Trout, common name for many species of fish belonging to the salmon family. Some, called sea trout, are anadromous—that is, they ascend the rivers from the sea to breed. Most of the species, however, live exclusively in fresh water and are found in most of the lakes and streams of northern regions. Their food consists of almost any sort of fresh animal matter, such as smaller fishes, crustacea, and insect larvae. Trout, like salmon, spawn during the spring or occasionally in the autumn, depending on the latitude and the species. The most widely distributed species in North America is the brook trout, or speckled trout, which is similar to the brown trout of Europe. It is recognized by its large mouth, violet mantle, dark mottlings, and red lateral spots, the general coloring being dark gray or green. The male has a reddish band running along the side of the body. Brook trout are found from the Alleghenies in Georgia to the Arctic Ocean, varying in size according to the extent of water and the amount of food they procure, the average weight being about 1 kg (about 2 lb). The spawning season begins in September and lasts until December, when the female uses her tail to scrape out a hole in the gravel, where she deposits her eggs, the male afterward dropping the milt upon them. Only about 5 percent of the eggs become fertilized in the natural state; the rest are generally washed out and devoured by other fish. However, as many as 90 percent can be hatched by artificial means.
Char
The generally more active chars have smaller scales than true trouts and live in the coldest and most secluded waters of North America, Europe, and Eurasia. The Dolly Varden trout ranges from the Sea of Japan (East Sea) along the coasts of Alaska and Canada to the northwestern United States; it is a highly colored fish that has prominent spots on the body. It is typically anadromous, but several landlocked populations are known. The char is not a valued game fish because it does not struggle vigorously when caught. The largest of all the chars is the Mackinaw trout, or lake trout; it is known in Maine as the togue and in Vermont as the longe. Specimens weighing 14 kg (30 lb) are often caught and some occasionally scale as much as 57 kg (as much as 125 lb). The color is gray or black, with lightish spots that sometimes become red. The fish has a large mouth with strong teeth and is a gluttonous feeder, often descending to deep water. It is found abundantly in the Great Lakes, Hudson Bay, Alaska, Labrador, New Brunswick, Vermont, and Maine and has been introduced into many other areas of the United States and Canada.
III. Western Species
The most important of the trouts is the rainbow trout, native to the lakes and streams of the western United States and introduced widely throughout the world. Rainbow trout are highly prized as game fish because they fight hard to free themselves, leaping high out of the water. Steelhead, the anadromous form of the rainbow trout, is also a prized game fish. Another species, found in the Rocky Mountains region, is the cutthroat trout, known also as mountain trout. In the southern United States the weakfish and the largemouth black bass are sometimes called trout.
Scientific classification: Trouts belong to the family Salmonidae. Chars make up the genus Salvelinus, and true trouts the genus Salmo. The brook trout is classified as Salvelinus fontinalis, the brown trout of Europe as Salmo trutta, the Dolly Varden trout as Salvelinus malma, and the Mackinaw trout as Salvelinus namaycush. The rainbow trout is classified as Oncorhynchus mykiss, and the cutthroat trout as Oncorhynchus clarki. The weakfish is classified as Cynoscion regalis, and the largemouth black bass as Micropterus salmoides.
TROUT
