Field guide
Everything worth knowing about the three trout in our pond: how to tell them apart, how they live and feed, how to release one so it swims away strong, and how to cook the ones you keep.
Meet the fish
All three share our pond. Here's how to recognise each one when it's in your net.
The classic western trout, native to rivers draining to the Pacific. Rainbows are strong, fast fighters, and the most likely of the three to jump.
Despite the name, a char rather than a true trout, native to eastern North America. Often called the prettiest freshwater fish in the country, and usually the easiest to catch.
A cross between a brown trout and a brook trout. Tigers are almost always sterile, rarely occur in the wild, and are raised in hatcheries for their fight and their appetite.
A quick test
Trout and char are close cousins in the salmon family. Anglers call them all "trout", but there's a simple way to tell them apart at the dock.
Dark spots on a light body: a true trout. Rainbows carry black spots on silver and olive.
Light spots on a dark body: a char. Brook trout carry pale spots and markings on dark olive-green.
The tiger trout breaks the rule because it's half of each. It trades spots for the maze pattern it gets from its brook trout parent.
Biology
They need cold, clean water. Trout are cold-water fish. They feed and grow best in cool water and slow down as it warms. In midsummer they drop to the deep, cooler water, which is why our pond is 20 feet at its deepest.
They hunt by sight. Trout feed mostly by watching for movement, which makes them most active in low light: early morning, evening and under cloud.
They feel the water. The line of small pores along each side, the lateral line, senses vibration and pressure. A heavy footstep on the dock can travel further than you'd think.
Their colour comes from food. The pink-orange of trout flesh comes from natural pigments in what they eat, especially freshwater shrimp and insects. Fish that forage well tend to have richer colour.
Plan your visit
What the fish are usually doing in each month we're open, and how to fish for them.
| Month | What the fish are doing | Try |
|---|---|---|
| May | Freshly stocked and hungry after ice-off. Cool water keeps them active all day. | Worms or dough bait near the surface; small spinners |
| June | Still cool and feeding hard. Insect hatches bring fish up in the evening. | Any block; evenings for rising fish |
| July | Warm afternoons push fish deeper. Mornings and evenings are best. | Fish deeper; early and late blocks |
| August | The warmest water of the year. Fish hold deep and feed in short bursts. | Let bait sink; the last block of the day |
| September | Cooling water wakes the fish up again. Brook trout start to colour for spawning. | Any block; spoons for the tigers |
| October | Crisp, cold water and active, well-fed fish. Brook trout at their brightest. | Midday blocks while it's warmest |
Handle with care
A trout you release should swim away strong. These habits make the difference.
Circle hooks tend to catch the corner of the mouth instead of being swallowed, and barbless hooks come out cleanly. Ours are free in the gear locker.
A long fight exhausts a fish. Land it promptly with a net, ideally a rubber one that's gentle on its slime coat.
The slime coat protects a trout from infection. Dry hands and towels strip it off.
Unhook it in the net while it's still in the water. If you lift it for a photo, have it back within 10 seconds.
Never squeeze the belly or touch the gills. Support it gently under the belly.
Hold it upright, facing into the water, until it kicks free. If the hook is swallowed, cut the line close rather than pulling it.
Released trout recover less well in warm water. On hot summer afternoons, keep fights short and releases quick, or plan to keep what you catch.
From pond to plate
Dispatch it quickly. If you're keeping a fish, kill it right away with one or two firm blows from the priest to the top of the head, just behind the eyes. Then bleed it by cutting through the gills and put it straight on ice. Never leave a fish to suffocate in a bucket or put a live fish on ice.
Keep it cold. Get it on ice within minutes and keep it at 4°C or below until you cook it.
Cook it through. Trout is done at 70°C (158°F) in the thickest part, when the flesh flakes easily with a fork.
Eat the skin, if it's crisp. Trout scales are so small you don't need to remove them, and seared skin is the best part. Much of a trout's healthy fat, including its omega-3s, sits in and just under the skin.
Good for you. Trout is a lean, high-protein fish and a good source of omega-3 fats.
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