Species Library

Barcheek Coral Trout, Plectropomus maculatus, in a normally illuminated complete side profile on a dark green museum plate.
Barcheek Coral Trout
Identify Plectropomus maculatus, explore silty inshore reefs, cast a diving minnow beside structure, and discover a barcheek coral trout restaurant preparation. Read more...
Blue Runner Caranx crysos in complete lateral profile within a muted gold and dark green museum cover.
Blue Runner
Meet Caranx crysos: identify the hardtail, explore offshore schools and floating Sargassum, work a three-hook sabiki, and discover a Caribbean preparation. Read more...
Southern Kingfish Menticirrhus americanus in full lateral profile on a dark green museum cover.
Southern Kingfish
Meet the ground mullet, Menticirrhus americanus: read sandy surf and inlet margins, connect a small-bait rig, and explore its place in coastal cooking. Read more...
An adult brown snowy grouper on a charcoal-black antique-gold species-file cover.
Snowy Grouper
Read the changing spots, find the offshore ledge, and follow a deep-drop rig from rod tip to sinker: a western Atlantic snowy grouper field guide. Read more...
Blacktail Diplodus capensis in lateral profile on a dark green museum cover.
Blacktail
Meet Diplodus capensis, explore South African rock pools and gullies, work a soft worm on light tackle, and discover blacktail cooking and shore culture. Read more...
Corvina in complete lateral profile within a fine bronze frame.
Corvina
Meet Cilus gilberti, explore Pacific surf troughs, connect and work a floating minnow, and follow the Chilean shore traditions behind corvina fishing. Read more...
Complete hogfish in lateral profile, with three elongated dorsal spines and a restrained bronze frame.
Hogfish
Recognize Lachnolaimus maximus, explore low Gulf ledges, control a shrimp bait on its descent, and discover the changing skin and social life of this remarkable wrasse. Read more...
Kelp bass in complete lateral profile, framed in restrained antique gold on dark green.
Kelp Bass
Recognize Paralabrax clathratus, explore a layered kelp forest, place a paddle tail through canopy openings, and meet the anglers helping study this California bass. Read more...
Great hammerhead in complete lateral profile within a restrained antique-gold museum frame.
Great Hammerhead
Recognize Sphyrna mokarran, explore sand basins and reef passages, prepare for an accidental encounter, and follow the science behind its migrations and remarkable swimming. Read more...
Dusky Flathead in natural horizontal profile, with spacious dark green margins and a small subdued compass and botanical ornament.
Dusky Flathead
Identify Platycephalus fuscus, explore tidal drains and seagrass edges, connect a soft-plastic rig, and follow the science and human stories of eastern Australia’s estuary ambush predator. Read more...
Porbeagle (Lamna nasus) museum cover with a gold frame and dark green background.
Porbeagle
Identify Lamna nasus, explore coastal and offshore habitats, understand regional shark tackle and release practice, and follow the changing science and human history of this cold-water predator. Read more...
Striped marlin in complete horizontal side view within a muted antique-gold frame, title cartouche, compass and botanical branches.
Striped Marlin
Recognize Kajikia audax, explore shelf-edge and offshore habitats, follow a source-led live-bait approach, and discover the science and fishing heritage of this Indo-Pacific billfish. Read more...
Shortfin mako shark in complete horizontal side view, with muted bronze frame, title cartouche, compass and botanical branches.
Shortfin Mako
Identify Isurus oxyrinchus, explore coastal and offshore habitats, follow a careful encounter-and-release plan, and discover the science and cultural history of this ocean traveller. Read more...
Bigeye tuna in horizontal side view with antique bronze title frame, compass and light botanical ornament.
Bigeye Tuna
Identify Thunnus obesus, explore its day-and-night ocean layers, follow a single-hook trolling layout, and discover the research, fisheries and foodways behind this powerful tuna. Read more...
Yellow drum with wedge-shaped tail in a dark green antique bronze museum frame.
Yellow Drum
Meet Nibea albiflora: identify its markings, explore coastal nursery and feeding habitats, understand a single-hook bottom layout, and follow the sound, fisheries and foodways of this northwest Pacific croaker. Read more...
Southern bluefin tuna in a dark green antique bronze museum frame.
Southern Bluefin Tuna
Identify southern bluefin, explore tropical spawning and southern feeding waters, follow a single-hook trolling system, and discover the records, food and stewardship behind this ocean traveller. Read more...
Complete Japanese seabass in a subdued antique bronze museum frame.
Japanese Seabass
Identify suzuki, explore river nurseries and coastal feeding lanes, trace a complete shore-minnow connection, and discover the records and food traditions behind Japanese seabass. Read more...
Complete European seabass in a subdued antique-gold museum frame.
European Seabass
Read the two dorsals, explore estuary and open-coast habitats, follow a complete shallow-minnow connection, and discover the migrations and coastal kitchens behind European seabass. Read more...
Complete adult black rockfish in a subdued antique-gold museum frame.
Black Rockfish
Read the head and dorsal, explore three Oregon nearshore habitats, follow a complete single-jig route, and discover the research and coastal kitchens behind this schooling Pacific rockfish. Read more...
Complete smalltooth sawfish in horizontal profile in a muted antique-gold frame.
Smalltooth Sawfish
Recognize the Atlantic sawfish, explore three life-stage habitats, follow a documented nursery return, and learn the complete accidental-encounter release and reporting sequence. Read more...
Complete adult houndfish in horizontal profile inside a subtle antique-gold museum frame.
Houndfish
Meet the long-jawed surface hunter: structural identification, an interactive coastal habitat atlas, a complete spoon-casting lesson and the fish’s roles as sporting catch, food and bait. Read more...
Broad left-eyed summer flounder in full horizontal profile within a dim antique-gold museum frame.
Summer Flounder
Meet the Atlantic fluke: field identification, an interactive coastal habitat atlas, seasonal behavior, a complete jigging lesson, named back-bay methods and a Sea Grant food story. Read more...
Spotted opah with a natural deep round body, red fins and full tail, in a faint antique-bronze archive frame.
Opah
A Pacific opah dossier: species identity, field recognition, a three-scene habitat atlas, heat retention, offshore jigging operations, documented catches and the whole-fish food story. Read more...
Flathead Catfish, Pylodictis olivaris, with a complete natural side profile in the classic engraved gold title cartouche, compass and laurel museum cover.
Flathead Catfish
Meet the broad-headed predator of North American rivers: how to recognize flathead catfish, read woody cover, and assemble a complete slip-sinker bottom rig. Read more...
Walleye, Sander vitreus, with a complete natural side profile in the classic engraved gold title cartouche, compass and laurel museum cover.
Walleye — The Low-Light Hunter | Species File
Meet Sander vitreus: recognize its fins and white tail tip, read changing lake conditions, and understand a simple jig-and-grub presentation. Read more...
Mangrove Snapper, Lutjanus griseus, in complete natural side profile with orderly scales, surrounded by a fine muted antique-bronze title frame, compass and leaf branches.
Mangrove Snapper
Meet the gray snapper, Lutjanus griseus: recognition, habitat from mangrove roots to reefs, and clear free-line and knocker-rig connections. Read more...
Great White Shark
Great White Shark
Follow a white shark from sandy nursery to rocky island and open ocean: recognition, changing prey, and what California anglers should do during an accidental encounter. Read more...
California yellowtail, Seriola dorsalis, in a charcoal-black and antique-gold natural history archive cover.
California Yellowtail
Lead the school, swim the iron, and find the right depth: a California yellowtail guide to recognition, kelp edges, offshore paddies and three practical boat-fishing approaches. Read more...
American monkfish, Lophius americanus, with its complete broad-headed silhouette on a dark green and gold cover.
American Monkfish
A pale lure above a hidden mouth: recognize American monkfish, explore its seabed habitat and drifting egg veil, and understand its place on a groundfish boat. Read more...
Chinook salmon — Oncorhynchus tshawytscha — black and antique gold species archive cover.
Chinook Salmon
Read the mouth, find the feeding layer, and understand the downrigger release: a Chinook salmon field guide from Pacific river gravel to Great Lakes trolling water. Read more...
Papuan black bass — Lutjanus goldiei — black and antique gold species archive cover.
Papuan Black Bass
A snapper with a freshwater nickname: identify Papuan black bass, read its connected river habitats, and understand hardbait fishing around heavy cover. Read more...
Archival black and gold King Mackerel cover with adult specimen.
King Mackerel
Identify adult and juvenile king mackerel, explore western Atlantic coastal habitats, and compare documented natural-bait and artificial-lure methods, with numbered sources and coastal culture. Read more...
Lingcod — Ophiodon elongatus. GIGVAULT Fish Museum illustrated cover.
Lingcod
A toothy North Pacific ambush predator: how to identify lingcod, read its rocky coastal habitat, and choose a well-supported bait or lure presentation. Read more...
Gray Triggerfish — Balistes capriscus
Gray Triggerfish
A small-mouthed reef specialist: identification, five habitat settings, natural bait and microjig techniques, and coastal food traditions. Read more...
Archive-style adult Great Barracuda profile cover for a Florida Keys species dossier.
Great Barracuda
A source-led field dossier on Great Barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda), following the fish through identification, Florida Keys habitats, documented fishing presentations, and regional sporting history. Read more...
Title illustration for the Yellowtail Kingfish (Seriola lalandi) Australasian species dossier.
Yellowtail Kingfish | Species File
A field dossier for Australia and New Zealand: identification, habitat, two metal-jig approaches, handling, fisheries and aquaculture, and the cultural history of Seriola lalandi. Read more...
Natural-history cover illustration of California halibut, Paralichthys californicus.
California Halibut
Evidence-led field guide to California halibut (Paralichthys californicus), covering identification, habitat, behavior, regional fishing cases, and a dated CDFW regulation snapshot. Read more...
Original archive-style Sheepshead cover illustration; not a documentary photograph.
Sheepshead
A field dossier on Sheepshead (*Archosargus probatocephalus*): identification, coastal habitat, three sourced rig presentations, foodways and research sources. Read more...
Illustration: Adult Golden Tilefish cover.
Golden Tilefish
Golden Tilefish / Great Northern Tilefish — Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps Goode & Bean, 1879 Angler’s one-line briefing: Find the right canyon-floor sediment, keep the presentation connected to the bottom, and remember... Read more...
Full lateral White Marlin in the fixed black-and-brass museum frame, with rounded first dorsal, pectoral and first anal tips.
White Marlin
Begin in warm offshore water and watch the upper layer, but earn the identification: a familiar marlin silhouette can conceal a different species. Read more...
Tiger Shark Species File
Tiger Shark Species File
A source-led field file on Galeocerdo cuvier: verified identification, three distinct habitat contexts, documented natural-bait cases and partial rig components, jurisdiction-specific rules, and clear limits where evidence does not support... Read more...
An adult Black Marlin in full side profile on a charcoal-and-aged-brass museum dossier cover, titled Black Marlin — Istiompax indica.
Black Marlin Species File
Black Marlin Species File CATALOGUE LIST ROW 046 · S GRADE · SALTWATER · INDO-PACIFICBlack Marlin — Istiompax indica (Cuvier, 1832)Evidence checked: October 9, 2026. The catalogue grade is an... Read more...
Museum cover illustration of Wahoo, Acanthocybium solandri, with the fixed brass frame and charcoal background.
Wahoo
A wahoo turns an apparently simple trolling pass into a test of the whole boat. The lure must run cleanly, the connections must survive continuous towing load, and the crew... Read more...
Museum cover illustration of Gag Grouper, Mycteroperca microlepis, with the fixed brass frame and charcoal background.
Gag Grouper
Follow this fish from an estuary nursery to a hard-bottom ledge, then put the presentation beside the shelter rather than somewhere above an anonymous reef. Read more...
Bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix. Original illustrated museum cover.
Bluefish
Bluefish across coastal nursery and feeding habitats: six independent habitat views, source-led bait and lure systems, cutting-teeth identification and the foodways of several coasts. Read more...
Red Snapper, Lutjanus campechanus. Original watercolor museum cover.
Red Snapper
A Gulf Red Snapper dossier: five life-stage and structure habitats, source-led natural-bait and slow-pitch systems, and the fish's working-waterfront and food culture. Read more...
Yellowfin Tuna — Thunnus albacares. Original museum cover illustration.
Yellowfin Tuna
The pelagic yellowfin, with source-bounded popper casting, metal jigging and live-sardine teaching, plus six independent habitat contexts. Read more...
Dogtooth Tuna — Gymnosarda unicolor. Original photo-referenced natural-finish scientific museum illustration.
Dogtooth Tuna
The reef-associated Indo-Pacific predator, with source-bounded topwater casting, fast metal jigging, natural-bait teaching and eight independent habitat contexts. Read more...
Jack crevalle, Caranx hippos. Original illustrated museum cover.
Jack Crevalle
A sourced dossier on Caranx hippos: Atlantic identity, coastal habitat, feeding schools, practical lure connections and fishing culture. Read more...
Sailfish, Istiophorus platypterus. Original illustrated museum cover.
Sailfish
A sourced field dossier on Istiophorus platypterus: identification, ocean habitat, bill-feeding mechanics, artificial-lure trolling and human connections. Read more...