Maryland Fish Facts

Welcome to fish facts, a collection of information about the wide variety of fish you can find in the state of Maryland. Below are listings of fish and aquatic life that are common to Maryland waters. The individual fact sheets provide identification information as well as where you can find the species, what they eat, breeding patterns and resource concerns.

Before you go fishing, make sure you know the rules and regulations for the individual species, so you know if you are allowed to catch them, how big they must be and when it is legal to do so.

graphic link to Official Dividing Lines For Tidal/Non-tidal

graphic link to License Free Fishing Locations

Public Lakes and Ponds

graphic link to the Public Angler Access Map

Maryland Department of Natural Resources Fishing and Boating Services also has information available online that provides survey data of juveniles of various species from the striped bass seine survey. Please check out the information at: Juvenile Striped Bass Survey

The department is also actively engaged in managing Threatened and Endangered Fish Species and Fish Species in Need of Conservation in Maryland.

Fish Identification Posters and Invasive Species Signage

Illustrations by Duane Raver provided by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS); Illustrations by Diane Rome Peebles, Provided by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Division of Marine Fisheries Management; NOAA; Illustration by Susan Trammell/ Courtesy of the United States Geological Survey (USGS); Maine Department of Marine Resources, Recreational Fisheries Program and the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund. All Illustrations used with permission or by contract with said artists.

Maryland Fish Facts

​​​​​​​​​​​Recreational Fishing

Recreational Fishing