Some fish lay their eggs on land instead of in the water. The mudskipper even takes this further, even mating on land. These fish burrow and lay their eggs in mudflats before returning to the water.

Morning those who want to fish, statewide trout fishing has begun today in Washington lakes AND fishing for chinook has also started today in the idaho on the Little Salmon and lower Salmon rivers near Riggins and on the Snake River in Hells Canyon.

Though their names may suggest otherwise, cuttlefish, starfish, and jellyfish aren't actually fish. Generally-speaking, fishes must have skulls, gills, and fins. Surprisingly, though, not all fishes have proper spines.

The "ear" of a sunfish is really not an ear at all, but merely an extension of the gill cover that varies in color from species to species. The redear sunfish, for example, gets its name from the distinct red margin on its ear.

Everyone knows that smallmouth bass love rocks, but in waters where the bottom is almost all rock, they could be anywhere. In such lakes or rivers, smallmouths will often gravitate to dissimilar structure such as a sandy bottom with weeds or wood cover.

Although most anglers believe muskies are voracious feeders, consuming just about everything in sight, they're actually much less aggressive than pike. Muskies are considerably more selective, and will examine your offering more closely. They'll often follow a bait for a distance and then turn away at the last second without striking. A pike, on the other hand, will attack practically any kind of lure or bait that happens to pass its way.

Eels can live for 70 years or more – depending on the specie though most species of eel don't live for more than 30 years.

Sure, there's a lot of water out there, but only a relatively small portion of it suits bluegills for their various purposes. If you spot abandoned bluegill spawning beds along a shoreline while you're out fishing this summer, remember their locations. Unlike some other fish, bluegills will return to the same beds year after year, providing water conditions are the same. Mark the spots on a map, and you'll get a leg up on other anglers when spawning season arrives.

Of all the freshwater game fish, rock bass are the best chameleons, meaning that they can quickly change color to match their surroundings. On light, sandy bottoms, they're usually light tan, but on dark bottoms, they might be brownish black in color.

Blue catfish are supposed to be, well, blue, but Katie Purvis Johns of Denham Springs, Louisiana, landed a rare all-white blue catfish at the Bonnet Carré Spillway April 24, near New Orleans.She had to battle the blue catfish carefully because the spillway has concrete structures in the water that the fish easily could have wrapped the line around and broken free. She worked the fish close to shore, knowing it was a large blue catfish. So she was more than surprised when the fish turned out to be all-white. They weighed the fish at 19 pounds, and it measured 35 inches long. They were all puzzled about its white color, and believed it was an albino fish. But the cat didn't have pink eyes, so they contacted the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. "We found out it is an all-white, leucistic blue catfish," Johns said. "Which is a pretty rare catch."