Locations

Fish species in Oklahoma

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

225 species have two or more US observation records in Oklahoma. ITIS calls 109 of them native to the United States, 108 native to part of the country and introduced elsewhere, and 8 introduced.

Species: 225
Freshwater: 217
Saltwater: 14
Survey list: 147

1state

Oklahoma in the United States.

Two counts, two questions. 225 is the number of species observed in Oklahoma and filed with GBIF, which includes lakes, the coast, and museum records. 147 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 Oklahoma

White bass

Morone chrysops · named 1974

okhistory.org

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

Oklahoma state records

The heaviest fish of each species certified by Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, rod and line; the agency also files an unrestricted division (bow, trotline) that this ingest does not read. Heaviest first. Every figure is the agency’s own.

Species	Weight	Length	Water	Date	Angler	Tackle
Gar, Alligator	254 lbs 12.00 ozs	97 3/4 inches	Texoma	04/23/2015	Paul Easley	rod and line
Paddlefish	164 lbs	81 3/4 inches	Keystone Lake	06/22/2021	Grant Rader	rod and line
Carp, Bighead	118 lbs 10.00 ozs	58.75 inches	Neosho (Grand) River	04/26/2025	Bryan Lee Baker	rod and line
Catfish, Blue	98 lbs	54 1/2 inches	Texoma	11/11/2004	Billy Nabors	rod and line
Catfish, Flathead	78 lbs 8.00 ozs	51 inches	El Reno Lake	05/11/2010	Richard Williams	rod and line
Carp, Grass	68 lbs 15.20 ozs	49 inches	Chelsea City Lake	04/05/2008	Jereme Budgick	rod and line
Buffalo, Smallmouth	66 lbs 3.00 ozs	39 15/16 inches	Broken Bow Lake	05/03/2019	Hugh M. Newman	rod and line
Buffalo, Bigmouth	59 lbs 15.00 ozs	43 3/4 inches	Greenleaf	11/12/1988	Leroy Broaddrick	rod and line
Bass, Striped	47 lbs 8.00 ozs	48 inches	Lower Illinois River PFHA	06/10/1996	Louis Parker	rod and line
Gar, Longnose	43 lbs 8.00 ozs	64 1/2 inches	Eufaula	08/28/2012	Howard Zummer	rod and line
Buffalo, Black	42 lbs 8.00 ozs	42 1/4 inches	W.R. Holway/Chimney Rock	11/17/2013	Jeff D. Olinger	rod and line
Carp, Common	39 lbs 10.40 ozs	39 1/4 inches	Grady Co. Pond	04/23/2002	Brandon Hughes	rod and line
Drum, Freshwater	38 lbs	41 3/4 inches	Tenkiller	05/23/1976	Harold Phillips	rod and line
Pike, Northern	36 lbs 8.00 ozs	44 inches	Carl Etling	06/13/1976	Raymond Fernandez	rod and line
Catfish, Channel	35 lbs 15.00 ozs	39 1/4 inches	Taft	09/11/2005	Gary Doak Jr.	rod and line
Bass, Striped Hybrid	23 lbs 3.68 ozs	33 1/2 inches	Altus-Lugert Reservoir	04/04/1997	Paul Hollister	rod and line
Trout, Brown	17 lbs 4.64 ozs	32 3/4 inches	Mt. Fork River	04/10/2005	Jason Archie	rod and line
Bass, Largemouth	14 lbs 13.70 ozs	26 1/8 inches	Cedar Lake	03/13/2013	Dale Miller	rod and line
Walleye	12 lbs 13.00 ozs	30 3/8 inches	Robert S. Kerr	05/08/2004	Kerry Carter	rod and line
Trout, Rainbow	11 lbs 4.32 ozs	29 3/16 inches	Lower Illinois River PFHA	04/04/2015	Paul Glover	rod and line
Bowfin	11 lbs 2.00 ozs	29 inches	Hugo Lake	02/27/1983	Thomas Joner	rod and line
Gar, Spotted	10 lbs 8.96 ozs	37.7 inches	Texoma	10/10/2025	Charlie Conway	rod and line
Saugeye	10 lbs	28 1/4 inches	Fort Cobb Reservoir	02/24/2006	Curt Wilkerson	rod and line
Carpsucker, River	8 lbs 11.00 ozs	25 1/4 inches	Canton	03/18/2022	Jarrett Sinclair	rod and line
Bass, Smallmouth	8 lbs 7.00 ozs	23 1/8 inches	Lawtonka Lake	03/31/2012	Ryan Wasser	rod and line
Bass, Hybrid Black	8 lbs 5.60 ozs	22 3/4 inches	Veterans Lake	03/27/2006	Dru Kinslow	rod and line
Redhorse, River	8 lbs 5.50 ozs	28 1/8 inches	Lower Illinois River PFHA	02/11/1977	Willis Pippin	rod and line
Bass, Spotted	8 lbs 2.00 ozs	23 1/2 inches	Pittsburg Co. Pond	06/27/1958	O.J. Stone	rod and line
Gar, Shortnose	7 lbs	33 1/2 inches	Atoka Reservoir	07/01/2017	Mark D. Benson	rod and line
Bullhead, Black	6 lbs 13.00 ozs	18 5/8 inches	Jackson Co. Pond	05/24/1984	Gary Cole	rod and line
Eel, American	5 lbs 7.00 ozs	39 1/2 inches	Lower Illinois River PFHA	06/03/1995	Dolores Munsell	rod and line
Sauger	5 lbs 5.00 ozs	23 inches	Robert S. Kerr	01/18/1981	Chet Munds	rod and line
Bass, White	5 lbs 1.00 ozs	18 1/2 inches	Verdigris River	04/01/1976	R.R. Karch	rod and line
Crappie, White	4 lbs 15.00 ozs	19 inches	Kingfisher Co. Pond	05/04/1991	Frank Robinson	rod and line
Crappie, Black	4 lbs 10.00 ozs	20 1/4 inches	Ottawa Co. Pond	06/16/1974	Rollie Williams	rod and line
Herring, Skipjack	3 lbs 7.50 ozs	20 3/8 inches	Lower Canadian River	05/01/2023	William E. Scott	rod and line
Shad, Gizzard	3 lbs 7.00 ozs	19.25 inches	Little Beaver	04/20/2022	Rusty Dye	rod and line
Pickerel, Chain	2 lbs 10.00 ozs	22 1/2 inches	Mt. Fork River	04/22/1982	Eric Lowe	rod and line
Goldeye	2 lbs 8.00 ozs	18 5/8 inches	Arkansas River	04/27/1996	James R. Smith	rod and line
Sunfish, Green	2 lbs 7.00 ozs	13 inches	Pontotoc Co. Pond	10/16/1972	Eddie Shulanberger	rod and line
Sunfish, Bluegill	2 lbs 6.40 ozs	12 3/4 inches	Kay Co. Pond	05/08/1987	Tom Shorter	rod and line
Sunfish, Hybrid	2 lbs 5.68 ozs	12 1/4 inches	Craig Co. Pond	05/31/2021	Dixie Lee	rod and line
Sunfish, Redear	2 lbs 5.60 ozs	13.5 inches	Strong City, Pond	04/25/2023	Cord Smith	rod and line
Bass, Hybrid Yellow	2 lbs 5.00 ozs	15 3/4 inches	Kiamichi River	03/26/1991	George R. Edwards	rod and line
Bullhead, Yellow	2 lbs 5.00 ozs	16 inches	Okfuskee Co. Pond	05/03/2014	Nathan Williams	rod and line
Sturgeon, Shovelnose	1 lbs 10.00 ozs	24 3/8 inches	Arkansas River	05/07/1996	Tommy Jenkins	rod and line
Pickerel, Grass	0 lbs 7.00 ozs	13 inches	Beaver Creek	03/17/1995	Barry Bryant	rod and line
Golden Shiner	0 lbs 5.28 ozs	9.4 inches	Grady Co. Pond	05/01/2022	Orlando Cheadle	rod and line

Source: Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. 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 Oklahoma

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

Mosquitofish8,755 records

Gambusia affinisPoeciliidaeNative and introducedFreshBrackish

Red Shiner8,712 records

Cyprinella lutrensisLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh

Green Sunfish7,776 records

Lepomis cyanellusCentrarchidaeNative and introducedFresh

Largemouth Bass7,612 records

Micropterus salmoidesCentrarchidaeNative and introducedFresh

Bluegill6,978 records

Lepomis macrochirusCentrarchidaeNative and introducedFresh

Rio Grande Longear Sunfish5,828 records

Lepomis aquilensisCentrarchidaeNative

Bullhead Minnow5,485 records

Pimephales vigilaxLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh

Orangespotted Sunfish4,137 records

Lepomis humilisCentrarchidaeNative and introducedFresh

Central Stoneroller3,999 records

Campostoma anomalumLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh

Channel Catfish3,688 records

Ictalurus punctatusIctaluridaeNative and introducedFresh

Emerald Shiner3,355 records

Notropis atherinoidesLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh

Sand Shiner3,277 records

Notropis stramineusLeuciscidaeNative and introducedFresh

Groups

Types of fish in Oklahoma

Species

All 225 species, A–Z

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

Johnny Darter Etheostoma nigrum

K

Kiamichi Shiner Notropis ortenburgeri

L

M

N

O

P

Q

Quillback Carpiodes cyprinus

S

T

W

Y

One record only

28 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 28 are shown.