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• Largemouth bass
• Walleye
• Catfish
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• Lures & Bait

41 FISH OLDER THAN DIRT Sturgeon are North America's oldest and longest-lived game fish. Fossil records prove that some sturgeon species date back almost 100 million years. The lake sturgeon lives up to 80 years and the white sturgeon might reach 100.

42 DIFFERENT STROKES Many species of fish found in fresh water are anadromous, meaning that they spend most of their lives at sea and then swim into fresh water to spawn. Examples include steelhead, Pacific salmon and striped bass. Only one fish found in fresh water is catadromous—meaning just the opposite of anadromous. The female American eel spends its life in a river and then goes out to sea to spawn.

43 WHAT'S IN A NAME? Walleyes are commonly called walleyed pike, but they are actually members of the perch family (Percidae), not the pike family (Esocidae). Similarly, the white perch does not belong to the perch family, but is actually a member of the temperate bass family (Moronidae). Incidentally, in some parts of the South, if you brag about how many white perch you caught, you'd actually be talking about crappies, which are members of the sunfish family (Centrachidae).

44 KINGS OF CRUNCH Redear sunfish are called shellcrackers in some parts of their range because of their habit of eating aquatic snails, which they crush with special grinding teeth in their throat. Where snails are scarce, redears will forage on various small crustaceans, insects and fish fry. Shellcrackers or not, the fish are commonly caught on earthworms.

45 EITHER WAY, WATCH OUT FOR BITES What is a copperhead? If you answered that it's a poisonous snake, you'd be right, but you'd also be right if you said it's a Florida bluegill. This jumbosized bluegill subspecies, which is a popular panfish found throughout the Deep South in stocked lakes, derives its name from the copper-colored patch in the middle of its forehead. A variation is known as the coppernose.

46 IT'S JUST MORE PROTEIN Those unsightly black spots on the skin (and sometimes in the meat) of freshwater fish are probably tiny parasites called Neascus metacercariae, or black grub. The black spot is actually a protective case formed around the grub by the fish's body. Don't worry—Neascus is not harmful to humans and if you don't tell your dinner guests, they might think the flecks are just pepper.

47 ALL THE SAME FISH What's the difference between a cisco, a tullibee and a lake herring? The answer is...nothing. When caught from deep water, one of the species (Coregonus artedii) is likely to be referred to as a cisco; when caught from mid-depth water, the same fish might be called a tullibee; and in the Great Lakes, it's a lake herring. It's all just a matter of locale.

48 ALL IN A DAY'S WORK What's the longest anyone has fought a fish in fresh water? The record appears to be held by an angler on the Kenai River, Alaska, who reportedly fought a 100- pound-plus king salmon for more than 24 hours. He finally lost it at the net.

49 LATCH ON Leeches are among the best baits for walleyes. Just make sure you're using the right kind. Ribbon leeches, which have firm bodies, are preferred. Don't use a horseleech or medicine leech with its soft, squishy body.

50 WHAT A BITE! Flathead catfish have tooth pads consisting of hundreds of tiny, recurved teeth. The pad helps them hold their prey so it can't wiggle around and escape. Don't ever stick your hand into a flathead's mouth to dislodge a hook; use pliers instead. Otherwise, you might get your hand back minus some skin.