Brown Trout (Salmo trutta)

Description

This fish is highly variable in appearance and size caused by environmental and genetic factors. In general, the body is brownish and sprinkled with black and red spots. Black spots can be seen on the dorsal fin. It is easily distinguished from brook and lake trout by the black spotting and from rainbow trout by its relatively unspotted tail fin. Its weight ranges from under 454 grams in streams to over 6.8 kg in open water, although the average size is usually under 1.8 to 2.3 kg. This species was introduced into Saskatchewan in the 1920's and 1930's originating in Europe, Russia, and North Africa.

Diet

Brown trout require about the same water conditions as the rainbow trout -- cool, clear and moving. They are cannibalistic and feed heavily on smaller fish species, and aquatic and terrestrial insects, preferring to eat at sunset and sunrise.

Reproduction

This trout species reproduces in the fall, often later than brook trout. Females lay up to 10,000 small, non-adhesive eggs over three or four nests in shallow depressions on the bottom of stream headwaters. The nests may lay 6 to 9 m apart. The eggs hatch in the early spring when the water begins to warm.

Habitat

Brown trout can be found in the waters of southern Saskatchewan, such as in the Cypress Hills area and in some stocked lakes in central Saskatchewan.