Trout Colors..

[birchy]

Whats the difference between a trout has really beautiful colors versus one that's almost straight silver?

 

versus

 

or

 

versus

 

 

 

Is it just "weakened genes"? Does it have to do more with what waters they're in?

[Flytyer]

It's usually the environment they are in along with their food source in some cases

[admin]

Also depends on the time of year. During spawing seasons, trout tend to darken, Brookies get orange, bowns browners, bows and cuts get red. There is also some genetics that comes in. Different strains will have different colourations like Redband Trout and Golden Trout, both are Rainbows, but look quite different. This is just my observation and nothing scientific.

[Tako]

Secondary sexual characteristics. Some fish retain em, some fish don't. Also, look at the size differences in your examples. I could be said that the silver ones are not yet sexually mature. Also to do with water quality, light attenuation and a bit food. I've caught dark purple rainbows that live under logs their entire lives. They stay DARK because they rarely swim into the light.

[admin]

They stay DARK because they rarely swim into the light.

 

Good point. I remember having tropical fish that would change colours to an extents based on the substrate in the tank, ie one dark on light. If you took a fist from light gravel and placed it in the dark gravel tank it stuck out like a sore thumb for a bit. You also see the palomino (light) and the malenistic (dark) trout occurring naturally.

[monger]

Trout can adjust the amount of melanin released in their skin very quickly to help blend in with the substrate. You will see quite a bit of difference between a rainbow that spends a lot of time in the shallows versus one that lives in a deep, dark pool.

[DonAndersen]

Birchy,

The browns got me curious. Seems like from the Bow north they have the normal butter colored belly and decent spotting. From the Bow>south, they are much more silver except for a couple of creeks/rivers that I will keep to myself.

I'd suspect that the "silver" browns suffer some type of malady that allows them to be caught by most anyone. Plus the silver ones are generally skinny and outta shape allowing easy handling for hero shots.

 

catch ya'

 

 

Don

[toolman]

That's good science, Don...

[DonAndersen]

Toolman,

 

Fishing boards are about hero shots and BS - Got both into 2 sentences.

 

Still though, the Bow/Crow and tribs. have silver fish. Other areas of Alberta seem to have them darker. Maybe the difference between Loch Leven's and German browns. Both were stocked. The pictures of Loch Leven Browns tend to show lighter colors. Might be genetically related to the peaty colored waters.

 

catch ya'

 

Don

[Tako]

Trout can adjust the amount of melanin released in their skin very quickly to help blend in with the substrate. You will see quite a bit of difference between a rainbow that spends a lot of time in the shallows versus one that lives in a deep, dark pool.

 

Never more evident than when dark purple YOY brookies turn pale in a white bucket awaiting measurement after being electroshocked. Good point.

[NormanMcLean]

Silver Browns=Loch Leven, Upper Bow, more acrobatic

Yellow Browns=German, Lower Bow, sluggish

[monger]

Norman, do you know for a fact that there is 2 distinct races of Browns in the Bow? I have caught a number of very gold browns at Canmore and some very silver Browns in Calgary.

[toolman]

The German strain of Brown trout, S. Fario, are small trout (17" would be a Trophy) and the Loch Leven strain, S. Levenensis are very large. There may have been hatchery cross breeding of the two, but it's unlikely. The Bow is known for its original stocking of Loch Leven Browns, but I have not heard of any of the S. Fario ever being introduced. That said,

there was a hatchery started/operated by the Calgary Brewing and Malting company, from (1960-1973) and later jointly run with the Province untill the Sam Livingstone Hatchery was started in 1973. I had heard it was located at what is now known as Southland. (edited)

Still looking into it...

[DonAndersen]

Toolman,

 

The "Brewery" was known for three things - lousy beer, great trout raising and the best Xmas Light display in the west. Last time I was down 9th, the building was still there. The raceways were located on the north side of the building.

 

Don't forget that Waterton, Banff and Jasper all had hatcheries. That was before waffle soles, Goretex & granola bars when men roamed the parks. Browns in the Bow & Waterton were probably escapees.

 

catch ya'

 

 

Don

[Brownstone]

Hey Max .. post the pic of the brown we pulled out of the Crow this winter if you still have it .. beautiful fish ..

[kipper]

Genetics and the environment the fish is living in.

[maxwell]

i will post a pic when i get home brownstone.. BUT the fish u caught was and is the same that were stocked from the bow into the oldman a while back... same with the reddeer river fish.... Don A.... please correct me if im wrong... i figure all the broonies in the bow arnt germans... no red spots and blue halos..... we may have a few different strains of broonies like toolman mentioned but the fact of the matter is in birchys pics he has fish that are pre and post spawn some juvenile some not and one from a different river.. diet. subspecies, and the whole enviroment around the fish can factor into color.. is it a prespawn brown or postawn brown ? juvenile or adult rainbow? makes a major difference in color even in teh same species.. seems we only have a few places in alberta were i have seen pics of fish that look german too me............. we all seem too forget that there a few a few dozen different sub species of browntrout throughout europe the middle east and africa.......... over a dozen in the uk/scottland/ireland .. i figure way back when they dumped a few ferox(big gator faces fish eaters according too lore) and other english brooneis into the bow maybe a few scottish or irish too... they all have the silver too dark gold in color. some more olive, some more purple and some more brown hues than others. but they all have the black spots heavy or light and i dont see no blue so to me they are frmo one of the islands.......

[DonAndersen]

Maxwell,

 

I have no idea where the browns in the Oldman came from. I do recall when I caught my first brown in late October of 1969. Knew it was a trout but was raised on cuts and bows. Knew it was a fish but had no idea what it was. The run/pools where I caught the fish are now under 300 feet of irrigation water.

 

catch ya'

 

Don

[BRH]

monger ... the Bow hosts a healthy population of both Loch Leven and German Browns from the weir to the dam.

[Jeffro]

That was before waffle soles, Goretex & granola bars when men roamed the parks. Browns in the Bow & Waterton were probably escapees.

 

catch ya'

Don

 

Having worked for Parks Canada in the past, those words couldn't be any truer......Gave me a good laugh.

[toolman]

monger ... the Bow hosts a healthy population of both Loch Leven and German Browns from the weir to the dam.

 

When were German Browns (S. Fario?) stocked in the Bow and who released them? Which hatchery produced them?

[rhuseby]

Variations in colour in trout and some other fish are very common. In every stream in Alberta that I've fished there have been variations in colour, spotting patterns, etc. All of the factors mentioned above enter into the variations. I just enjoy the many variations. One that I love is the browns from the dogpound that have almost blood red fins and tail. Less than one in 20 have this colour, and I've never seen it anywhere else. Cause? Your guess is as good as mine.