“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” – William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet – Act II, Scene II.
That quote is often used in reference to imply that names of things do not have bearing on what they really are. This directly applies to the naming of fish.
Many fish names are different. This is dependent on where you are from and your regional dialect.
The further you get away from home waters, the more the names may change. Sunfish are a perfect example with which to start.
The Centrachidae family includes common names such as:
- Sunfish;
- Sunperch;
- Perch;
- Bream;
- Brim; and
- Panfish.
There are over 30 species represented in this Family. For example, the Redear is often called a Shellcracker because of the pharyngeal teeth they use to crush the shells of snails and small mollusks.
Longear and Redbreast Sunfish are often lumped into the naming category of Pumpkinseed, due to the abundance of spots and markings. Ironically enough, the actual Pumpkinseed Bream is usually mis-identified as a Redear. Let’s just call them Bream… er… Brim.
The Temperate (True) Bass, the Striped Bass, White Bass, Yellow Bass and Hybrid are known by different fish names.
Striped Bass are known as Rockfish, Rockbass, Linesides, Stripers and if you are from New England, “Stripah.” Hybrids are known as Cherokee Bass, Wiper, Whiterock and Sunshine Bass.
On a recent trip to Massachusetts and Rhode Island, I went to a local bait shop to purchase my fishing license.
Speaking to the clerk behind the counter, he asked where I was from, noticing my southern drawl. I told him I was visiting from Tennessee. He asked what I fished for when I was at home. I listed Trout, Bass, Brim, Catfish, and Crappie.
We came to a brief impasse in communication when he asked what a Crappie was. I explained the color, size and basic description and finally ended up pulling up a picture. “Calico Bass” he exclaimed! That was a name I had never heard of. Crappie, also known as papermouth, speckled perch, white perch, and sac-a-lait depending on your location.
Trout are not immune to this naming issue either.
Rainbow Trout are sometimes called redsides. Brook trout are often referred to as Specks. As an aside, Brook Trout are already a naming debacle as they are not actually a trout, but a member of char family.
Another curveball for you, when a Rainbow goes out to sea, they become a Steelhead. A Brown trout going to sea is a sea run Brown. Not very creative, but descriptive. I am not even going to touch the Salmon Runs as there are 5 species with multiple names.
The comment section of social media has also contributed to the confusion.
Slab, hoss, pig, toad, and river donkey are some terms used for extremely large individuals of a given specimens that I have seen. Granted these may be applied to any fish.
So, unless a council can be formed and a naming commission appointed, I say call the fish what you want. Fish don’t speak Latin and no matter the species, anything tugging on the line is a great day, whatever you call it!
So have you ever been confused about what fish you were holding? Leave a comment below!