Live in Idaho Waters (Part 1): Native Sculpin

Idaho, and really the entire western side of the United States, has fewer native fish species, just over 40 in Idaho, whereas some states on the eastern side of the country have 200-300. What we lack in number is more than made up for by charisma with iconic native fish like cutthroat, steelhead, and white sturgeon to name a few. We also have some lesser known and sometimes lesser appreciated species in Idaho, native non-game species. 

In the next few months, we’ll be highlighting these critters to let ya know what else is living underwater in the Gem State. 

A great place to start this journey is with Idaho’s sculpin species. If you have heard of these fish, you may have heard them referred to as ‘mini-lingcod’ and while they aren’t closely related to lingcod they do share relatives a long time ago and certainly look the part. 

In Idaho, these unique creatures often go unnoticed for a few reasons. First, because of their small size (if they reach 5 inches that’s a pretty big sculpin!); second, they are really good at camouflage, possessing the ability to change their color based on their surroundings; and third, they stay on the bottom of the streams and lakes by often wedging themselves amongst rocks and vegetation.  

Information on sculpin species is often changing and updating, but, around the globe, there are about 100 freshwater species of sculpin. We have 9 species in Idaho: the Mottled, Paiute, Slimy, Shorthead, Bear Lake, Shoshone, Wood River, Torrent, and Cedar sculpins.  

Basic Life History

Idaho sculpin have some general life history truths. One, they don’t live super long, but maybe longer than you’d think. Many reports have them living around 5 years, but some have been documented to live up to 8 years. Second, they can start to reproduce at pretty young ages sometimes as early as their first year, but often during their second or third year. Third, spawning generally occurs from late winter to early summer but varies on water temperature. And fourth, they commonly build spawning nests in crevices (caves), the females lay eggs (often upside down!) on rocks, and then the males guard the nests until the eggs hatch.

Once sculpin are swimming around they can usually be found in rocky riffle habitat in streams. The exception to this in Idaho is Bear Lake sculpin, which as the name suggests, are found only in a lake, not a stream. These are the only sculpin in the western United States to only be found in deep water lake habitat. 

Sculpin eat a variety of food but predominantly focus on aquatic bugs like caddis flies, mayflies, and stoneflies. But, they have also been found to eat some types of fish eggs, earthworms, and fish that are smaller than the sculpin itself. 

Why do we care about them?

These 9 Idaho native sculpin are important for a variety of reasons. Some species are pretty rare or only found in isolated water bodies making them an even more unique part of Idaho’s natural heritage. Three sculpin are included in our protected non-game species lists (shown in the regional introduction sections in the Idaho Fish and Game Fishing Regulations). 

All sculpin serve important roles in our aquatic food webs whether as prey for larger species such as our native trout, aquatic birds, and snakes or as predators themselves moving nutrients through aquatic environments. Sculpin are also a good indicator species of stream health, if there are sculpin there, that typically means the stream or lake is functioning pretty well. 

For example, if a stream is negatively impacted by lots of sediment, sculpin lose access to the spaces around rocks and those underwater caves they need to live and spawn. Bottom-line, without them in the mix, parts and pieces of our freshwater habitats would be altered or broken resulting in more noticeable changes to these habitats and fisheries we enjoy. 

Can you fish for sculpin? 

This is a bit of a developing situation. If you have heard of sculpin you likely heard about them through fishing, but probably by using a sculpin pattern fly or lure. It has long been known that sculpin pattern streamers are great ways to hook into larger trout species such as cutthroat and bull trout. 

But, in recent years, something called micro-fishing has come onto the scene. Pretty wild but some anglers are starting to target these small non-game species with even smaller hook and line. It’s not taken the angling world by storm just yet, but is another way to investigate, experience and learn about our underwater environments.

We have heard of some angling successes from the Idaho micro-fishing community and thanks to the folks who’ve sent in pictures of their catch. Fish and Game did recently add non-game fishes to our Catch-and-Release record program, so by all means, take a look at eligible species and get out there to put your name in the record book! 

Keep an eye out for more blogs about Idaho’s lesser-known native species over the next few months. Hopefully we can all learn a few new things about these valuable Idaho fish species. 

For more information on native sculpin and where they are found in Idaho, click here.