Friday, June 25, 2021

You just never know what a small stream will show you....

I love to follow those small tributaries that seem to be havens for wild trout. Some of these real thin blue lines can show me some impressive trout. Why trout choose to find such places hospitable I can't give you a reason. I believe that some of these trout may have been born into the tiny stream and will perhaps live their entire life within a fifty yard stretch of water, that's remarkable. The tributary pictured is one I have visited many times, several posts have been written about it. It helps supply clean cold water to the larger stream which in and of itself produces some very nice trout. The streams banks are soft and walking can be problematic. The stream has numerous undercut banks and root balls. There are areas where wood collects and provides sanctuary.

In the past I have caught both brown and brook trout in this tiny stream. In some years the browns tend to dominate and I see more of them then I catch. In other years I have seen an abundance of brook trout. I can't explain this but it just happens. Last week I walked along this stream and observe some brookies along with....
 

 


 These brook trout were grouped together over a small patch of gravel. Most times this would be because of warm waters and this would be a cold water source seeping up from a spring. But water temps taken along the stream indicated the water to be 60-62 degrees. Well for whatever reason they were clustered together I managed to get a photo before one of them spotted me a scattered the group. When i got home and uploaded the photo I saw what I think is a wild rainbow. If you look at the first three trout you can recognize two of them as brookies, but sandwiched in the middle is a fish that looks like a rainbow.  Look closely and let me know what you think.

 

26 comments:

  1. I think youare right, the middle trout appearsto be a rainbow.
    Great photo.
    Dave H

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dave H
      Thanks
      Dave I really think that to be. At first looking at it had me scratching my head.

      Delete
  2. Alan,
    Interesting photo. Strange how they are schooled in that spot. Even a degree or two of cooler water provided by a spring could explain it. That little one does look like a rainbow.
    JJ

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Beaverdam
      Thanks
      Joe the water temp is probably the reason they were together. Or maybe it was a good feeding station if there is such a place on a small stream.

      Delete
  3. amazing, i see 6 brookies and two rainbows with clear par markings.
    DW

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dan W
      Thanks
      Dan one of the rainbows is hard to see so I did not mention it but you are right.

      Delete
  4. It certainly looks like a rainbow trout. The pectoral and pelvic fins lack the distinctive white leading edge of brook trout. The classic brook trout spotting is also absent. The fish displays parr marks indicating that it is immature. Of course, the question becomes - how did a rainbow trout end up in this extremely small stream? Alan, you will have to figure that out and let us know the answer. It's always interesting, isn't it?

    Thanks so much for opening the secrets of these tiny waterways.

    Bill Love
    Sandpoint, Idaho

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous
      Thanks
      Bill the parr makings are pronounced as is the reddish pink line along it's side. As far as "how it got there" I have some ideas and will follow up.

      Delete
  5. That's a beautiful stream. The middle fish certainly could be a rainbow. I look forward to finding out if you catch one. Have you ever caught wild rainbows in CT?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Shawn F
      Thanks
      Shawn as far as catching one I think some higher water will aid me in that regard. I did catch one wild rainbow in the Farmington river years ago. I have a photo of it and will try to find it and post it. I have fished two streams in CT that have documented wild rainbows but I have failed to hook one in either stream.

      Delete
  6. Alan
    I would agree with Dan, I think two of those trout are rainbow. Strange they are in a cluster in a small stream??? thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bill Trussell
      Thanks
      Bill as Beaverdam said it may have been the cooler water seeping up from the streams bottom that had them huddled.

      Delete
  7. I agree. 6 Brookies and 2 Rainbow, but I think the little one in the back is a Rainbow too. Easy to miss that one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree with Mark; good "catch"!

      Delete
    2. Mark Kautz
      Thanks
      Mark I never really saw that one, good point.

      Delete
  8. Hi Alan,

    That was a wonderful spot on those trout and really lucky of you to get them on Film to boot! I am undecided as to whether there is a rainbow in there over not, but what I can confirm is that they are all truly beautiful trout!

    Take care and stay safe

    Alistair

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alistair
      Thanks
      Alistair I maybe at some point will be able to confirm it was a rainbow..fun is trying". They are precious fish.

      Delete
  9. Brt trt, that middle fish is very interesting. Not sure, but surely looks the part in regards to my opinion....Phil

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DRYFLYGUY
      Thanks
      Phil it's not a brown for sure. But hopefully it will get positively identified in the future.

      Delete
  10. I agree, Middle trout, front row, rainbow. Not sure about the one in the back, but not clearly a brookie. Very diverse population, some char, a salmonid from the Left Coast and somewhere in the stream immigrants from the British Isles, no doubt, Salmo Trutta. That is one healthy little trib. Thanks for taking us there! I think I need to move to Connecticut.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ned Zeppelin
      Thanks
      Kevin and the diverse population seems to get along together. I have caught wild Tiger trout in the stream that this tributary feeds. We have some wonderful small streams here.

      Delete
  11. I will bring fresh non trout fisherman eyes. They are all brook trout. They all have yellow spots, rainbows have black spots. Bottom middle fin on the middle fish on the right has white edge. All three bottom fins on the lower left fish have white edges. They stand out because of the parr markings. Plenty of brook trout on this blog seem to keep those marks.
    Richard

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous
      Thanks
      Richard you sure have great vision. Maybe your ability to see the differences is because you do not fish for trout. I love your comment for the reason it gives me the opportunity to try and dissect the photo more closely.

      Delete
  12. They are all brook trout. Like the last guy said rainbows have black spots, these fish have yellow. Also both the fish in question have clear and obvious white tipped fins which rainbows don't have. There is also no sign of the telltale pink line down the side. They look a little different because they're younger than the others in the picture but they look nothing like a rainbow. I'm guessing most of the folks commenting don't spend a lot of time on smaller streams with natural reproduction and are assuming they're a different species because they look slightly different than the adults at that age.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ryan51993
      Thanks
      Ryan you do have good eyes. I had a problem noticing the spot colors. The first bow appears to have a pink stripe along the side but that may have been the light.

      Delete