Went out for an hour or so after work

[dsukh]

Went out to a nearby stream after work today for an hour or so. There were a bunch of these little guys, but unfortunately im not experienced enough to properly ID this. What is it?



photo by dsukh, on Flickr

 

[salmotrutta]

Rainbow trout parr

I caught one today too, a mini chromer. It's amazing how far upstream steelhead spawn.

Trout can be tricky to ID for someone new to them.

In southern Ontario, trout in the streams will be either browns, brook trout or rainbows. Once you've caught each one they will be easier to tell apart.

Rainbow trout that migrate from one of the Great Lakes to spawn in streams are known as steelhead. Same fish, the term steelhead just denotes that they live in the ocean or in Ontario one of the Great Lakes.

 

[dsukh]

Thanks! How come our two fish look so different if they're the same kind?

Now to find the bigger ones

 

[getin]

Thanks! How come our two fish look so different if they're the same kind?

Now to find the bigger ones

Yours is a resident rainbow trout, his is a migratory one (or steelhead - rainbow trout from the lake). The resident trout do not get much bigger than this in small streams whreas the migratory ones can reach 20 lb or over! you can catch them in the lake r in the major rivers from October to April (in open parts of the rivers). Their season is over now

 

[NOTTA STEELER]

Fish look different because of age , possibly resident , but I'd say the first pic is a younger fish than the second .
The markings on the sides is camouflage . Then as they progress in age ,the parr markings begin to fade to chrome with maturity . I've caught some real stunners , so colourful.

 

[Dewy]

Yours is a resident rainbow trout, his is a migratory one (or steelhead - rainbow trout from the lake). The resident trout do not get much bigger than this in small streams whreas the migratory ones can reach 20 lb or over! you can catch them in the lake r in the major rivers from October to April (in open parts of the rivers). Their season is over now

My question, what is the indefinite tell tale sign between a resident rainbow and a migratory besides size, colour, the kype on males and time of season. Also, I would have to say that resident fish can reach decent sizes, I have seen and caught several between 3 and 4 pounds that I believe are resident fish. Also, another question, when do the eggs of the steelhead smolt. Recently I just started fishing a trib of the Saugeen where the steelhead spawn, and noticed rock piles all over the place. At one rock pile there were small orange backed fish (about 50) swimming around, no longer than an inch and a half.

 

[salmotrutta]

How come our two fish look so different if they're the same kind?

Here's one that looks more like yours:

Age, its parents, camouflage, diet, and some randomness will all contribute to its colour.

Here's a very silvery brook trout. I caught it in an open section of a creek (no forest coverage), in and amongst large boulders. Brook trout from dense forests that provide plenty of shade coverage tend to be darker.

Here are two rainbows caught from the same pool. One is chrome as can be, the other looks like a typical rainbow in spawning colours. Both have done away with their parr marks.

I've also caught rainbow parr from that pool that were purple.