The blue catfish looks much like the channel cat, except the blue has a humped back, a longer anal fin, and grows bigger. Blues are native to several rivers in northeastern Kansas including the Kansas and Missouri. Blues are seldom caught on the concoctions used for channel cats, preferring cut or live bait. The largest blue cat on record weighed 143 pounds. The Kansas record weighed 102.8 pounds.

The bluegill is one of the most common panfish in Kansas, and it provides many youngsters with their first fishing thrill. Although it doesn't grow to enormous weights, the tenacious, saucer-shaped fish makes up for size with a scrappy fight. Common in most farm ponds and smaller community and state fishing lakes, bluegill are most easily caught when they move into shallow water and begin dishing out spawning beds. The state record bluegill weighed 2 pounds, 5 ounces. The world record is 4 pounds, 12ounces.

The channel catfish is the bread and butter of Kansas fishing. Found in nearly all waters from large rivers and reservoirs to small prairie streams, good channel cat fishing is never far away. State lakes are also popular places to catch channel cats. Department hatcheries produce millions of channel cats each year. The state record channel cat weighed 36 pounds, 8 ounces. The world record is 58 pounds.

Part of a group known as the black basses, including the smallmouth and spotted basses, the largemouth grows the biggest. Common in farm ponds, the largemouth likes shallow, murky water and usually associates with structure such as weeds or submerged timber. Some of the newer reservoirs and smaller lakes with standing timber also provide good largemouth fishing. Of the black basses, the largemouth is the only one with a mouth that extends behind the eye. The world record weighed 22 pounds, 4 ounces. The Kansas record is 11 pounds, 12 ounces.

The paddlefish is a plankton eater that resembles prehistoric fishes. Common only in two Kansas rivers – the Marais des Cygnes and the Neosho – the paddlefish is taken by fishermen during the spring spawning runs, and then only during the special snagging season. Stocking paddlefish in Oklahoma’s Kaw Reservoir and in Tuttle Creek Reservoir may bring the paddle-snouted fish back to some of its former range. The largest paddlefish on modern record weighed 144 pounds and measured 54 1/4". This is the Kansas record.

Perhaps the most aggressive fish in Kansas waters, the wiper is a cross between a white bass and a striped bass. Wipers grow fast, strike hard, and fight like no other fish. There are two types of wipers, the palmetto bass made using the striped bass egg and white bass sperm, and the sunshine bass made using the white bass egg and striped bass sperm. The department stocks the palmetto bass version. The wiper, like its striper parent, has two rows of teeth near the rear of the tongue. The white bass has a single tooth patch on its tongue. The state record wiper weighed 22 pounds. The world record wiper is listed at 27 pounds, 5 ounces.

This close cousin to the walleye loves murky water and current. Sauger are being stocked in several northeastern Kansas reservoirs where walleye haven't done well because of high flowthrough and murky water conditions. Sauger are less likely than walleye to be flushed from a reservoir. Smaller than the walleye, the world record sauger weighed 8 pounds, 12 ounces. The state record is 4 pounds, 13 ounces.

The smallmouth is a hard-fighting sport fish native only to a few waters in the southeastern corner of Kansas. Introduced in several larger reservoirs, the smallmouth has adapted well and attracts a growing number of angler fans. Smallmouths prefer clear water and rocky structure. The mouth of the smallmouth extends to just below the eye. The world record smallmouth weighed a whopping 11 pounds, 15 ounces. The Kansas record is 6 pounds, 6 ounces.

A saltwater native, the striped bass has adapted well to freshwater existence and has prospered in several Kansas lakes. Striped bass don't reproduce in Kansas waters, however, populations are maintained through stocking programs. Stripers are legendary for their hard fighting nature and long, drag-sizzling runs. The Kansas state record is 43 pounds, 8 ounces. The freshwater world record is 67 pounds, 1 ounce.

The walleye has become a highly-sought game fish for Kansas anglers and has been stocked in most federal reservoirs and some larger state and community lakes. To help maintain these fisheries, millions of young walleye are collected and stocked each spring by department biologists and culturists. The state record weighed 13 pounds, 3 ounce. The world record is 22 pounds, 11 ounces.