Description Sides are golden yellow to brassy green with six to eight dark vertical saddles with a white to yellow belly. Yellow perch have many small teeth, but no large canines. Habitat and Habits It prefers clear water with moderate vegetation and lots of sand or gravel bottoms. Reproduction and Care of the Young Yellow perch spawn from mid-April to early May by depositing their eggs over vegetation or the water bottom, with no care given. The eggs are laid in large gelatinous adhesive masses.

Description
Rainbow trout have the typical trout-shape with an adipose fin, and a squarish tail that has black spots throughout. The rainbow trout has 10-12 anal rays and a white mouth and gums (coho and Chinook salmon, occasionally found in Lake Erie, have gray or black gums, more anal rays, and forked tails). Lake Erie rainbow trout or steelhead are generally bright silver with a bright pink band. Males develop a hooked jaw known as a "kype" during the spawning season.

Habitat and Habits
Rainbow trout prefer cold water streams with cobble, boulders, deep pools, and overhead cover.

Reproduction and Care of the Young
Rainbow trout are a cold water species that in nature spawn in moving water over gravel or cobble substrate. In Ohio, there is little or no natural reproduction, so the Ohio Division of Wildlife raises and stocks rainbow (steelhead) trout in Lake Erie tributaries. The young trout live in these streams for one or two years before migrating out to Lake Erie. They remain in the lake for several years before they return to the tributaries to run upstream and attempt to spawn.

Description
Smallmouth bass look very similar to largemouth bass and spotted bass. The distinguishing characteristic is the mouth. When closed, the mouth does not extend beyond the rear border of the eye. Color varies from yellow-green to olive-green with a bronze reflection. The sides are faintly barred.

Habitat and Habits
This species thrives in streams with gravel or rock bottoms with a visible current. Smallmouth also do well in the reef areas and rocky shorelines of Lake Erie, especially in the islands area near Sandusky Bay. They are also abundant in the Ohio River.

Reproduction and Care of the Young
Smallmouth bass spawn in May and early June when water temperatures range from 55 to 65°F. Nests are built in gravel or hard bottom substrates in 2 to 20 feet of water. The female lays between 2,000 to 15,000 eggs. The male guards the nest and the fry for a short time. Young smallmouth feed on zooplankton and midge larvae.

Description
The common carp can be easily identified by several features. First, there are two barbels on each side of the mouth. No other species that closely resembles the carp has these barbels. Second, the first dorsal and anal fin spines are serrated. Most carp are bronze-gold to golden yellow on the sides and yellowish white on the belly. Partially scaled or scaleless individuals are frequently caught by fishermen: these are known as "half-scaled," "mirror" or "leather" carp.

Habitat and Habits
Carp prefer warm lakes, streams, ponds and sloughs with a lot of organic matter. They do not multiply readily in clear, cold water. They are tolerant of very poor water quality. They root around on the bottom while feeding often uprooting vegetation and making the water very turbid (muddy).

Reproduction and Care of the Young
Spawning begins in late April and continues into June. Large females lay between 100,000 and 500,000 eggs in vegetation with water depths between one and four feet. Young carp remain in these vegetated areas until they are three to four inches in length and eat primarily small crustaceans.

For a complete listing of all fish species found in Ohio waters please click the link below.