# Game fish

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Popular fish targeted in recreational fishing

Big-game saltwater fish caught off of [Cape Hatteras](/source/Cape_Hatteras) in 1949

[Largemouth bass](/source/Largemouth_bass) is one of the most popular game fish in [North America](/source/North_America)

**Game fish**, **sport fish** or **quarry** refer to popular [fish](/source/Fish) species pursued by [recreational fishers](/source/Recreational_fishing) (typically [anglers](/source/Angling)), and can be [freshwater](/source/Freshwater_fish) or [saltwater fish](/source/Saltwater_fish). Game fish can be [eaten after being caught](/source/Fish_as_food), preserved as [taxidermy](/source/Taxidermy) (though rare), or [released after capture](/source/Catch_and_release). Some game fish are also targeted [commercially](/source/Commercial_fishing), particularly less bony species such as [salmon](/source/Salmon) and [tuna](/source/Tuna).

Specimens of game fish whose [measurements](/source/Fish_measurement) (body length and [weight](/source/Standard_weight_in_fish)) significantly exceed the species' average are sometimes known as **trophy fish**, as such captures are often presented as [bragging rights](/source/Bragging_rights) among fishers.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## Examples

Main articles: [List of freshwater game fish](/source/List_of_freshwater_game_fish) and [List of marine game fish](/source/List_of_marine_game_fish)

[Marlins](/source/Marlin) are popular blue-water game fish

The [pike](/source/Esox) is a classic freshwater game fish

Cooking panfish

The species of fish prized by anglers varies with geography and tradition. Some fish are sought for their value as [food](/source/Seafood), while others are pursued for their fighting abilities, or for the difficulty of successfully enticing the fish to bite the [hook](/source/Fish_hook).

- [Big-game fish](/source/Big-game_fishing) or [blue water](/source/Blue_water) game fish are large [pelagic](/source/Pelagic) [saltwater fish](/source/Saltwater_fish) such as [tuna](/source/Tuna), [tarpon](/source/Tarpon), [grouper](/source/Grouper) and [billfish](/source/Billfish) ([sailfish](/source/Sailfish), [marlin](/source/Marlin) and [swordfish](/source/Swordfish)). Occasionally other [predatory fishes](/source/Predatory_fish) such as [sharks](/source/Shark), [barracuda](/source/Barracuda) and [dolphinfish](/source/Dolphinfish) are also pursued. Large powerful [freshwater fish](/source/Freshwater_fish) such as [alligator gar](/source/Alligator_gar), [lake sturgeon](/source/Lake_sturgeon) and [flathead catfish](/source/Flathead_catfish) can also be considered big-game fish.

- Freshwater fish targeted by anglers in [North America](/source/North_America) include [bass](/source/Bass_(fish)) (especially [black bass](/source/Black_bass)), [salmon](/source/Salmon)/[trout](/source/Trout), [char](/source/Salvelinus), [walleye](/source/Walleye)/[sauger](/source/Sauger), [common snook](/source/Common_snook), [redfish](/source/Red_drum), [northern pike](/source/Northern_pike) and [muskellunge](/source/Muskellunge), [sturgeon](/source/Sturgeon), [gar](/source/Gar) and several [catfish](/source/Catfish) species. In [Europe](/source/Europe) and [Asia](/source/Asia), large [cyprinids](/source/Cyprinid) (e.g. [carps](/source/Carp), [barbels](/source/Barbel_(fish)), [breams](/source/Bream), [chubs](/source/Chub), [daces](/source/Leuciscus) and [tench](/source/Tench)), [perches](/source/Perch), freshwater [salmonids](/source/Salmonid) (trout, [graylings](/source/Thymallus), [whitefish](/source/Coregoninae) and [taimen](/source/Taimen)), [drum](/source/Freshwater_drum), [pikes](/source/Esox), catfish, [eels](/source/Eel) and [snakeheads](/source/Snakehead_(fish)) are also popular, although many of them are regarded derogatorily as "[trash fish](/source/Trash_fish)", "dirt fish" or "[pest](/source/Pest_(organism)) fish" in America. - In the [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom), "game fish" refers specifically to salmonids other than graylings – that is, [salmon](/source/Salmon), [trout](/source/Trout) and [char](/source/Salvelinus). Other popular freshwater fish are called [coarse fish](/source/Coarse_fishing).

- Small/medium-sized freshwater fish routinely sought by anglers are called [panfish](/source/Panfish) in the [United States](/source/United_States), because they typically can fit wholly into a normal [cooking pan](/source/Cooking_pan) without needing to be [cut](/source/Fish_steak) or [filleted](/source/Fish_fillet). Examples are [crappies](/source/Crappie), [yellow perch](/source/Yellow_perch), [rock bass](/source/Rock_bass), [bluegills](/source/Bluegill) and [other sunfish](/source/Lepomis) ([Centrarchidae](/source/Centrarchidae)). Panfish are often sought by younger, more inexperienced anglers, at least partly due to their proactivity to feed and the relative ease to be caught; although adult anglers sometimes consider them as "nuisance fish" due to their tendency to opportunistically strike the [baits](/source/Fishing_bait)/[lures](/source/Fishing_lure) intended for other larger fishes.

Some popular game fish have been [introduced](/source/Introduced_species) and [stocked](/source/Fish_stocking) worldwide. [Rainbow trout](/source/Rainbow_trout), for instance, can be found nearly anywhere the [climate](/source/Climate) is appropriate, from their [native range](/source/Native_range) on the [Pacific Coast](/source/Pacific_Coast) of [North America](/source/North_America) to the [mountains](/source/Mountains) of southern [Africa](/source/Africa),[1] and is now [listed as one of the worst](/source/100_of_the_World's_Worst_Invasive_Alien_Species) [invasive species](/source/Invasive_species).[2]

## Game-fish tagging programs

Biologists in [North Carolina](/source/North_Carolina) injecting a [sicklefin redhorse](/source/Moxostoma#Species) with an identifying tag

Main article: [Tag and release](/source/Tag_and_release)

As part of the [catch-and-release](/source/Catch-and-release) practice encouraged to promote [conservation](/source/Wildlife_management), tagging programs were established. Some of their goals are to improve the [management](/source/Fisheries_management) of fishery resources and to keep records on [abundance](/source/Fish_stocks), age, [growth rates](/source/Population_growth_rate), [migrations](/source/Animal_migration) and [breed](/source/Breed) [identification](/source/Animal_identification).

Some well-known tagging programs in the United States are the [South Carolina](/source/South_Carolina) Marine Game Fish Tagging Program and the [Virginia](/source/Virginia) Game Fish Tagging Program. The South Carolina Marine Game Fish Tagging Program began in 1974 and it is now[*[when?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Dates_and_numbers#Chronological_items)*] the largest public tagging program in the [Southeastern United States](/source/Southeastern_United_States). Anglers are trained and then receive a tag kit with tags, applicator, and instructions. When they tag a fish, anglers use a reply postcard they receive in advance to send the information on the tag number, tag date, [location](/source/Location_(geography)), [species](/source/Species), and [size](/source/Measurement). This program issues anglers who tag and release 30 or more eligible species within a year a conservation award. When an angler recaptures a tagged fish, they then should report the recapture. If possible, the tag number and the mailing address should be reported, along with the location and date of the recapture, as well with the measurement of the fish. The objective is to provide [biologists](/source/Biologists) with the necessary information to determine growth rate through an accurate measurement.[3] The Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program started operations in 1995 and keeps records on recaptured fish since then. This is an annual program that starts in January and it is limited to 160 anglers. Anglers receive training workshops in February and March.[4]

## Records

The official guide to world salt- and [freshwater](/source/Freshwater) fish records is the *World Record Game Fishes*, published annually by the [International Game Fish Association](/source/International_Game_Fish_Association) (IGFA), which maintains records for nearly 400 species around the world. The records are categorised, with separate records for juniors, for the type of tackle and line used, for fly fishing, and locality records.[5] The IGFA also organize the world saltwater championship tournaments.[6]

## See also

- [Coarse fishing](/source/Coarse_fishing) – Type of freshwater angling in the United Kingdom and Ireland

- [Fishing tournament](/source/Fishing_tournament) – Fishing contest among a group of anglers

- [Game (hunting)](/source/Game_(hunting)) – Wild animals under pursuit or taken in hunting

- [List of freshwater game fish](/source/List_of_freshwater_game_fish)

- [List of marine game fish](/source/List_of_marine_game_fish)

- [Overfishing](/source/Overfishing) – Removal of any species of fish from water at a rate that the species cannot replenish

- [Recreational fishing](/source/Recreational_fishing) – Fishing as a hobby

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-skel01_1-0)** Skelton, Paul (2001). [*A complete guide to the freshwater fishes of southern Africa*](https://books.google.com/books?id=bURse4a-2m8C&pg=PA72) (New ed.). Cape Town: Struik. p. 72. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781868726431](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781868726431).[*[permanent dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*]

1. **[^](#cite_ref-100WW_2-0)** ["100 of the World's Worst Invasive Alien Species"](http://www.iucngisd.org/gisd/100_worst.php). Global Invasive Species Database. Retrieved 5 September 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["SC Marine Game Fish Tagging Program"](https://web.archive.org/web/20100509170801/http://www.dnr.sc.gov/marine/pub/seascience/tagfish.html). Archived from [the original](http://www.dnr.sc.gov/marine/pub/seascience/tagfish.html) on 9 May 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2010.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program"](https://web.archive.org/web/20210924090005/http://web.vims.edu/adv/recreation/tag/index.html). Archived from [the original](http://web.vims.edu/adv/recreation/tag/index.html) on 24 September 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2010.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [Fishing Book Review: *World Record Game Fishes*](http://fishing.about.com/library/review/books/blrvigfa.htm) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160303225209/http://fishing.about.com/library/review/books/blrvigfa.htm) 3 March 2016 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) About.com. Retrieved 19 April 2009.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** [World Championship Tournaments](http://www.igfa.org/tour.asp) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20100210041131/http://www.igfa.org/tour.asp) 10 February 2010 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) – [International Game Fish Association](/source/International_Game_Fish_Association)

## Sources

- Dunn, Bob (2000) *Saltwater Game Fishes of the World*. Australian Fishing Network.[ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-86513-010-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-86513-010-1)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Game fish](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_fish) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_fish?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.