Locations

Fish species in Michigan

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

174 species have two or more US observation records in Michigan. ITIS calls 58 of them native to the United States, 109 native to part of the country and introduced elsewhere, and 7 introduced.

Species: 174
Freshwater: 174
Saltwater: 24
Survey list: 99

1state

Michigan in the United States.

Two counts, two questions. 174 is the number of species observed in Michigan and filed with GBIF, which includes lakes, the coast, and museum records. 99 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 Michigan

Brook trout

Salvelinus fontinalis · named 1988

senate.michigan.gov

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.

Most recorded

The fish of Michigan

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

Bluegill5,890 records

Lepomis macrochirusCentrarchidaeNative and introducedFresh

Yellow Perch5,653 records

Perca flavescensPercidaeNative and introducedFreshBrackish

White Sucker4,674 records

Catostomus commersoniiCatostomidaeNative and introducedFreshBrackish

Rock Bass4,421 records

Ambloplites rupestrisCentrarchidaeNative and introducedFresh

Largemouth Bass3,821 records

Micropterus salmoidesCentrarchidaeNative and introducedFresh

Northern Pike3,698 records

Esox luciusEsocidaeNative and introducedFreshBrackish

Pink Salmon3,041 records

Oncorhynchus gorbuschaSalmonidaeNative and introducedFreshSaltBrackish

Smallmouth Bass2,890 records

Micropterus dolomieuCentrarchidaeNative and introducedFresh

Walleye2,793 records

Sander vitreusPercidaeNative and introducedFreshBrackish

Black Crappie2,638 records

Pomoxis nigromaculatusCentrarchidaeNative and introducedFresh

Bluntnose Minnow2,118 records

Pimephales notatusLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh

Johnny Darter2,030 records

Etheostoma nigrumPercidaeNative and introducedFresh

Groups

Types of fish in Michigan

Species

All 174 species, A–Z

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

Kiyi Coregonus kiyi

L

M

N

O

P

Q

Quillback Carpiodes cyprinus

R

S

T

W

Y

One record only

22 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 22 are shown.