Trout ID needed

[fishtheworld]

Hi All,

Can anybody ID this trout for me. Im not sure which species it is. I caught it in a river on the Olympic Peninsula.

Thanks

 

[williamhj]

pic didn't open for me.

 

[fishtheworld]

all sorted now, its working

 

[rasputinj]

Looks like a rainbow to me. I catch wild ones like that all the time in SoCal.

 

[theboz]

Bow. Rainbow!

 

[fishtheworld]

Thanks for that. Ive not caught wild rainbows before. The white strip on the anal fin confused me.

 

[ghocevar]

Correct me if I am wrong, but usually the white strip on the anal and pectoral fin indicate wild trout, whereas stockers don't have that.

 

[sweetandsalt]

It is a rainbow but its pronounced par markings suggest it is of the migratory, steelhead, variety.

 

[gatortransplant]

I'm with s&s on this one, the big eye on the thing caught my eye too. In addition to what Greg said about the white stripe, another indicator of the possibility of it being wild is the pristine state of the fish's fins. The fins of stockers get beat up from being packed in with all their brothers and sisters competing for little chunks of food falling from the heavens (aka their pellet hoppers). I don't know if they clip adipose fins on the stockers see in that part of the country, but that is a dead giveaway for stocked fish where they do it.

 

[fishtheworld]

Thanks all for the information.

 

[cpowell]

I do not know enough of Steel vs Bow but that looks to be a young bow. Par marks indicating it is a younger fish and the white line can indicate a species that is wild but we have a native rainbow here in the Gunnison that has no white lines as well as stocked trout that carry the white lines that they stock in the Roaring Fork.

Pretty fish and my bet it was caught in a pretty place.

 

[dillon]

Research has indicated that in Pacific Northwest Wild Steelhead streams some native rainbows take up residence and others migrate to the sea after 2-3 years of residency. So, I'd guess it could be one or the other depending on it's future urges. The upper Elwha had a non migratory wild rainbow trout population. Now that the unpassable dam has been removed, it is believed some of these fish will head to the salt and the river will naturally recolonize with wild steelhead. Too bad a new federal hatchery is planned.

 

[fishtheworld]

I do not know enough of Steel vs Bow but that looks to be a young bow. Par marks indicating it is a younger fish and the white line can indicate a species that is wild but we have a native rainbow here in the Gunnison that has no white lines as well as stocked trout that carry the white lines that they stock in the Roaring Fork.

Pretty fish and my bet it was caught in a pretty place.

Yep, its a very pretty place. Its the upper reaches of the Big Quilcene. Well away from the Hatchery, Electric Dam, and Hordes of people wrestling for space to catch a hatchery chum.

 

[Poke 'Em]

I'm not so sure that pronounced parr marks indicate it being a steelhead. This fish has very pronounced parr marks, and lives in a stream that dries up in the desert and doesn't come anywhere close to connecting to an ocean.

 

[ghocevar]

Just to clarify a bit...Parr marks indicate a juvenile fish which is used for camoflauge. as the trout progresses in age, the parr marks fade. Steelhead is a type of rainbow trout, one that is migratory moving from lakes or oceans to the rivers in order to spawn.

 

[sweetandsalt]

That is an awfully pretty little fish. There are some isolated strains of small stream rainbow that exhibit par markings into adulthood. The one from WA came from a steelhead river which, no doubt, has a resident rainbow population too. Its size with par markings made me speculate (no way to know) that it is a steelhead. Rainbow genetics are very malleable, including cutthroats, and probably every northern Pacific watershed had its own strain(s) before dams and indiscriminate stocking. This trait has also led, regrettably, to hatchery managers selectively breeding for early sexual maturity, short lifespan and docility in the hatchery environment that has led to low quality, domesticated fish being stocked in non-native rainbow habitat and worse, in wild rainbow habitat where genetic pollution quickly takes place.

[PS: I am not an ichtheologist, I just play one of TV]

 

[phiten]

could be a rainbow!

 

[cpowell]

Par marks are not exclusive to Steel head or Rainbows. Just good ole mom nature helping the little ones get a break.

 

[bakerboy2222]

Its a raincutt
Or a brownbow.
Or a bullbrook.

:frogdance

 

[Ard]

I read all the replies, we have rainbow trout here & we have steelhead trout. Most of the fish have the white stripe on the pelvic and annal fins but not all. I catch sea runs that have it and some that don't. The white stripe on the rainbows is sorta like the blood red adipose fin on many wild brown trout. I always used it as an indicator of the fish either being stream bred or having been there since being stocked as a juvenile. I believe every one is correct and I especially enjoyed Bakerboy's levity