Species Profile: Mottled Sculpin

Photo credit: ncfishes.com

Mottled Sculpin (Cottus bairdi)

Do you know what a “mollycrawbottom” is?  It’s a local name given to the commonest fish in our rocky streams. Behold the mottled sculpin, also known as Cottus bairdi.  If you fly fish, you might recognize this ubiquitous little fish with a great big mouth as the inspiration for the popular “muddler minnow” pattern. Sculpins live under rocks, so they are not visible most of the time. If you have volunteered with our Mainspring’s Stream Biomonitoring Program, you have probably heard the mantra “Where there’s a rock, there’s a sculpin.”

Species profile provided by Jason Meador, Mainspring