Trout, what size would you call dinner?

[Uilleachan]

Local rules dictate the keepable size for trout.

I don't have any rules imposed on me where I fish so I apply my own. I just try not to be too greedy. Some lochs produce big fish, others not, in small lochs that support big trout I don't keep every fish, usually just one per season as to keep more would have a negative effect on the mean size for that loch. I've seen it happen and have enough anecdotal evidence relayed by the last generation to know that it holds true for the best part. Take all the big fish and the water becomes populated by tiddlers. It takes a long time for the fish to come back to any size. Generations in most instances

This year I had a 2lber from such a loch, in 20mins of getting there, as it was a cock fish I kept it and went straight home.

Now't wrong with fly fishing, there's a reason why it's popular and it fits in with my minimalist approach, a rod a reel and a wee box of flies, plus a bushcraft coop bag for life, to carry home the spoils.

As for cooking, it's only a heretic that would eat anything over 6oz on the day it was caught. For the most part trout benefits from a few days lay over in the fridge. Heat a pan hot, throw in a hearty sprig of mint give the (3/4lber) 1min per side fried in ground nut oil plus a knob of butter, after the 2nd side has been fried hot for 1min put the lid on and remove from the heat, let it rest like that for 5 to 10 mins, remove lid and eat.

Next up (after 3 days lay up due to size, so eating on Saturday);

 

[Pete E]

My first rainbow was from a stocked pond and it tasted vile , caught a big Ferox once, plenty o meat, the tasted was ok, give me Seatrout any day.

What I find amazing is that Ferox and Seat Trout are actually all technically variations of the humble Brown trout and all three are genetically identical ....

 

[nic a char]

seatrout = the very best-tasting "game" fish

 

[santaman2000]

seatrout = the very best-tasting "game" fish

Which do you prefer; White Sea Trout? Or Speckled Sea Trout?

 

[Pete E]

Which do you prefer; White Sea Trout? Or Speckled Sea Trout?

No idea about white sea trout, but we don't get Spotted/Speckled Sea trout over here and they are not a true member of the trout family anyway..

 

[santaman2000]

No idea about white sea trout, but we don't get Spotted/Speckled Sea trout over here and they are not a true member of the trout family anyway..

So what DO you get?

This is a White Sea Trout; a little smaller than Specks but fishing for them has the advantage of NO limits (size or numbers) whereas Specs have a slot limit of Minimum = 15 inches and Maximum = 20 inches (one per day may be over the max with a total bag limit of 5 per day in my management zone.

http://www.inshorefishingalabama.com/userfiles/image/White Trout/White_Trout.JPG

 

[Uilleachan]

Basically we just have Brown Trout naturally occurring on this side of the pond.

Some are landlocked, some live in navigable water courses connected to the sea yet stay in fresh water, others migrate to and fore the sea in the same way as salmon so spend two to three months in fresh water and the rest of the year at sea. Some live in the sea only running into very small fresh water streams in the autumn to spawn.

Every stream where I am, large small and indifferent, supports a brown/sea trout population, the very smallest of which is only used for spawning.

Legally (in scotland) one needs permission from the rights holder to fish for sea trout in water courses or within one kilometre from the mean low water mark. Me? I fish for Brown trout,

 

[santaman2000]

Basically we just have Brown Trout naturally occurring on this side of the pond.

Some are landlocked, some live in navigable water courses connected to the sea yet stay in fresh water, others migrate to and fore the sea in the same way as salmon so spend two to three months in fresh water and the rest of the year at sea. Some live in the sea only running into very small fresh water streams in the autumn to spawn.

Every stream where I am, large small and indifferent, supports a brown/sea trout population, the very smallest of which is only used for spawning.

Legally (in scotland) one needs permission from the rights holder to fish for sea trout in water courses or within one kilometre from the mean low water mark. Me? I fish for Brown trout,

Thanks. Brownies are pretty common over here as well (non-native, introduced species) although not this far south. I never realized they were a sea species.

 

[Uilleachan]

Thanks. Brownies are pretty common over here as well (non-native, introduced species) although not this far south. I never realized they were a sea species.

Yeah, just like your sea run Charr or Dolly Varden. We've Charr but their are landlocked in the main, there are a couple of possibilities where they may run to sea but it's thought that this side of the atlantic, due to the warm current streaming from Florida, Charr running to sea only occurs 62ºN and above, so we're a wee bit too far south.

The Brown Trout colonisation theory has it that in the years post the ice age and massive post glacial topographical reconfigurations that occurred, left both the Charr and Trout landlocked in many places. The temperature rises confined the Charr, in most instances, to the larger higher deeper lochs as the sea dwelling population receded to more northern climes.

The trout on the other hand weren't affected by the increase in temperature when the gulf stream heated up as they have a wider temperature tolerance, so they're still around with us.

There's a small island that I know where the trout only visit the fresh water to spawn, as the available streams as so small. I've fished for them in the sea there. Where I am the sea is quite brackish as we have similar fiords to the west coast of Norway, known as sea lochs. Amazingly adaptable creatures the Brownies.

I think you've Brownies naturally occurring in eastern Canada and the northern US states.

 

[santaman2000]

..... Amazingly adaptable creatures the Brownies.

I think you've Brownies naturally occurring in eastern Canada and the northern US states.

Their distribution in North America is much larger than that but everything I've read indicates they were introduced from the mid 1800s to early 1900s.

 

[Pete E]

Absolutely nothing to do with this thread, (expect its been part of the motivation/inspiration) but I've just found a small local Club with 4 or 5 stretches on of a lovely little river not too far from my house.

Its a river I used to fish as a child, so it already has many fold memories for me!

The Club no longer stocks, and I don't think the river is hugely productive, but should hold wild Browny, with the odd Salmon and Sea Trout, plus Eels..

From my initial chat with the chap who runs it, all legal methods are allowed, and he really would like to see more youngsters learning to fish..To cap it all, its realively cheap also.. Will be sorting out membership this weekend hopefully...

 

[Uilleachan]

Their distribution in North America is much larger than that but everything I've read indicates they were introduced from the mid 1800s to early 1900s.

On the west coast and inland landlocked systems they are introduced. Nothing to stop them getting into the systems of the east and they are present right across the north atlantic and hang around in the same waters that atlantic salmon run. Impressive distribution map that

Edit: Just read that they don't naturally extend east of Iceland, so it looks like the bucketers have been busy in the US