From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - View original article

Jump to: navigation, search
Brown trout, Salmo trutta m. fario


Trout are closely related to salmon and char (or charr): species termed salmon and char occur in the same genera as do trout (Oncorhynchus - Pacific salmon and trout, Salmo - Atlantic salmon and various trout, Salvelinus - char and trout).

Most trout such as Lake trout live in freshwater lakes and/or rivers exclusively, while there are others such as the Rainbow trout which may either live out their lives in fresh water, or spend two or three years at sea before returning to fresh water to spawn, a habit more typical of salmon. A rainbow trout that spends time in the ocean is called a steelhead.

Trout are an important food source for humans and wildlife including brown bears, birds of prey such as eagles, and other animals. They are classified as oily fish.[1]


The name trout is commonly used for some species in three of the seven genera in the subfamily Salmoninae: Salmo, Atlantic species; Oncorhynchus, Pacific species; and Salvelinus, which includes fish also sometimes called char or charr. Fish referred to as trout include:

Salmo: Marble trout, S. marmoratus
Salvelinus: Brook trout, S. fontinalis


Trout that live in different environments can have dramatically different colorations and patterns. Mostly, these colors and patterns form as camouflage, based on the surroundings, and will change as the fish moves to different habitats. Trout in, or newly returned from the sea, can look very silvery, while the same fish living in a small stream or in an alpine lake could have pronounced markings and more vivid coloration; it is also possible that in some species this signifies that they are ready to mate. In general trout that are about to breed have extremely intense coloration. They can look like an entirely different fish outside of spawning season. It is virtually impossible to define a particular color pattern as belonging to a specific breed; however, in general, wild fish are claimed to have more vivid colors and patterns.


There are many species, and even more populations that are isolated from each other and morphologically different. However, since many of these distinct populations show no significant genetic differences, what may appear to be a large number of species is considered a much smaller number of distinct species by most ichthyologists. The trout found in the eastern United States are a good example of this. The brook trout, the aurora trout, and the (extinct) silver trout all have physical characteristics and colorations that distinguish them, yet genetic analysis shows that they are one species, Salvelinus fontinalis.

Lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), like brook trout, belong to the char genus. Lake trout inhabit many of the larger lakes in North America, and live much longer than rainbow trout, which have an average maximum lifespan of 7 years. Lake trout can live many decades, and can grow to more than 30 kilograms (66 lb).


A trout farm in Sochi, Russia

Trout are usually found in cool (50–60 °F or 10–16 °C), clear streams and lakes, although many of the species have anadromous strains as well. Young trout are referred to as troutlet, troutling or fry. They are distributed naturally throughout North America, northern Asia and Europe. Several species of trout were introduced to Australia and New Zealand by amateur fishing enthusiasts in the 19th century, effectively displacing and endangering several upland native fish species. The introduced species included brown trout from England and rainbow trout from California. The rainbow trout were a steelhead strain, generally accepted as coming from Sonoma Creek. The rainbow trout of New Zealand still show the steelhead tendency to run up rivers in winter to spawn.[3] The closest resemblance of seema trout and other trout family can be found in the Himalayan Region of India, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan and in Tian Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan.


Golden trout, Oncorhynchus aguabonita

Trout generally feed on other fish, and soft bodied aquatic invertebrates, such as flies, mayflies, caddisflies, stoneflies, mollusks and dragonflies. In lakes, various species of zooplankton often form a large part of the diet. In general, trout longer than about 300 millimetres (12 in) prey almost exclusively on fish, where they are available. Adult trout will devour smaller fish up to 1/3 their length. Trout may feed on shrimp, mealworms, bloodworms[disambiguation needed], insects, small animal parts, and eel.

As food[edit]

Trout fillet.

As a group, trout are somewhat bony, but the flesh is generally considered to be tasty. The flavor of the flesh is heavily influenced by the diet of the fish. For example, trout that have been feeding on crustaceans tend to be more flavorful than those feeding primarily on insect life. Additionally, they provide a good fight when caught with a hook and line, and are sought after recreationally. Because of their popularity, trout are often raised on fish farms and planted into heavily fished waters, in an effort to mask the effects of overfishing. Farmed trout and char are also sold commercially as food fish. Trout is sometimes prepared by smoking.[4]


1 fillet of trout (79g) contains:[5]

River fishing[edit]


Fishing bait[edit]

See also[edit]


  1. ^ "What are oily fish?". Food Standards Agency. 2004-06-23. 
  2. ^ Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2011.FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication., ( 02/2014 )
  3. ^ Peter Landergren, Spawning of anadromous rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum): a threat to sea trout, Salmo trutta L., populations?, Fisheries Research 40(1), 1999, pp. 55–63.
  4. ^ Trout - S. G. B. Tennant, Jr., Arie De Zanger. p. 27.
  5. ^ "Search the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference". Retrieved 2011-12-26. 
  6. ^ How to Read a River when Trout Fishing

External links[edit]