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PODCAST

Fish of the Week!

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Fish enthusiasts Katrina Liebich and Guy Eroh journey across America on a quest to live with, live from, discover and enjoy ALL THE FISH: big and small, common and rare, beautiful and downright strange. Guests from all walks of life help dig into the latest science and bring their perspectives about fishing and how fish are woven into the fabric of communities and cultures. Listeners walk away from each episode with practical information about how to connect with and conserve our amazing, finned

science nature

All Episodes

42:52

Gilt Darter Complex: Discoveries in Biodiversity

Fish of the Week! ·

2026/05/18

Get to know the Gilt Darter complex! Katrina and Guy are joined by two guests from Yale University's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology: Tom Near and Julia Wood. They imagine sitting down with the five species (Gilt, Masquerade, Brassy, Western Gilt, and Russet Darters) over dinner to understand the identity of each fish and how they're doing, dig into what makes a species a species, the definition of a species complex, and how the advancement of biodiversity discovery is important to

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42:00

Western Atlantic Torpedo Ray!

Fish of the Week! ·

2026/05/06

This week we're heading to New England to get to know its very large, blobby, thick-tailed electric ray that's super cool but not well-understood. In this episode, we get a peek into the torpedo ray's personality and deep dive into the how-tos and value of rescuing and necropsying stranded fish. Guy ponders if anyone has used uterine "milk" to make a cheese and Katrina wonders about historical accounts of these fish curing migraines and gout. Our guest is Carol "Krill" Carson from the New England

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43:18

Frowny & Fabulous Fat Sleeper!

Fish of the Week! ·

2026/05/04

Prized for their blue spot and legendary as bait for big snook and other sportfish, the frowny-faced Fat Sleeper is valued wherever it is: judging you from your aquarium, breathing air from the top of its head while trying to avoid becoming candy for herons, predicting storms, or unlocking nutrients from mangroves to benefit the entire food chain. You'll learn how this fish is the ultimate survivor, where it lives, and all about its weird "storm minnow parade" and sticky eggs. Guest Eddie Perry

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38:54

Convict Cichlids & America's "Goldilocks" Waters

Fish of the Week! ·

2026/04/27

In waters that are "just right" across America, you can find colorful, unfamiliar fish living on the edge. Embark on a weird treasure hunt with Katrina, Guy, and guest Matt Miller from The Nature Conservancy to learn about Central American Convict Cichlids in Idaho to feral fancy guppies in George Washington's Bathtub and Jack Dempsey Cichlids in South Dakota. We explore American's bizarre relationship with certain fish, as well as tips for travel to and fishing hot springs. Unfortunately, this

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44:52

Northern Pike in Southcentral Alaska

Fish of the Week! ·

2026/04/20

Get the latest scoop on Northern Pike in Southcentral Alaska with Alaska Department of Fish and Game guest Parker Bradley. While this fish is highly sought-after and valued for subsistence and sport in the regions of Alaska where it's native, it is causing problems for salmon in Southcentral Alaska where it's been introduced. We deep dive into a nuanced look at how species can cause harm when they're put into new places, and what's being done to detect and manage populations in a very large and

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36:26

Golden Redhorse: Fantastic Native Sucker

Fish of the Week! ·

2026/04/13

Get to know the Golden Redhorse! They fight hard, they're beautiful, and they're a great fish to introduce kids to fishing (soft mouth, no spines). During this episode you'll gain strategies to see their migration and catch/cook redhorse, identify redhorse species in your neck of the woods, learn how anglers are helping scientists understand more about these fish through an amazing piece of anatomy called the otolith and more. Our two Minnesota-based guests are Drew Geving (Native Fish for Tomorrow)

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36:49

Emerald Bowfin: Honey Badger of Fish!

Fish of the Week! ·

2026/04/06

Get to know the Emerald Bowfin, one of two native species of bowfin found in North America! Always hungry and angry, this gamest of fish is a dedicated parent and will roll and jump spectacularly on the end of your line if hooked...and once landed, it about as close as you can get to holding a living dinosaur. Guests Griffin Blegen and Tyler Winter help Katrina and Guy dig into where this fish is found, its aggressive personality, how their dietary habits help you catch bigger bluegill, how to best

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37:07

American Star Drum: Estuarine Candy!

Fish of the Week! ·

2026/03/30

Get to know the American Star Drum: an abundant, silvery little bulldog-faced fish that feeds everything from popular sportfish to beloved birds and dolphins! Katrina and Guy are joined by two Georgia-based guests: Rachel Guy with the Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve/Georgia DNR and Bryan Fluech with the University of Georgia Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant. You'll learn about the biology of this fish and other lesser-known drums, the key role of estuaries, the Estuarine Fish

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40:30

Southern Appalachian Brook Trout!

Fish of the Week! ·

2026/03/23

Travel to North Carolina with Katrina, Guy, and guest Tyler Pait to get to know the beautiful Brook Trout of the Southern Appalachians! You'll learn about the habits of these fish, where you can still find them in the south, how to safely approach a high-elevation Brook Trout fishing adventure, and how folks with non-fish day jobs are making a difference (and how you can too!).

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41:18

Abyssal Rattail & Rough Abyssal Grenadier!

Fish of the Week! ·

2026/03/16

Head with us to the abyssal sea floor, a fascinating and important place with rolling hills, rock outcrops, and amazing creatures drifting by and sticking out of deep, fine mud. This is where an abundance of fish with rat-like tails are feeling around and tracking the populations of surface dwelling fish above. Guest Jeff Drazen from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa joins Katrina and Guy to answer questions and help listeners understand what life is like at this depth.

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40:21

Alabama's Watercress Darter!

Fish of the Week! ·

2026/03/09

Head to Birmingham, Alabama with us to get to know this fish and several other endangered urban darters. We explore the city and the well-known spring oases the Watercress Darter calls home, as well as the ways in which the community has rallied around their care. You'll hear from the man who first discovered and described this fish in 1965 and two guests from our Alabama Ecological Services Field Office. With so many darter enthusiasts within the Magic City, the future of this fish is bright just

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34:59

The Blackbanded Sunfish of East Coast Blackwaters

Fish of the Week! ·

2026/03/02

Get to know a beautiful and rare native species found in pockets of tea-like blackwater habitats along the East Coast. Katrina and Guy are joined by three guests from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources: Jay Kilian, Seth Moessinger, and Jason Cessna. Learn more about the fish, their patchy habitats, and the amazing work being done by a variety of partners and states to locate, understand, and give these fish a helping hand!If you enjoyed this sunfish you might also like these episodes:S2:E8

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42:22

Pumpkinseed: Find Your Happy Place

Fish of the Week! ·

2026/02/23

Get to know the Pumpkinseed, "perfect in all its parts, looking like a brilliant coin, fresh from the mint." Learn what makes this fish tick, where to find it, how to catch it (in both open water and through the ice), and how fishing can take you to a happy place. Katrina and Guy are joined by Jeff Kopaska (Executive Director of the American Fisheries Society) and retired Minnesota fish biologist Mike McInerny.

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41:17

All The Fish Names: Etymology Deep Dive!

Fish of the Week! ·

2026/02/16

In contrast to the clinical, objective science of descriptive taxonomy, naming a fish is the one time scientists can be creative, personal, poetic, whimsical, and even mysterious. We dig into the process and history of formally naming fish species. Our special guest, Christopher Sharpf (the brains behind the ETYFish Project), has researched the names of literally ALL THE FISH!! You'll particularly like this episode if you like history, are curious about etymology or language, and want to be inspired

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50:00

Rockhead Poacher: Livin' Loud

Fish of the Week! ·

2026/02/09

What looks like a rock, vocalizes using its own bizarre internal instrument, and vibrates like a cell phone when picked up? Get to know the Rockhead Poacher: a fish that's developed a very special way to make itself heard in loud, acoustically complex tidepools along the Pacific coast. Whether you're a fish enthusiast, computer geek, gamer or art lover, this episode is for you. Fish biologist and recent LSU master's graduate Dan Geldof is our enthusiastic guest/guide.

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30:28

Virginia's Walleye/Sauger Hybrid: Saugeye!

Fish of the Week! ·

2026/02/02

Get to know the Saugeye! You'll get extensive tips how to angle for this fish, how it tastes, and what goes into producing this hybrid for fun fishing opportunities in Virginia. Katrina and Guy are joined by two guests from the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.

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39:37

The Big-Shouldered Piebald Madtom

Fish of the Week! ·

2026/01/26

Get to know a notoriously difficult-to-detect Noturus species: the Piebald Madtom! Matt Wagner, a biologist from our Mississippi Ecological Services Field Office, takes us into the field to learn about this very neat little American catfish with a big sting!

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36:55

Broad Whitefish: Alaska's Chunkiest Coregonid

Fish of the Week! ·

2026/01/19

Tune in this week as Katrina and Guy head to Alaska's Kuskokwim River! U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service guests Frank Harris and Aaron Moses describe this fish, its importance to people, the river + Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, and the logistical challenges of studying fish in remote Alaska (MacGyver story included!).If you like this episode, we've got another for you that offers an Iñupiat perspective and science from a different region of Alaska: S2:E47: Broad Whitefish: Trade and Table

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26:14

Trout-Perch! Surprise...It's Neither!

Fish of the Week! ·

2026/01/12

Get to know the Trout-Perch, an understudied yet important forage fish that makes its living across a large swath of North America! Katrina and Guy are joined by guests Ray Katula and Justin Lesser.

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50:40

Season 6: Celebrate America's Fish!

Fish of the Week! ·

2026/01/05

Co-hosts Katrina and Guy reflect on the past five seasons and take a sneak peek into season 6. Learn which 25 American fish top their lists and their shortlist of Mount Rushmore-worthy fishes. The episode ends with listeners' "fanmail darter" recommendations.

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