A Small Stream Afternoon

[Burtbords149]

I got out to a small Wild Trout Stream yesterday around noon. I took BRK TRT's and Gary LaFontaine's advice and approached the stream with caution and delicate foot steps (stealthy).
After a few casts I hooked up with this tiny beauty with colors I'd never seen before. These fish looked like a hybrid of a rainbow and a brookie.
They were taking a small BHPT dropper off of an olive parachute or Adams trude top fly. I had to change from the Adams to olive because I think the fly was too big for their mouths. The largest one I caught was probably 4-5 inches long. All in all a great time.

Any thoughts on the species are greatly appreciated. In person there was a bit of a purple-blue shine that reminded me of a 'bow.

OK having problems uploading these pictures DC any help.

 

[Joe D]

Sweet day! The fish sounds like a wild brook trout. Rainbows and brook trout can't cross... male browns & female brook trout can and are called tiger trout.

 

[wingnut]

Thats a wild brown. Its colors will change. Brookies will be much darker on top. Nice Job.

 

[Corndog]

I got out to a small Wild Trout Stream yesterday around noon. I took BRK TRT's and Gary LaFontaine's advice and approached the stream with caution and delicate foot steps (stealthy).
After a few casts I hooked up with this tiny beauty with colors I'd never seen before. These fish looked like a hybrid of a rainbow and a brookie.
They were taking a small BHPT dropper off of an olive parachute or trude top fly. I had to change from the Adams to olive because I think the fly was too big for their mouths. The largest one I caught was probably 4-5 inches long. All in all a great time.

Any thoughts on the species are greatly appreciated. In person there was a bit of a purple-blue shine that reminded me of a 'bow.

OK having problems uploading these pictures DC any help.

:ttiwwp:

Always wanted to use that.

I've caught these before in the Pequest. I kept one years ago and took it to the hatchery to have it identified and they told me exactly what JoeD said in his post.

A pic sure would be helpful.

Cdog

 

[Burtbords149]

Thats a wild brown. Its colors will change. Brookies will be much darker on top. Nice Job.

Wingnut, I didn't post a picture yet, and this is in no way a wild brown.

Joe, I've looked up some tiger trout and this is no tiger. It may just be a wild 'bow, it had rainbow-like small spots and a faintly visible red lateral line. I'll try to get the pics up again.

DC still can't get those pics up.

here's one I found online that looks very similar. This is a wild rainbow. The ones I caught had a forked tail as well, leading me to believe they were 'bows. Wild rainbow stream in NJ...what a state.

 

[Corndog]

Wingnut, I didn't post a picture yet, and this is in no way a wild brown.

Joe, I've looked up some tiger trout and this is no tiger. It may just be a wild 'bow, it had rainbow-like small spots and a faintly visible red lateral line. I'll try to get the pics up again.

DC still can't get those pics up.

here's one I found online that looks very similar. This is a wild rainbow. The ones I caught had a forked tail as well, leading me to believe they were 'bows. Wild rainbow stream in NJ...what a state.

Burt,

That pic is of a young rainbow that still has it's smolt pattern.

Definately not a tiger.

Cdog

 

[Burtbords149]

Now CDog....smolt pattern? Identify what is that in the referenced photograph.

 

[jamiep]

Very nice fish even though its not yours i guess i will state the obvious that it is indeed a rainbow

 

[Corndog]

Now CDog....smolt pattern? Identify what is that in the referenced photograph.

Yes, baby rainbow trout with smolt pattern. I think that's what it's called. I've seen it many times in baby trout at the hatchery or just stocked. When they release the baby steelhead into the SR they look exactly like that as well. Have caught many.

Edit: Ok, maybe I'm using the wrong term. Smolt refers to baby salmon. I thought it refered to trout as well. That pic is of a juvenile rainbow trout. As they mature they loose those vertical blotches. Google juvenile rainbow trout pics and you will see many of the fish you caught.

Cdog

 

[Broadheadscreek]

Check out the parr marks on that nice little bow very nice!! Looks like you had a good time!!

 

[Burtbords149]

If those are "par" or "smolt" marks, the fish I caught had them as well. Any maybe I can find some larger one's....perhaps in the whopping 6" range.

 

[Broadheadscreek]

You may very well catch some 2 year fish with the same parr markings they are out there and very pretty fish!! Get some pics when you do!

 

[Joe D]

Baby 'bow :beer:

 

[Matt Grobert]

Baby 'bow :beer:

What he said, beautiful fish!

All newly hatched fry of the salmonoids have parr marks. It's natures camouflage, a pigment in the skin that forms the verticle bars. In fish found in small environments, they lighten over time, but remain present even in mature fish, as they don't "grow" out of them; in environs where the fish grow large the markings fade out altogether. There's usually 11 on land-locked fish.

Matt ><)))))'>

 

[Agust]

Wild rainbow, the dark spots are as others have stated Parr marks. All salmonids have them, most disappear within the first year. On a certain stream that starts in Sussex and ends in Warren County, the rainbows appear to keep them 2 or 3 years, I have seen them still present on 10 inch fish.

Pretty fish.

 

[JeffK]

The wild bow stream that starts in Morris and ends in Somerset also has bows that keep their parr marks to at least 10" or so. I caught one 14" bright chrome there 8 years ago, but that was about the only fish over 10" I caught in 20 years of stopping on my commute home. Therefore, I don't consider the norm.

 

[NJAngler]

this is a 11" wild brown that still has parr marks. this fish is at least three years old probably four.

 

[dcabarle]

Still has the treble hook in its mouth too.

this is a 11" wild brown that still has parr marks. this fish is at least three years old probably four.

 

[Broadheadscreek]

Still has the treble hook in its mouth too.

Very sharp there on catching that one DC maybe he was using a double salmon hook and it got bent out of shape!! :rofl:

 

[Corndog]

Ahhhhhaaa yes, the loe treble fly. Good for catching them when their biting and when their not.

Good job Detective Cabarle.

Cdog

 

[specialk690]

Look like these? Caught yesterday in Morris county; BWO #18 and #18 FB nymph

Also a few browns...

Nothing real big but fun to catch trout with dry flies. I so much prefer sight fishing for feeding fish than nymphing...

 

[GARYB]

I always feel uncomfortable catching trout under 8", if that's all I'm gonna catch in
a stream, I don't fish it. I prefer to leave them in peace.

DC,

That treble hook looks like a gaff thru that lip.

 

[LopatNympher]

As long as we are comparing par marks on wild fish........