Locations

Fish species in Georgia

385 species have two or more US observation records in Georgia. Explore their habitats, families, and local records.

385 species have two or more US observation records in Georgia. ITIS calls 245 of them native to the United States, 132 native to part of the country and introduced elsewhere, and 8 introduced.

Species: 385
Freshwater: 296
Saltwater: 127
Survey list: 118

1state

Georgia in the United States.

Two counts, two questions. 385 is the number of species observed in Georgia and filed with GBIF, which includes lakes, the coast, and museum records. 118 is the number the USGS stream survey caught, which samples flowing fresh water only. Neither is the other, so the site never adds them.

The statute

The official state fish of Georgia

Largemouth bass

Micropterus salmoides · named 1970

legis.state.ga.us

Brook trout (cold water game fish)

Salvelinus fontinalis · named 2006

law.justia.com · northwestgeorgianews.com

Red drum (saltwater)

Sciaenops ocellatus · named 2006

law.justia.com · jacksonville.com

A state fish is a statute, not a survey. It says which fish the legislature chose, not which fish is most common. The list above links each row to the state's own record.

Record fish

Georgia state records

The heaviest fish of each species certified by Georgia Department of Natural Resources, freshwater. Heaviest first. Every figure is the agency’s own.

Species	Weight	Water	Date	Angler
Catfish, Blue	110 lb, 6 oz	Chattahoochee River	October 17, 2020	Tim Trone
Catfish, Flathead (TIE)	83 lb	Altamaha River	June 22, 2006	Carl Sawyer
Catfish, Flathead (TIE)	83 lb	Altamaha River	July 11, 2010	Jim Dieveney
Bass, Striped (TIE)	63 lb	Oconee River	May 30, 1967	Kelly A. Ward
Bass, Striped (TIE)	63 lb	Lake Richard B. Russell	April 3, 2009	Terry McConnell
Catfish, Channel	44 lb, 12 oz	Altamaha River	May 18, 1972	Bobby M. Smithwick
Muskellunge	38 lb	Lake Blue Ridge	June 1957	Rube Golden
Common Carp	35 lb, 12 oz	Lake Jackson	1972	Rev. Donald Clark
Gar, Longnose	31 lb, 14 oz	Lake Blackshear	March 5, 2026	Silas Turner
Bass, Hybrid	25 lb, 8 oz	Lake Chatuge	May 1, 1995	David Hobby
Bass, Largemouth	22 lb, 4 oz	Montgomery Lake	June 2, 1932	George Perry
Trout, Brown	20 lb, 14 oz	Chattahoochee River	July 27, 2014
Pike, Northern	18 lb, 2 oz	Lake Rabun	June 27, 1982	Keith Gragg
Trout, Rainbow	17 lb, 8 oz	Soque River, Habersham County	May 7, 2004	Mark Cochran
Bowfin	16 lb, 3 oz	Suwannee River	June 21, 2014	Jimmy Tucker
Walleye	14 lb, 2 oz	Lake Rabun	February 19, 2016	Wes Carlton
Pickerel, Chain	9 lb, 6 oz	Homerville	February 1961	Baxley McQuaig, Jr.
Catfish, White	8 lb, 10 oz	Savannah River	June 10, 1996	James D. Sanders
Bass, Shoal (TIE)	8 lb, 5 oz	Chattahoochee River	December 23, 2021	Joseph Matthew McWhorter
Bass, Shoal (TIE)	8 lb, 5 oz	Flint River	April 16, 2022	Clark Wheeler
Shad, American	8 lb, 3 oz	Savannah River	April 5, 1986	Henry Baxley
Bass, Spotted	8 lb, 2 oz	Lake Burton	February 23, 2005	Wayne Holland
Bass, Smallmouth	7 lb, 2 oz	Lake Chatuge	March 28, 1973	Jack Hall
Trout, Brook	5 lb, 10 oz	Waters Creek	March 29, 1986	Russell Braden
Bullhead, Brown	5 lb, 8 oz	O.F. Veal Pond	May 22, 1978	James W. Andrews
Bass, White	5 lb, 1 oz	Lake Lanier	June 16, 1971	J.M. Hobbins
Crappie, White	5 lb	Bibb County pond	April 10, 1984	Theresa Kemp
Bullhead, Yellow	4 lb, 15 oz	Ogeechee River	October 12, 2003	Glenn Settles
Crappie, Black (TIE)	4 lb, 4 oz	Acree's Lake	June 1, 1971	Shirley Lavender
Crappie, Black (TIE)	4 lb, 4 oz	Lake Spivey	March 1975	Steve Cheek
Sauger	4 lb, 3 oz	Clarks Hill Lake	April 5, 1986	Stuart Bowers
Sunfish, Redear	4 lb, 2 oz	Richmond County pond	June 6, 1995	Pat Lawrence
Bass, Suwannee	3 lb, 9 oz	Ochlocknee River	October 6, 1984	Laverne Norton
Bass, Redeye	3 lb, 7 oz	Lake Hartwell	April 17, 2004	Steve Williams
Sunfish, Bluegill	3 lb, 5 oz	Shamrock Lake	July 3, 1977	P.F. Gumm
Pickerel, Redfin	2 lb, 10 oz	Lewis Pond	July 7, 1982	Gene Brantley
Shad, Hickory	2 lb, 10 oz	Ogeechee River	February 20, 2022	Timmy Woods
Perch, Yellow (TIE)	2 lb, 9 oz	Savannah River	February 27, 2013	Thomas Lewis
Perch, Yellow (TIE)	2 lb, 9 oz	Lake Burton	February 18, 2024	Emerson Mulhall
Sunfish, Warmouth	2 lb	Private pond	May 4, 1974	Carlton Robbins
Sunfish, Redbreast	1 lb, 12 oz	Satilla River	May 7, 2022	Lester Roberts
Sunfish, Green	1 lb, 7 oz	Private pond	February 25, 2006	Jeff Sumner
Sunfish, Flier	1 lb, 4 oz	Lowndes County pond	February 26, 1996	Curt Brooks
Bass, Rock	1 lb, 0 oz	South Chickamauga Creek	April 6, 2024	Jeffrey Forester
Sunfish, Spotted	0 lb, 13 oz	Suwannee River	May 5, 2025	Josh Forsythe
Sunfish, Shadow Bass	0 lb, 10 oz	Flint River	June 1, 2016	Kristen Brown

Source: Georgia Department of Natural Resources. A row with no link is a name the site holds no species page for, which is usually a hybrid.

Most recorded

The fish of Georgia

The species with the most observation records in the state. It is the closest the open data comes to naming the fish people meet.

Bluegill11,122 records

Lepomis macrochirusCentrarchidaeNative and introducedFresh

Largemouth Bass11,018 records

Micropterus salmoidesCentrarchidaeNative and introducedFresh

Black Crappie6,751 records

Pomoxis nigromaculatusCentrarchidaeNative and introducedFresh

American Gizzard Shad6,462 records

Dorosoma cepedianumClupeidaeNative and introducedFreshSaltBrackish

Channel Catfish5,901 records

Ictalurus punctatusIctaluridaeNative and introducedFresh

Redbreast Sunfish5,699 records

Lepomis auritusCentrarchidaeNative and introducedFresh

Redear Sunfish5,436 records

Lepomis microlophusCentrarchidaeNative and introducedFresh

Spotted Bass4,933 records

Micropterus punctulatusCentrarchidaeNative and introducedFresh

Warmouth2,514 records

Lepomis gulosusCentrarchidaeNative and introducedFresh

White Bass2,507 records

Morone chrysopsMoronidaeNative and introducedFresh

Threadfin Shad2,065 records

Dorosoma petenenseClupeidaeNative and introducedFreshSaltBrackish

Striped Bass1,970 records

Morone saxatilisMoronidaeNative and introducedFreshSaltBrackish

Groups

Types of fish in Georgia

Species

All 385 species, A–Z

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

N

O

P

Q

Quillback Carpiodes cyprinus

S

T

V

Vermilion Snapper Rhomboplites aurorubens

W

Y

One record only

48 more with a single record

One observation can be a stray, an aquarium release, or a mis-keyed locality, so these are kept out of the count above and listed here instead. The first 40 are shown.