Rainbow Trout
Rainbow Trout - (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
Identification tips for trouts and salmons
Length: 20 to 30 inches
Weight: 2 to 8 pounds
Coloring: steel-blue, blue-green, yellow-green to almost brown on back; silvery sides; silvery white below
Common Names: steelhead trout, coast rainbow trout, silver trout
Found in Lakes: Stocked in Michigan, Huron, Ontario, Erie, and Superior
These attractive game fish strike aggressively, fight valiantly and are an angler's joy. The first rainbow trout planted in the Great Lakes were probably "steelheads." This is a strain of rainbow trout that migrates into the ocean before returning to spawn in their freshwater home streams. Rainbows have adapted well, moving in and out of the Great Lakes much as they would the ocean. As might be expected, they range widely throughout Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Tagging has revealed that some migrate as far north as the Canadian tributaries of Lake Superior.
Rainbow trout seldom swim deeper than 35 feet along the Great Lakes shores and are easily located. In forage-rich Lake Michigan, they grow 30-32 inches long and may reach 16 pounds by the time they are five years old.
Rainbow trout reproduce naturally in Lake Superior's tributaries and in some Lake Michigan tributaries as well. Unlike Pacific salmon, the rainbow survives after spawning and may spawn two or three times during its life.
copyright 2001 University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
 |
|
