Waccamaw Darter
A North Carolina darter found naturally only in Lake Waccamaw.
Fish starting with W
Browse all 54 fish starting with W. Select a name to explore its species profile.
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Fish starting with W
54 fish 
Waccamaw Killifish
Native to Lake Waccamaw and its tributaries in North Carolina.
Waccamaw Silverside
Schools in Lake Waccamaw’s open water, often near the surface above shallow, dark-bottomed areas.
Wakasagi
Native to northern Japanese lakes and estuaries, with populations in Korea and the Russian Far East.
Wami Tilapia
A tilapia native to Tanzania’s Morogoro region.
Warioto Darter
Lives in the Cumberland drainage below Cumberland Falls in Kentucky and Tennessee.
Warmouth
Favors slow-moving freshwater habitats where quiet water provides suitable cover and feeding areas.
Warner Sucker
Native to the Warner Basin of Oregon, with its range extending slightly into Nevada and California.
Warpaint Shiner
Eats aquatic insect larvae and insects that land on the water’s surface.
Warrior Bass
Native to Alabama’s Black Warrior River system, with a much smaller natural range than largemouth bass.
Warrior Darter
Lives above the fall line in Alabama’s Black Warrior system, including Mulberry Fork, Locust Fork and Valley Creek.
Warrior Shiner
Favors deeper stream pools immediately downstream of water-willow plants.
Wartynosed Mullet
A coastal mullet distributed across the Indo-Pacific region.
Watercress Darter
Native to the Black Warrior drainage near Birmingham, Alabama, with a particularly restricted freshwater range.
Weakfish
An Atlantic coastal fish ranging from Nova Scotia to northern Florida, taken by both recreational and commercial fisheries.
Wedgespot Shiner
Lives in Ozark tributaries of the middle Arkansas River across Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri.
Weed Shiner
Ranges through the Mississippi basin from Minnesota and Wisconsin south toward the Gulf of Mexico.
Wenchman
A deep-water snapper ranging from North Carolina through the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean toward southeastern Brazil.
Western Banded Killifish
Occurs in Great Lakes–St. Lawrence and Mississippi basin waters, including parts of central Canada and the northern United States.
Western Blacknose Dace
Feeds on fly larvae when available, including the immature stages of aquatic insects.
Western Brook Lamprey
A Pacific-draining lamprey ranging from southern Alaska toward central California, including British Columbia’s coastal islands.
Western Creek Chubsucker
A creek-dwelling sucker native to the eastern-central United States.
Western Sand Darter
Lives in medium and large rivers over sand and gravel.
Western Silvery Minnow
Native to North American waters of the Missouri and Mississippi river basins.
Western Silvery/Plains Minnow
A minnow identified as either western silvery or plains minnow, two related fishes of central North American river systems.
Westslope Cutthroat Trout
Favors headwaters, streams and lakes in the northern Rockies, especially streams with ample pools and cover.
Westslope-Yellowstone-Rainbow Trout Hybrid
A mixed trout cross with westslope cutthroat, Yellowstone cutthroat and rainbow trout ancestry.
White Barracudina
An oceanic fish recorded from upper open-water layers down into deeper marine zones.
Featured
White Bass
Feeds on smaller fish, with the proportion of fish in its diet changing seasonally.
White Catfish
Favors muddy, slow river pools and backwaters. Also does well in lakes and large reservoirs.
Featured
White Crappie
Takes minnows and small jigs, often around brush piles or standing timber. Common in reservoirs and slower river habitats.
White Goosefish
An anglerfish of warm western Atlantic waters.
White Mullet
Uses muddy estuaries and brackish lagoons, sometimes moving into rivers.
White Perch
Occurs in northeastern lakes and coastal systems, including the Hudson, Delaware Bay and Chesapeake Bay.
White River Chub
Lives in warm-spring outflows and river habitat in Nevada’s Pahranagat Valley.
White River Spinedace
Native to the White River system in southeastern Nevada.
White River Springfish
A desert springfish confined to isolated warm springs in eastern Nevada’s White River drainage.
White Sands Pupfish
Native populations use Salt Creek and Malpais Spring, with additional introduced populations in nearby refuge waters.
White Shiner
Occupies rocky or sandy pools and runs in headwater streams, creeks and small rivers.
White Sturgeon
Feeds along the bottom on crustaceans and other invertebrates, also taking fish eggs and young fish.
White Sucker
Widespread in the upper Midwest and Northeast, with a range extending south toward Georgia and west toward New Mexico.
White x Yellow Bass
A white bass–yellow bass hybrid, combining two schooling freshwater fish.
White-spotted Puffer
A large tropical puffer that can grow to nearly twenty inches long.
Whitebone Porgy
A coastal porgy ranging from North Carolina to Florida and around the Gulf of Mexico and northwestern Caribbean.
Whitefin Shiner
Native to Atlantic-draining rivers from North Carolina’s Neuse River south toward Georgia’s Savannah River.
Whitemouth Shiner
A Piedmont shiner native to Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Whitespotted Filefish
A reef-associated filefish found from Florida south through Caribbean waters.
Whitetail Shiner
A freshwater shiner found in the Tennessee and Cumberland river drainages.
Widemouth Blindcat
An underground catfish adapted to permanent darkness, known from deep groundwater reached by wells.
Windowpane
A western Atlantic flatfish living over coastal seafloors from the shallows into water a few hundred feet deep.
Wiper
A stocked white bass–striped bass hybrid, widely known as a wiper in freshwater sport fisheries.
Wounded Darter
Shelters among boulders, coarse rubble and ledges in medium and large rivers with gentle currents.
Woundfin
A desert minnow whose remaining natural range is restricted to the Virgin River in the Southwest.