Brown Trout
Salmo Trutta
Brown trout typically have a light brown or yellowish body with large, mostly darker brown spots and a few red spots on their sides. Their fins tend to to be light brown with a pale - white leading edge.
The brown trout is native to Europe, Western Asia, and Northern Africa but has been distributed to waters all around the world and has become a popular sport fish in the United States due to their growth potential and beautiful coloration.
Native or nonnative?
Nonnative
Wyoming classification
Game fish
Diet
Aquatic invertebrates like mayflies, caddisflies, stoneflies, midges, as well as freshwater shrimp, and zooplankton. Brown Trout are also piscivorous, eating other fish.
Weight
On average, a brown trout will weight 1 to 5 pounds. However, some brown trout can be 30+ pounds in the right conditions.
Length
An average mature brown trout can grow between 15 and 30 inches in length, but in optimal conditions the oldest and largest individuals can grow up to 40 inches long.
Lifespan
6 to 8 years on average, but they have been known to grow as old as 15+ years if they are able to avoid predators and are located in high quality waters.
Habitat
Trout are often found in strong, fast-moving currents, as these areas provide abundant oxygen and food, along with protection from predators. Features such as submerged rocks, fallen logs, undercut banks, and overhanging vegetation provide crucial shelter. In winter, deeper waters serve as a refuge from freezing temperatures.
Predators
Brown trout are preyed upon by black bears, grizzly bears, mink, river otter, larger fish. Common bird predators include mergansers, herons, and kingfishers. Trout eggs are often an easy meal for others as they are left unguarded in nests.
Reproduction
Brown trout are fall spawners that can spawn year after year. Females will create nests called "redds" in gravel, where they will lay their eggs, and males will swim over top to fertilize the nest of eggs. The number of eggs per female depends greatly on size and age, however, each female will lay roughly 2,000 eggs per female.
Brown Trout Importance
Brown trout are a highly prized trout species among anglers, known for their ability to grow quickly and provide a fun sport fishing opportunity.
Sport Fish Management Efforts
Although brown trout are non-native, there is a heavy angler desire to catch them. Ensuring habitat protection and restoration (especially for crucial spawning habitat) as well as monitoring water quality contributes to their ongoing success monitoring populations, by evaluating distribution, abundance, size structure and recruitment.
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