Fishing
The Charles River is home to more than 25 species of freshwater fish, including bluegill, american eel, redbreast sunfish, yellow perch, largemouth bass, pumkinseed, and golden shiner. There are also several species of andromous fish that are born in Charles, spend most of their lives in the ocean, returning to the Charles to spawn. These include two species of river herring, alewife and blueblack herring, as well as american shad and rainbow smelt. The table below lists the most common fish that were found in the Charles during a 3-year survey.
The Charles River Outdoor Company has writtten some recent articles on fishing on the Charles in On The Water magazine and Boston Magazine. There are also a few videos on their web site. Kayak fishing has become a popular activity on the Charles, including a fishing tournament.
There is much more wildlife on and along the Charles than just the fish. Several species of bird forage for food along the river. Beyond the ever-present Canadian geese and gulls, comorants, blue herons, black-crowned night herons, flycatchers, kingfishers, mallards, black ducks, hooded mergansers, buffleheads, and red-tailed hawks can be found.
| Fish Species | Mainstream Count |
Tributary Count |
Total Count |
Relative Abundance |
| Bluegill | 545 | 316 | 861 | 25.9% |
| Redfin Pickerel | 6 | 376 | 382 | 11.5% |
| Largemouth Bass | 140 | 216 | 356 | 10.7% |
| American Eel | 298 | 24 | 322 | 9.7% |
| Redbreast Sunfish | 207 | 85 | 292 | 8.8% |
| Pumpkinseed | 92 | 139 | 231 | 7.0% |
| Yellow Perch | 145 | 16 | 161 | 4.8% |
| Golden Shiner | 90 | 44 | 134 | 4.0% |
| Yellow Bullhead | 33 | 80 | 113 | 3.4% |
| Chain Pickerel | 19 | 57 | 76 | 2.3% |
| White Sucker | 22 | 52 | 74 | 2.2% |
| Brown Bullhead | 4 | 63 | 67 | 2.0% |
| White Perch | 55 | 3 | 58 | 1.7% |
| Common Carp | 51 | 0 | 51 | 1.5% |
| Black Crappie | 48 | 1 | 49 | 1.5% |
| Brown Trout | 1 | 32 | 33 | 1.0% |
| Smallmouth Bass | 14 | 0 | 14 | 0.4% |
| Creek Chubsucker | 0 | 12 | 12 | 0.4% |
| Brook Trout | 0 | 10 | 10 | 0.3% |
| Banded Sunfish | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0.2% |
| White Catfish | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0.2% |
| Blueback Herring | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0.2% |
| Swamp Darter | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0.1% |
| Rainbow Trout | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.1% |
December 2003, www.crwa.org/projects/CRFishStudy2003.pdf