Rainbow Trout Information In The Smokies from Discover The Smokies

RAINBOW TROUT PICTURE

IDENTIFICATION

Dark spots on a light background separates this fish from the brook trout and other chars. Spots on brown trout are haloed in bluish rings. The absence of red or orange about the throat region says that it’s not a cutthroat trout. The common name "rainbow" is really misleading, however. The name is derived from a broad band of pink or lavender that runs the length of the fish from the cheek to the tail. The upper sides and back are dark green, peppered with black spots that continue to the tail fin. Spots are sparse around the midline and often absent from the silvery area below the lateral band. The lower jaw of the male becomes hooked during breeding season.

DISTRIBUTION

The rainbow trout was originally found in the lakes and streams draining the Pacific slope, from Alaska to northern Baja, Mexico, as well as the Pacific coastal streams of Asia. The first stocking of rainbows in the eastern states occurred in 1880, when the U.S. Fish Commission delivered rainbows that originated near McCloud River, California. The species now occurs throughout the United States and many countries around the world.

HABITAT

Prime habitat for rainbows are swift-flowing rivers with clean rocky bottoms. Water temperatures remaining below 70 F are preferred, but they tolerate 80 F. A rainbow trout is no home body either. They frequently move about, especially during the spawning season. Rainbows stocked in small streams eventually move downstream to lakes or larger rivers.

DIET

Small rainbows eat zooplankton for their first few weeks. As they get bigger they switch to insects like grasshoppers, mayflies, and caddis flies. They also eat worms and fish, including other smaller trout. Rainbow trout conserve energy by letting food come to them. By waiting in the slow water created by a large rock or log in a stream, they wait alongside faster water for food drifting downstream. When an insect or a smaller fish comes drifting by, the trout darts out from behind the rock and grabs a meal.

REPRODUCTION AND GROWTH

Around March or April, two- or three-year old rainbow trout are preparing to spawn. As the water warms and the amount of sunlight grows longer each day, rainbow start moving upstream to find rocky riffles in which to shed their eggs. With powerful tail sweeps, a female rainbow digs out a shallow pit in gravelly riffles called a "redd." Up to 6,000 fertilized eggs are dropped among the rocks and then covered--again by the female’s tail--leaving them to fend for themselves. It is important that the stream bottom that makes up the redd not have too much mud or silt. Water rich in oxygen must percolate over the eggs without washing them downstream, otherwise the eggs will die. These eggs may stay under the gravel for up to 50 days where upon young rainbow trout emerge. When the young fish appear from the gravels they are very vulnerable to predation. Larger fish, snakes, birds, and even some aquatic insects may eat the young trout. Those that survive the vulnerability of being small usually grow to about five or six inches in length by their second summer. They may live 12 years and reach 15 pounds.

ANGLING

Their strength, tenacity, and willingness to jump out of the water when hooked are pleasing to the angler. Whether you are a bait dunker, prefer spinning gear or like to fly fish, rainbows won’t discriminate in giving a good fight. No wonder rainbows rank high on the list of the most popular game fishes. Anglers should deliver their baits into the swift water, allowing them to drift past cover and the associated eddies. Salmon eggs, garden worms, in-line spinners, and wet and dry flies will all take rainbow trout.

"DID YOU KNOW . . . ?"

Of every 10,000 rainbow trout that hatch in the wild, not more than two of them may live long enough to become full-grown adults.

John 11:34 And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.

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