ID on trout...........
- Thread starter cichlid fiend
- Start date
No way Jose.
If I know my but from a Steelhead this is a Rainbow.
Seriously I have spent most of my life studying and perusing freshwater trout and the ID on this one is 100% certain. Rainbows often take on a dirty yellow/olive coloration though simiolar to Brown Trout.
If I know my but from a Steelhead this is a Rainbow.
Seriously I have spent most of my life studying and perusing freshwater trout and the ID on this one is 100% certain. Rainbows often take on a dirty yellow/olive coloration though simiolar to Brown Trout.
I will NEVER be superior, sarcastic, critical, or rude on this forum but the ID on this fish is simple:
Look at the faint red mid line stripe [under the blood-streak] - only Rainbows have it, the spots are primarily above the lateral line not above and below, the spots are solid not bulls-eye like in brown Trout, the spots are uniformly small black and approximately the same size, not different sizes and colors like red as in a Brown.
What has you guys justifiably confused is that this 'bow has a golden/dirty yellow background color [similar to some Brown Trout] which actually is very common in R all depending on which member of the almost innumerable varieties of out there this fish happens to be: hybrids of two or more wild strains, back-crossed, anadromous, lake or stream dwelling, primarily piscivorous or insectivorous etc..
The only other possibility is that this fish is a Cuttbow - Rainbow X Cutthroat cross. Technically it is impossible to positively identify a trout with both Rainbow and Cutthroat genes without DNA tests, but practically speaking 99% of Cuttbows show the red under the jaw line streak that gave Cutthroat Trout their name.
It looks to me - to make a somewhat educated guess - to be one of the standard Mcloud river based hatchery Rainbow strains.
Cheers from Trout Country friends Wyoming, Montana, Idaho.
Etc.
Look at the faint red mid line stripe [under the blood-streak] - only Rainbows have it, the spots are primarily above the lateral line not above and below, the spots are solid not bulls-eye like in brown Trout, the spots are uniformly small black and approximately the same size, not different sizes and colors like red as in a Brown.
What has you guys justifiably confused is that this 'bow has a golden/dirty yellow background color [similar to some Brown Trout] which actually is very common in R all depending on which member of the almost innumerable varieties of out there this fish happens to be: hybrids of two or more wild strains, back-crossed, anadromous, lake or stream dwelling, primarily piscivorous or insectivorous etc..
The only other possibility is that this fish is a Cuttbow - Rainbow X Cutthroat cross. Technically it is impossible to positively identify a trout with both Rainbow and Cutthroat genes without DNA tests, but practically speaking 99% of Cuttbows show the red under the jaw line streak that gave Cutthroat Trout their name.
It looks to me - to make a somewhat educated guess - to be one of the standard Mcloud river based hatchery Rainbow strains.
Cheers from Trout Country friends Wyoming, Montana, Idaho.
Etc.
if it had a faint pink stripe in no ways does that mean that it is automatically a rainbow.. Larger browns can get a reddish hue along that lateral line. They can also get spotting like that. There are so many color variations to each fish species that is becomes difficult to tell for sure with the photo provided. I have a very hard time agreeing that this is a rainbow based on how yellow/brown the fish is, the size of the mouth, and body shape. There might be a very, very slight hint of redish/pink but some browns have this as well. I still would agree with brown.
also keep in mind it is fall/ early winter and this is when brown trout spawn, therefore they also take on less common color patters aka...pinkish stipes. and the one in the picture is barely visible. Those of you that are saying that you fish world class trout streams may not be the best for IDing this fish considering it was caught in what looks ot be a lake in New Jersey. Definitely a stocked fish, and stocked fish can look very different fom their wild counterparts.
Honestly I am somewhat dismayed to see that this quite simple trout i.d. request gave birth to such a herd of 100% incorrect answers. It's not questionable, the photo is good, and unless you don't believe man caused climate change is real, or that you still suspect our planet is flat, this fish is:
Oncorhynchus mykiss common name Rainbow trout.
But I conclude that this demonstrates MFK is doing a great job educating those with curiosity and interest in fresh/salt/and brackish water fishes, their habitats and conservation!
if you are one of 'US', and do not already own this magnificent book, you will thank me for recommending it.
Trout and Salmon of North America
by Robert Behnke including superb illustrations by Joe Tomelleri
Oncorhynchus mykiss common name Rainbow trout.
But I conclude that this demonstrates MFK is doing a great job educating those with curiosity and interest in fresh/salt/and brackish water fishes, their habitats and conservation!
if you are one of 'US', and do not already own this magnificent book, you will thank me for recommending it.
Trout and Salmon of North America
by Robert Behnke including superb illustrations by Joe Tomelleri
