: carpsucker, American carp, silver carp, eastern carpsucker, plains carpsucker

Scientific name: Carpiodes - Latin cyprinus - Greek

Size: Most adult quillbacks fall into the 12 to 15 inch class and weigh 3 pounds or so.

Bighead Carp

Common names: bighead, big head carp, noble fish, speckled armur, lake fish, tongsan,Chinese fish

Scientific name: Hypophthalmichthys nobilis

Size: Deep bodied fish with tiny scales and gray to black blotches on body, which gives them a speckled appearance. Bighead can reach 60 pounds or more. A 4 year old fish may weigh up to 20 – 25 pounds. The primary market size is for 6 to 12 pound fish.

Features and benefits: The many bones are what have kept bighead carp out of the U.S. fresh fish markets, except those frequented by Asian shoppers. World wide, this Chinese delicacy is the most eaten fish, and it’s considered the Cadillac of fish in Asian countries. Product feature is firm, clean, and slightly translucent with metallic sheen like that of whitefish and trout. Product taste is not fishy, similar to pollock. Will readily absorb spices and marinades. The large head is desirable prepared in soup.