Keppenbill
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Is this something that happens after a fish get older, it was around 15 inchs and damn fat for the stream it came out of and the one day i dont have my camera
Rainbow with a bright red stripe
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stevehalupka
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holdover or wild fish?
Keppenbill
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not quite sure this is the first time i fished the stream, i never caught one that looked like this
Accentuation of color, sharpness of detail and vividness is typically an indication of a high protein diet. Usually this means the fish is feeding on natural forage but sometimes color can be enhanced through diet in captivity.
My experience is that rainbow trout caught in stocked streams that have held over a season or two can become extremely colorful and have their fins sharpen to the point you would think they are wild.....but with the knowledge that there is no reproduction there, its obviously a stocked trout.
My experience is that rainbow trout caught in stocked streams that have held over a season or two can become extremely colorful and have their fins sharpen to the point you would think they are wild.....but with the knowledge that there is no reproduction there, its obviously a stocked trout.
Keppenbill
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Thanks the fins were very sharp and sticking up and the stomach was pushed out not flat.
pcray1231
Well-known member
The wild rainbows I catch are typically in a different part of the state. However, they generally have VERY faint stripes, and are pretty dull colored, actually. The stockies have much more red.
That said, I've seen plenty of pictures of bright stripes from SC PA's wild rainbows.
I do think it's simply diet. Maurice is more the expert than me. But my understanding of the situation was that the color "red" is from a pigment found in the diet (the pigment may be a form of protein). Lets face it, all trout in the wild eat pretty much pure protein diets. Fish, bugs, eggs, crustaceans, worms, leeches, etc., all protein. But it is specifically a pigment found in shelled food that leads to an abundance of red. Shrimp, sowbugs and scuds, crayfish, etc.
Baitfish diets lead to "shiny", but not necessarily brilliant reds and such. This is evident in some ocean fish, as well as great lakes steelhead and other lake fish. Deep silvers, steely blues and greens and even purples. But faint spots and very little red.
On the contrary, wild pacific salmon often have brilliant reds, the meat too. That's in direct conflict with the paler fish of the same species reared in captivity. The reason is krill, a type of shrimp. In some cases, the fish are eating krill directly, in others, they're eating baitfish which primarily feed on krill. It is the base of the food chain, and thus colors up all of the fish.
Similar is true of trout in some well known tailwaters. A freshwater species of shrimp thrives in certain lakes, and the trout in the tailwater eat them, and are known for brilliant colors.
Pure mayfly/caddis diets often lead to pretty pale fish. I often see this on PA's streams. In the early spring, the fish are still colored up from a winter of eating mainly sowbugs and scuds, and some baitfish. You get that dark brown, sometimes a hint of purple, and good red spots and fins. Once the hatches are fully underway, they begin to feed on those exclusively, the dark brown fades to a buttery and then pale color, and the red spots/fins fade. It's also why you rarely see much red on trophy brown trout, they are piscavores, though you can get it in places where crayfish are abundant.
That said, I've seen plenty of pictures of bright stripes from SC PA's wild rainbows.
I do think it's simply diet. Maurice is more the expert than me. But my understanding of the situation was that the color "red" is from a pigment found in the diet (the pigment may be a form of protein). Lets face it, all trout in the wild eat pretty much pure protein diets. Fish, bugs, eggs, crustaceans, worms, leeches, etc., all protein. But it is specifically a pigment found in shelled food that leads to an abundance of red. Shrimp, sowbugs and scuds, crayfish, etc.
Baitfish diets lead to "shiny", but not necessarily brilliant reds and such. This is evident in some ocean fish, as well as great lakes steelhead and other lake fish. Deep silvers, steely blues and greens and even purples. But faint spots and very little red.
On the contrary, wild pacific salmon often have brilliant reds, the meat too. That's in direct conflict with the paler fish of the same species reared in captivity. The reason is krill, a type of shrimp. In some cases, the fish are eating krill directly, in others, they're eating baitfish which primarily feed on krill. It is the base of the food chain, and thus colors up all of the fish.
Similar is true of trout in some well known tailwaters. A freshwater species of shrimp thrives in certain lakes, and the trout in the tailwater eat them, and are known for brilliant colors.
Pure mayfly/caddis diets often lead to pretty pale fish. I often see this on PA's streams. In the early spring, the fish are still colored up from a winter of eating mainly sowbugs and scuds, and some baitfish. You get that dark brown, sometimes a hint of purple, and good red spots and fins. Once the hatches are fully underway, they begin to feed on those exclusively, the dark brown fades to a buttery and then pale color, and the red spots/fins fade. It's also why you rarely see much red on trophy brown trout, they are piscavores, though you can get it in places where crayfish are abundant.
