Brown & Rainbow Trout Profile

Rainbow Trout can have a silvery olive green appearance, to almost a shiny blue or pink like colour. They usually have a wide pink stripe that runs from their gill covers all the way down the centre of their body. They are covered in small black dots that will be on their head, dorsal fin and tail. Juvenile Rainbows will have large blue round markings along their lateral line, this colour disappears as the fish reached around 20-25cm. During spawning periods the colours will brighten and their belly will become dark and grey in colour.

The Brown Trout varies greatly in colour from a deep olive brown like colour with distinct black spots, that are surrounded by a pale halo, and some browns will be a sliver like colour with very light dull spots that can sometimes be hardly noticed. Juvenile Brown Trout will have distinct red spots down their lateral line. Both species can be very similar and hard to tell apart, one way to distinguish the species is Rainbow Trout have small back spots and they will be present on the entire tail. Brown Trout usually don’t have spots on the tail and if they do it won’t cover their entire tail.

Distribution:

Trout are found in cool clear waters in the mountain ranges, from northern NSW along the Great Diving Range, all throughout the Snowy Mountains, in many of the Victorian rivers and lakes, across to parts of South Australia and all throughout the Tasmanian freshwaters.

Habitat:

Trout live in extremely cold waters that are usually high in altitude. As these waterways are fed by the snow melt. They are crystal clear, fast and shallow running streams and rivers, or they inhabit the large open lakes high up in the mountains. Many of the streams and rivers have a pebbly and rocky base, which allows the water to flow fast and clear. Due to the clear waters the Trout become intelligent as they need to hide and catch their prey, which can be difficult in crystal clear waters. In rivers they will seek out deep holes, undercut banks, riffle beds, pooled water, overhanging trees or any form of structure to stay hidden from not only predators but their prey.

Trout will usually sit near fast water with their heads up into the current waiting for food to come down the current and into their path. In lakes they move around depending on the time of year. During the middle of summer the water becomes too hot for the fish to be in the shallow margins of the lake so they will push into deeper water, as this is a more comfortable depth for the fish. During the spring time when the insects begin to hatch the fish will move into the shallow edges patrolling the shorelines in search of food. Trout will also be found in impoundments along the wind lanes where all the food is pushed into a channel that sits on the water’s surface. Trout will come to the top and also sit beneath these wind lanes scavenging on all the food.