Introduction to Trout
Trout, a popular game fish valued for its flavor and fighting spirit. It is native to the temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere, but has been introduced in many other parts of the world. Some trout inhabit fresh water only, but others spend part of their lives in the sea. Most trout are brilliantly colored and are marked with contrasting stripes and spots. A mature trout may weigh from one-half of a pound (225 g) to more than 100 pounds (45 kg), according to its species and habitat. Trout belong to the same family as salmon. They are divided into two groups: (1) true trout, which are of the same genus as the Atlantic salmon, and (2) chars. Like salmon, all sea-running trout and some that remain in fresh water swim upstream to spawn, returning to the place where they were themselves spawned. Spawning time varies from fall to early summer, depending on the species.
Rainbow trout are among the most popular game fish.Most kinds of trout lay their eggs in shallow nests, called redds, which the females scrape out of gravelly steam or lake bottoms. Like other fish, trout spawn from less than 100 to several thousand eggs at a time. The eggs are fertilized by the male as they are deposited, and the female then covers them with gravel. The eggs hatch in 3 to 10 weeks.
Trout feed on insects, crustaceans, mollusks, spawn, and smaller fish. Adults of the large species often eat small birds and mammals. Trout are caught by trolling, baitcasting, spinning, or flycasting, depending on the kind of trout and their habitat. Over-fishing, the introduction of competing species, and the pollution and diversion of waters have decreased the number of trout in the United States. Many trout are hatched and raised in hatcheries.
True Trout
Rainbow trout are among the most popular game fish. Their natural range is from Alaska to northern Mexico, but they have been widely introduced in other localities. They are olive to greenish-blue above and silvery below with a prominent red or pink stripe along the side. Stream-dwellers have dark spots on the body, dorsal fins, and tail. Lake-dwellers usually have weak spots or none. Rainbow trout weigh up to 50 pounds (22.5 kg).
Steelheads are sea-running rainbow trout. They go out to sea when they are about a year old, returning upstream to spawn two to five years later. Steelheads have been known to travel 2,500 miles (4,000 km) from Adak in the Aleutian Islands to the Columbia River in Washington. While at sea they are colored like the lake-dwelling rainbows, but near spawning time they resemble stream-dwellers. They can weigh up to 35 pounds (16 kg).
Cutthroat trout get their name from a bright red streak on the throat. They are found in coastal streams from Alaska to northern California and in inland waters of the western United States and Canada. Cutthroats in high mountain streams are often called spotted trout. Sea-running cutthroats enter the ocean when a year old and remain there a year or two before returning to coastal streams to spawn. Cutthroats average around 5 pounds (2.25 kg), but some attain a weight of 40 pounds (18 kg).
Brown trout are native to Europe from Iceland to the Mediterranean Sea, but have been successfully transplanted to other parts of the world. They are golden to greenish brown with darker brown or black spots on the sides, back, and dorsal fins. There is also a sprinkling of red or orange spots, with pale borders, on the upper sides. Brown trout are difficult to catch. Some individuals grow to a weight of 40 pounds (18 kg), but the average brown trout caught in the United States weighs 4 to 7 pounds (1.8 to 3.2 kg).
Golden trout are beautifully colored fish found in mountain streams and lakes in California, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. They are gold in color with a pinkish stripe along the side and a golden or reddish-orange belly. The dorsal fin, tail, and upper part of the body have dark spots. Golden trout average one pound (450 g) or less, but some attain a weight of about 10 pounds (4.5 kg).
Chars
Lake trout —also called togues or mackinaw trout —are the largest of all trout. The normal maximum is about 60 pounds (27 kg), but some individuals weigh more than 100 pounds (45 kg). Their natural range is the northern United States and Canada, but they have been introduced into cold lakes elsewhere. In the northern part of their range lake trout inhabit streams connected to lakes. Lake trout are gray, greenish-blue, or bronze, with pale spots on their bodies and fins. The female does not make a redd.
By 1961, lake trout in the Great Lakes had been almost totally destroyed by the sea lamprey, which had entered the lakes after completion of the Welland Canal in 1829. Efforts to control the lamprey population met with some success, but trout are still killed in large numbers. Lake trout are regularly released from hatcheries into the lakes to replace those killed by lampreys.
Brook trout, native to the American f coast from near the Arctic Circle to Georgia, have been introduced to suitable habitats in other parts of America and the Old World. These trout are olive-green or brown on the back, which is often marked with dark, wavy lines. The sides are mottled with pink or red spots surrounded by pale blue. At spawning time, the fins and bellies of males turn orange or red and the leading edge of each lower fin is white followed by black. Brook trout are also called speckled trout or squaretails. Sea-running varieties are often called salters. Brook trout weigh an average of 1 to 4 pounds (450 g to 1.8 kg), with record weights of about 14 pounds (6.4 kg).
Dolly Vardens, or bull trout, range from Japan to Alaska and south to northern California. Sea-running varieties are silvery with dark, wavy markings on the back. In mountain streams Dolly Vardens are spotted with red. Large lake-dwellers are silvery with yellow spots. The average weight in streams is generally less than one pound (450 g), while lake-dwellers and sea-runners often weigh more than 15 pounds (6.8 kg). Dolly Vardens feed on spawn and small fish, rodents, frogs, and birds, and are regarded as destructive to other trout and salmon.
Trout belong to the family Salmonidae. True trout are of the genus Salmo. The rainbow trout is O. mykiss; steelhead are Salmo gairdneri; the cutthroat, S. clarki; the brown, S. trutta; the golden, S. aguabonita. Chars are of the genus Salvelinus. The lake trout is Salvelinus namaycush; the brook, S. fontinalis; the Dolly Varden, S. malma.