Brown Trout

Brief Introduction
The brown trout, from the salmonide family, is a native trout of Europe. It has spread with the British empire to India, Tasmania, mainland Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. In 1883 brown trout eggs came from Germany to Michigan, and it didn't take long for trout to populate over half of the United States.

Brown trout are found in coldwater streams, rivers and lakes. It can tolerate warmer water than other trout and does well in areas unable to sustain other trout. Brown trout, as their name implies, are brown with black and redish spots on the flanks. Where there are larger bodies of water these fish tend to be more silver with scattered black spots. Faster growing than brook trout, it is common to have fish over ten pounds in large bodies of water or larger rivers, however, in smaller streams two pounds is a good size. Anadromous brown trout are ones that migrate into the ocean from costal rivers and can stay at sea for several years and grow very large. Inland water systems that don't have direct access to the ocean (like streams or rivers that feed dams) will hold much smaller brown trout. They spawn going into the winter months and the fry hatch the following spring.

Feeding
Brown trout will feed on the various larval and adult forms of aquatic and terrestrial insects available in thier local waters. As the brown trout becomes larger it will feed more extensively on smaller fish. Being opportunistic feeders the larger fish will take frogs, mice, and large insects just as a freshwater bass would.

Catching
Brown trout are considered one of the more cunning of the trout family and are more of a challenge to catch.