Brown Trout
The brown trout is a medium-sized fish, growing to 44 lb or more and a length of about 39 in in some localities, although in many smaller rivers, a mature weight of 2.2 lb or less is common. S. t. lacustris reaches an average length of 16–31 in with a maximum length of 55 in and about 60 pounds . The spawning behavior of brown trout is similar to that of the closely related Atlantic salmon. A typical female produces about 900 eggs per lb of body weight at spawning.
Brown trout can live 20 years, but as with the Atlantic salmon, a high proportion of males die after spawning, and probably fewer than 20% of anadromous female kelts recover from spawning. The migratory forms grow to significantly larger sizes for their age due to abundant forage fish in the waters where they spend most of their lives. Sea trout are more commonly female in less nutrient-rich rivers. Brown trout are active both by day and by night and are opportunistic feeders. While in fresh water, their diets frequently include invertebrates from the streambed, other fish, frogs, mice, birds, and insects flying near the water’s surface. The high dietary reliance upon insect larvae, pupae, nymphs, and adults allows trout to be a favoured target for fly fishing. Sea trout are fished for especially at night using wet flies. Brown trout can be caught with lures such as spoons, spinners, jigs, plugs, plastic worm imitations, and live or dead baitfish. Freshwater brown trout range in colour from largely silver with relatively few spots and a white belly, to the more well-known brassy brown cast fading to creamy white on the fish’s belly, with medium-sized spots surrounded by lighter halos. The more silver forms can be mistaken for rainbow trout. Regional variants include the so-called “Loch Leven” trout, distinguished by larger fins, a slimmer body, and heavy black spotting, but lacking red spots. *Wikipedia
