Description

Salmo trutta, the brown trout, is a member of the Atlantic trout and salmon subgroup that includes the Sevan trout, Ohrid trout, Adriatic trout, flathead trout and Atlantic salmon. Only the latter is native to North America. Brown trout were first introduced to the United States in 1883 when Fred Mather, a New York angler, imported brown trout eggs from the German Fishing Society—eggs that came from both the mountain streams and large lakes of the Black Forest. Over the next dozen years more eggs from Germany, Scotland, and England were introduced, making a wild self-sustaining population. Found in cold-water mountain streams, large rivers, ponds and lakes, browns can be fished in most U.S. states and Canadian provinces. Brown trout vary greatly in size depending on region. The state record in Virginia, for example, is 14 pounds, 12 ounces, while in Michigan its 41 pounds, 7 ounces. Brown trout are tawny yellow to olive brown with a brassy sheen. Their back and sides are marked with olive brown to black to orange to red spots. Some even hue white to pale blue. Caught on lures, live baits and flies, they're a favorite of mountain fisherman, a joy to catch and release, or grill over an open campfire.