Fish of the Week!

It's not just trout that live in beautiful places. Redeye bass (commonly called the “trout of Alabama” according to this episode's guest) can be found in clear, rocky, higher-elevation streams enveloped by vegetation like mountain laurel and rhododendron. Matt Lewis from Auburn University School of Fisheries helps us dig into redeye bass species and how to best experience this very spectacular gro...

Uncle Mac Poepoe and Hi'ilei Kawelo share their Hawaiian perspectives about Moi (Pacific Threadfin) and the fishponds of Molokai. 

Katrina and Guy talk talk bowfin with Tony Brady from Welaka National Fish Hatchery in Florida. This aggressive, neat fish is the only living member of the order Amiiformes, and has been making a living on Earth since about when the first birds are seen in the fossil record. Listeners will come away with a greater appreciation for this sometimes underappreciated fish!

This big, black blob of a fish comes with its own fishing rod! Dr. Ben Frable (Scripps Institution of Oceanography) and Dr. Bill Ludt (Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County) join Katrina and Guy for a lively discussion about the ecology and behavior of this deep-sea anglerfish species (and what to do if you find one on the beach).

The Cherokee people call this large southeastern fish Ugiidatli ("wears/has a feather"). Redhorses, including the Sicklefin, are also sometimes referred to as the "salmon of the south" due to their spawning migrations, size, and importance. Hear Indigenous perspectives about this culturally-significant fish, the rivers they inhabit, and how to help support endangered languages by learning and usin...

When Gunnison sage-grouse are all puffed up and strutting their stuff on the lekking grounds, the Rio Grande Sucker is putting on its coat and getting ready for the big dance. Cole Brittain and Paul Jones join from Colorado to talk about this fish and the amazing place it calls home. 

Like annual flowers, most Smoky Madtoms only live a year. One of the smallest of the madtom catfishes, these cuties can also sting like a bee. Katrina and Guy talk with guests Peggy Shute and Patrick Rakes who've spent many years getting to know this secretive southeastern fish. 

Shine bright like a diamond...darter. Katrina and Guy head to West Virginia to meet the man who described and named the sparkly, nocturnal Diamond Darter. Not gonna lie, we nerd out with guest Stuart Welsh.

American biologist and wildlife conservationist Jeff Corwin joins Katrina and Guy to talk about Pacific salmon and some of his Atlantic Coast faves. From Alaska to Massachusetts, there are many ways to connect with and appreciate the amazing fish in your own backyard!

Katrina and Guy depart from their usual focus on North American fishes to talk about the coelacanth, a fish different from all the rest. The conversation covers coelacanths in the larger context of celebrating all the fish, new discoveries, instances where women have made incredible contributions to the field of ichthyology.

Katrina and Guy dive into the Snakehead dilemma with Fisheries Biologist John Odenkirk from the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. 

Put on your shades and learn about one of North America's most colorful fish, the Longear Sunfish. Sunfish enthusiast and Ohio State University research associate Brian Zimmerman joins Katrina and Guy to talk about this captivating beauty. 

All dressed up in blue with horns, the male bluehead chub painstakingly moves stones to build a nest the whole neighborhood can appreciate. Katrina and Guy are joined by bluehead chub enthusiast Michael Wolfe with the North American Native Fishes Association. 

While the Colorado River has been cutting dramatic canyons in the Southwest for millions of years, so too has a very special fish been carving its existence in those waters. It may be a bit odd-looking, but those looks have utility. Mike Pillow from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Arizona Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office joins Katrina and Guy to chat about the humpback chub. 

Whoever smelt the Delta Smelt dealt it...and it smells like cucumbers! Katrina and Guy talk with special guest Katherine Sun about this uniquely odoriferous California fish and its delta home. 

Big personality in a small, pokey, camouflaged package! Dive into a conversation about one of the most accessible and dominant intertidal groups of fishes, sculpins, and one member in particular: the scalyhead. Katrina and Guy are joined by guest Dr. Thaddaeus Buser, a diver, researcher, and sculpin enthusiast/3D skull reconstructionist.

A conversation about the duality of Sea Lamprey, a prehistoric fish with a complicated reputation across its natural and introduced range. Katrina and Guy are joined by guests Stephen Coghlan (University of Maine) and Marc Gaden (Great Lakes Fishery Commission) to tackle this nuanced topic through the lens of science and history. 

What's a pirate’s favorite letter? You might think it’d be R but ’tis the C they love! On this episode, Katrina and Guy discuss the Pirate Perch. They arrr a mysterious, anatomically unique, chemically camouflaged freshwater fish found along the east coast of the United States and the backwater areas of the Mississippi Valley. 

Katrina, Guy and friends share favorite moments from Season 1 and offer a sneak peek into Season 2. Go behind the scenes and learn how the co-hosts and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service production partner Citizen Racecar turn fun, in-depth conversations with guests into digestible stories about ALL THE FISH. 

Katrina, Guy, and special guest Dr. Brett Albanese from Georgia DNR's Freshwater Biodiversity Program take a deep dive into the life of a particularly festive fish: the holiday darter. Considered "the warblers of the fish world" by some, these tiny, dazzling fishes make southeastern U.S. streams merry and bright. 

This episode takes a special angle on Chum Salmon. Jesse Morin and Michelle George from the Tsleil-Waututh Nation join Katrina and Guy to talk about an early form of fisheries management by pre-contact Indigenous peoples. 

Jimmy Evak from Kotzebue, Alaska joins Katrina and Guy to talk about what’s known in his "neck of the tundra" as tomcod/uuġaq. You'll get an audio show-and-tell of Jimmy’s handmade willow jigging sticks, fish he's caught, and learn about the importance of this northern fish to local community members.  

Katrina and Guy talk Bull Trout with two guests who have dedicated much of their professional lives to this fascinating species: Dan Brewer and Stephanie Gunckel. These big, beautiful fish of the Pacific Northwest take their habitat clean, cold, connected and complex. 

Mudsharks! Depending where you live, these bottom-dwelling, single-whiskered fish are also known as burbot, ling, eelpout, cusk, and, in the Kobuk area of Alaska, "Tiktaalik" (the list goes on). Guest Raymond Woods, Iñupiaq Program Coordinator for the Northwest Arctic Borough School District, shares his knowledge about traditional under-ice trapping techniques for this amazing, important fish...

Katrina and Guy talk with micro-fishing enthusiast/fisheries ecologist Dr. Kevin Fraley about North America's northernmost true minnow, and Alaska's one and only, the Lake Chub! This itty bitty popular snack fish for myriad wildlife can be caught both on the fly and through the ice. Time to add a new species to your life list!